Hersey & Blanchard's model, built for the front line and the front office. Explore the four styles, then step into real hotel scenarios to practice reading a situation and responding to it correctly.
The right way to lead you depends on how ready you are for the specific task in front of you — not on your title, and not on your supervisor's habits. Knowing this model helps you understand what kind of support to expect, and to ask for it directly.
The right way to lead them depends on how ready they are for the specific task in front of you — not on your personal preference or default style. Your job is to diagnose readiness first, then choose the style that matches it.
Developed by Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard, the model rests on two dimensions: task behaviour — how much direction is given — and relationship behaviour — how much support is given. You don't lead a Front Office trainee on day one the same way you lead a senior Guest Service Agent who's covered a thousand check-ins. Same department, same title — a completely different approach.
Hover a card for the full description · hover a row below to see how readiness maps to style
Readiness (D1–D4) combines two things: ability (can they do the task?) and willingness or confidence (do they want to / believe they can?). Hover a row to highlight the matching style above.
| Readiness | What it looks like | What they need |
|---|---|---|
| D1 | Enthusiastic but unable | Clear step-by-step direction |
| D2 | Some skill, low confidence | Direction plus explanation |
| D3 | Capable but hesitant | Encouragement, not instructions |
| D4 | Fully capable, self-driven | Autonomy and trust |
Getting more direction than you need feels like micromanagement and kills motivation. Getting less direction than you need feels like abandonment and leads to mistakes. If what you're getting doesn't match what you need, it's fair to say so.
Using the same style on everyone. Over-directing a D4 senior staff member feels like micromanagement and kills motivation. Under-directing a D1 new hire feels like abandonment and causes mistakes.
"Don't lead the role. Lead the person. A new hire needs your instructions. Your best performer needs your trust. Give either one the wrong thing, and you lose them."
Read each hotel situation, put yourself in it, and choose what you should reasonably expect or ask for from your supervisor. There's no score kept — this is just practice.
Read each hotel situation, diagnose the team member's readiness level, and choose the leadership style that fits. There's no score kept — this is just practice.