Coach the Task, Not the Person
Diagnose competence and commitment for a specific task before choosing a leadership style.
Readiness lives at the intersection of person and task. Situational Leadership and SLII warn against treating readiness as a personality label. A person can be experienced in one task and a beginner in another. The useful diagnosis is task-specific: how much competence does this person have for this exact assignment, and how much commitment or confidence do they have right now? That diagnosis determines whether the leader should direct, coach, support, or delegate. The mechanism is fit. Too much direction for a capable person feels controlling and slows growth. Too much autonomy for a new task feels like abandonment and…
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