Leadership frameworks are built to be teachable, which means they are simplified. That simplification is not a flaw during stable conditions. It becomes a serious problem when the organisation is under real pressure.

Situational Leadership in Practice

The Hersey and Blanchard model asks leaders to assess an employee's development level and adjust their style accordingly. In theory this is reasonable. In practice, leaders under stress default to one style regardless of the model, and the assessment of development level is often contaminated by the leader's own frustration with the employee. The framework does not account for this.

OKRs Applied Without Adequate Context

OKRs work well in organisations with mature goal-setting cultures. In organisations where teams do not trust leadership intent, OKRs become a performance compliance exercise. The numbers get hit, the actual problems do not get addressed, and the framework is blamed rather than the underlying trust deficit.

Servant Leadership Misread as Conflict Avoidance

Servant leadership is frequently interpreted by struggling leaders as a reason to avoid difficult decisions. The original framing from Robert Greenleaf is about prioritising team development and removing obstacles, not about deferring every uncomfortable call. This misreading is common and consequential.

  1. Framework: Situational Leadership - Gap: Assumes accurate self-awareness under stress
  2. Framework: OKRs - Gap: Assumes baseline psychological safety
  3. Framework: Servant Leadership - Gap: Frequently misapplied to avoid accountability