Situational Leadership

“Leadership is not about being in charge, leadership is about taking care of those in your charge.” - Simon Sinek

In our Situational Leadership event, Executive Coach and Strategy Partner Oya Günay was our guest. She started by telling us that leadership has undergone a great change, especially in the current century, and shared with us the words above of Simon Sinek, who also frequently takes part in her coaching activities, and summarized what is expected from leadership.

Leadership is not position-dependent in today's world and we are faced with a leadership situation in every field. This leadership is based on empathy and motivation together with the ability to manage people.

Mrs. Günay added that the old goal of achieving the same results by treating everyone the same has turned into ensuring that everyone is at full capacity. There is a difference between treating everyone the same and being equal.

She supported this argument by pointing to the fact that in the globalizing world, differences between emotional skills as well as physical skills stand out. Therefore each individual should be led with the awareness that they are different and they have different needs.

Mrs. Günay stated that there are four different leadership styles concerning situational leadership, which she defines as leadership unique to the 21st century:

1. Expert Leader: Tells her team what to do and answers their questions. Iif the group of people we manage is not competent and needs to be managed in multiple areas, then we should be in the position of the expert leader.
2. Delegate Leader: Discovers what their teams profession is and supports them by giving them confidence. This type of leader knows that delegating and trusting her team members doesn’t mean she isn’t leading them. Ms. Günay also added that it is very important to get feedback from Delegate Leaders at regular intervals.
3. Supporting Leader: Understands the other person well, and asks herself "How should I act, so that she feels more motivated?" Stating that it is important to develop methods according to the person by asking the question, Mrs. Günay added that the feeling of empathy stands out even more in this type of leadership.
4. Coaching Leader: Aims to make her team members think and find her own ways. This type of leaders speaks less and provides the necessary environment for her team members, allowing them to produce ideas and realize them/

Those who can blend these four leadership styles well, stand out as good leaders today. Situational leadership is the application of these four different leadership types in different situations.

We would like to thank Mrs. Günay for her information and contributions.