Leadership Styles -Part 4- Subordinates and Styles

Readiness of subordinates
Before a leader decides to apply anyone of the foregoing four styles he must ascertain the extent to which the subordinates in question are in readiness to perform the given assignment. Readi¬ness is determined by ability and willingness.' Ability entails the knowledge, skill and experience that subordinates possess to perform the assignment. The ability of an individual or group may differ from assignment to assignment. For example, an officer who may have earned a Medal for meritorious service may not have any ability in financial management or investigating a fraud, as his knowledge, skill and experience are of a different kind.




Willingness is a measure of the extent to which the subordinates have the confidence, dedication and motivation to perform the assignment. Both ability and willingness are distinct but correlated concepts. One affects the other. For example, ample ability would tend to make a subordinate undertake the assignment because of sturdy self-confidence. Likewise, if a subordinate is very willing he may even make attempts to develop ability in order to undertake the assignment. The level of readiness is determined by the degrees of ability and willingness that a group of subordinates puts together while tackling an assignment.
Four levels of readiness
We can create four levels of readiness by combining the two extremes of these attributes as follows:
Readiness level : 1-Unable and unwilling-
The unwillingness might also stem from lack of self-confidence arising out of lack of ability.
Readiness level 2 : Unable but willing-
Though unable, the willingness may arise out of strong motivation and confidence that the leader would provide the requisite guidance.
Readiness level 3: Able but unwilling-
Despite the ability, unwillingness may be due to lack of motivation or apprehensive¬ness arising out of insufficient exposure to perform independently.
Readiness level 4 : Able and willing-
Ability is combined with commitment as well as confidence.

Four combinations
We thus have four readiness levels to which the four leadership styles will have to be compatibly coupled. A moment's thought will reveal that only four harmonious combinations are feasible. These are:
First combination - Readiness level l: Style A
Second combination - Readiness level 2: Style B
Third combination - Readiness level 3: Style C
Fourth combination - Readiness level 4: Style D
Any other combination like readiness level 1 (unable and unwilling) with style B (explains decisions and provides opportunity for clarification, etc.) will result in disaster because in the face of a lack of ability and willingness there is no point in trying to explain what has been decided to be done and encouraging asking of questions for further clarification. There would be no end to questions and the chances of getting the job done would simply evaporate.
Style depends on subordinates
Before we discuss the efficacy of the foregoing four combinations further, it would be pertinent to mention that-in this type of strategy it is the behaviour of the subordinates which determines the behaviour of the leader because after judging their level of readi¬ness he chooses the appropriate style, just as a driver adjusts the gear of an automobile after judging the gradient of the road. It would, however, be obvious that though the subordinates in a way determine the leadership style, the sensitivity of the leader and his ability to diagnose correctly the abilities and motives of the persons working for him, that is, their readiness, are of vital importance so that he can apply the appropriate leadership style. In order to gauge their ability of job readiness the leader must know the degree of their knowledge of the job as well as their understanding of the job requirement and experience of doing that job. A subordinate would be fully ready if he feels that he is capable of doing the job without guidance from the boss. Similarly,

willingness or psychological readiness is determined by the con¬fidence and commitment of the subordinates. They have in this case self-confidence, think that the job is worthwhile, i.e., impor¬tant, and would feel good about themselves if asked to do it. It goes without saying that no leader will have time to apply elaborate tests or give lengthy consideration when a situation on hand demands a quick decision. He should, therefore, learn to make a quick mental picture keeping the above factors in mind which, in reality, is not very difficult if he has made an attempt to understand his sub¬ordinates, individually and collectively.