Excellence Everywhere - National University of Ireland, Galway

In their model, the four styles of situationalleadership are:n Directing. This style puts a high focus on gettingtasks done and a lower focus on relationship. Whenthe person you are supervising is not yet qualifiedor is not sufficiently motivated to carry out a taskindependently, then you need to tell him or herprecisely what to do at each step. For example,you may take this approach with a technician whohas just started working in your lab and needs tolearn an important technique that he or she will bedoing routinely.n Coaching. This style puts a high focus on bothtask and relationship. You would continue to directthe actions of the person you are supervising,but would also take the time to explain decisions,solicit suggestions, and support the individual’sprofessional development. This leadership style isthe most demanding. It requires a lot of time andemotional investment on the part of the leader.For example, soon after a graduate student joinsthe lab, you may have to show him or her differenttechniques and help the student decide whichexperiments to do, but you would explain why andhow they fit in with the lab’s mission, so that overtime the student will be able to work creatively,confidently, and independently.n Supporting. This style puts a low focus on taskand a higher one on relationship. In a lab, the supervisoris likely to adopt this leadership style withmost trained scientists and experienced graduatestudents. For example, you would give a trainedscientist working in your lab the responsibility tochoose what experiments to do, but continue todiscuss what they are. You would also facilitateprogress by, for example, helping this person findsomeone to collaborate with so that he or she canget the next step of a project accomplished.n Delegating. This style puts a low focus on bothtask and relationship. You would turn over responsibilityfor decision-making and problem-solvingto an individual who has become more independent.For example, you might allow a fully trainedscientist who is doing very well in your lab totake responsibility for the day-to-day progress ofone of the lab’s projects, and to function withinthe context of that project as a fully independentresearcher.Delegating Tasks and AuthorityMany heads of laboratories are reluctant to delegatebecause they fear losing control or power.Delegation is important, because it will relieve youof some of the lab’s day-to-day responsibilities.Assigning responsibility does not lessen yourrole in the lab. It merely gives you time to handlemore tasks that suit your position than you couldif you had not passed along some of the work thatcan be done by another person. Also, delegationserves to empower and motivate the people whowork for you, and helps prepare them for theresponsibilities that will someday fall to them.In deciding whether there is something you coulddelegate, ask yourself the following questions:What am I doing now that I would like to seesomeone else do? Is there a person in the labwho is capable of handling some of what I do andwilling to take on a new responsibility? What couldI do if I had more free time? One of the tasksyou may want to consider delegating is orderingsupplies. Although you may want to continue toinvolve yourself in approving purchases, someoneelse can look up catalog numbers and fill in orderforms. If you make all of the reagents in thelab, you may be able to delegate that work to atrusted, careful worker. Other activities, such aswashing dishes or feeding research animals, couldbe passed along to less-trained individuals if youare doing these tasks yourself.Once you have decided to delegate theresponsibility for a given task, you need to:n Be sure you delegate the necessary authority withthe responsibility. You may have to explicitly tellothers, “This person is acting in my stead and mustbe given the priority and access to resources thatyou would give me if I was carrying out this workmyself.”n Give clear directions and make sure they areunderstood; keep two-way communication channelsopen.n Clearly define the responsibilities assigned to eachlab member, and make this information known toeveryone in the lab.n Once you have delegated, follow up to make surethe job is being done, without interfering with it.52 excellence everywhere