This Week’s Focus Point
By Dr. Jason Carthen
Many of you know that I have a passion for health and fitness. Recently, my wife and I ran a marathon and the experience will remain with me for a long time due to what I learned during the process.
Adapt Situationally to Complete the Task
While the race began simply enough, I quickly realized after the first mile that I needed to readjust my thinking and my preparation next time! There were some portions of the course that were hilly and there were some sections that required more effort than others. I had trained on strictly flat surfaces and a straight path leading up to the marathon…bad move. At the final mile, there was a finishing hill that you had to conquer in order to complete the race and it was at this point that I realized you must situationally adapt to what is required for the task at hand.
Assessing Followers’ Growth and Development
Hersey and Blanchard’s theory of Situational Leadership suggests that if we do not properly assess where followers are in their growth and development, they will most likely not complete the task or worse…fail. As leaders, we are responsible for making sure that our followers are equipped and feel confident about moving forward. As shared in the story, if you fail to properly prepare, then when the test or task comes, you may falter.
What are some good examples of how leaders can prepare their followers for the task at hand?