There is no single best way to lead a team. The same manager who crushes it with seasoned engineers can fall apart with a junior crew. A guide published by reed.co.uk breaks leadership down into four practical styles drawn from the Situational Leadership II model, and pairs each one with the kind of employee it actually fits.
The point is not to pick a lane. The point is to read the room, then adjust.
Quick take
- Telling: Direct, hands-on guidance for inexperienced team members.
- Selling: Coaching plus motivation, best for reluctant employees who have the skills.
- Participating: Shared decisions, suited to capable people who lack confidence.
- Delegating: Hands-off oversight for self-driven experts.
The four styles, in plain English
According to reed.co.uk's breakdown, the Telling style is about clear instructions, close supervision, and well-defined processes. It works when someone is new to a task and needs the steps laid out for them. Think first-week onboarding, or a junior hire learning a brand-new system.
The Selling style still directs, but layers on the why. Managers coach and persuade, walking the person through both the task and the bigger picture. Reed.co.uk flags this as the right fit for employees who can do the work but seem unmotivated, defensive, or skeptical of the goal.
The Participating style flips the dynamic. The manager collaborates and supports instead of dictating. Decisions get made together. This is the right mode for competent people who hesitate to act on their own judgement.
The Delegating style hands the wheel over. The manager sets the goal and the outcome, then steps back. This works only with people who are skilled, motivated, and resourceful enough to find their own path.
Our analysis
The model is useful precisely because it refuses to crown a winner. Too many leadership guides quietly assume one style rules them all, then blame the manager when the team underperforms. Situational leadership treats style as a tool you switch based on the person in front of you, which matches how experienced managers actually operate.
The trade-off is cognitive load. Reading four people at once and matching each to the right mode is harder than picking one default and forcing the team to adapt. New managers will struggle most, since the model rewards pattern recognition built over years.
The model also assumes a manager has real authority over workload and goals. In matrixed organisations, dotted-line bosses often cannot, and the framework feels academic. Even so, the underlying instinct, calibrate your involvement to the person's competence and confidence, travels well beyond the formal model.
"Selling" and "Participating" sound similar and get confused. Selling still leans on the manager's judgement. Participating genuinely shares the decision. Conflating the two is a common way managers accidentally end up micromanaging while telling themselves they are being collaborative.
A worked example
Say you run a small team of five. Two are brand-new and still learning the tools. One is technically excellent but tends to disappear when deadlines shift. One mid-level person second-guesses every draft. One senior IC has been doing the job longer than you have.
The two new hires get Telling, with clear written checklists and weekly check-ins. The reluctant skilled one gets Selling, with one-on-ones that connect the work to outcomes the person cares about. The mid-level over-thinker gets Participating, with shared decision-making and visible trust. The senior IC gets Delegating, a quarterly goal, and space. Same manager, four different playbooks, all in the same week.
Bottom line
The best leadership style is the one that fits the person in front of you. Learn the four modes, then get out of the way of the people who do not need you, and get closer to the people who do. Watch for the trap of defaulting to whichever style feels most natural to you personally, since comfort and effectiveness are not the same thing.
Key takeaways
- Diagnose competence and confidence before you choose how much to direct.
- Telling for the new, Selling for the reluctant, Participating for the hesitant, Delegating for the proven.
- Revisit your style every quarter, because people grow and the old playbook stops fitting.
- The biggest mistake is using one style for everyone on the team.
Frequently asked questions
Which leadership style is the most effective?
None on its own. Effectiveness depends on matching the style to the team member's competence and confidence, which is the core idea behind situational leadership.
Can I switch styles mid-conversation?
Yes. Skilled managers shift between Selling and Participating within the same meeting, especially when someone's energy or pushback changes.
What if my team is fully remote?
The same four modes apply, but Telling and Participating tend to require more written structure, since casual drop-ins are rarer. Async updates and short check-ins replace hallway conversations.
Is situational leadership only for people with direct reports?
No. The same logic applies when you lead a project, mentor a peer, or coordinate cross-functional work without formal authority.