Business · Book club
Management of Organizational Behavior book club questions
Here are 12 book club questions for Management of Organizational Behavior by Paul Hersey and Kenneth Blanchard, ordered to open easily and end somewhere worth arguing about. Copy them, print them, or bring them up one at a time.
Management of Organizational Behavior is the textbook that introduced Situational Leadership Theory, the model that argues there is no single best leadership style — only styles that are more or less appropriate to the development level of the person being led.
Paul Hersey and Kenneth Blanchard · 1969 · 8h 0m
Full summary and key takeaways →The 12 questions
- 1.
Think about one direct report. What is their development level on their most important current task? Are you using a matching leadership style?
- 2.
Hersey and Blanchard argue that most leaders have a dominant style they revert to under pressure. What is yours, and where does it create mismatches?
- 3.
Have you experienced a regressive cycle — a competent person losing confidence or motivation and needing more direction again? How did you handle it?
- 4.
The model separates task behavior from relationship behavior. Most managers lean toward one. Which do you lean toward, and when does that lean hurt you?
- 5.
Delegating is appropriate for high-competence, high-commitment followers. How many people in your current team qualify? What does that tell you?
- 6.
The model says development level is task-specific, not general. How does your current approach to leading people account for the fact that the same person can be at D4 on one task and D1 on another?
- 7.
Many training programs teach Situational Leadership. Have you seen it applied well in an organization? What made it work or not work?
- 8.
Over-directing capable people damages motivation. Can you identify a situation where you did this? What was the effect?
- 9.
The book draws heavily on Maslow and Herzberg. How much of mid-twentieth-century motivation theory do you find applicable to your actual workplace?
- 10.
Hersey and Blanchard distinguish leadership style from leadership effectiveness. A style is only effective when it matches the situation. How do you calibrate your effectiveness rather than just your intent?
- 11.
Is Situational Leadership still a useful model, or have knowledge work and flat organizations made it obsolete? What would you keep and what would you update?
- 12.
The model implies that leaders should move people toward self-direction. Do most organizations actually reward leaders for developing followers' autonomy, or for maintaining control?
How to run the discussion
- Pick six to eight, not all of them. An hour of real discussion covers fewer questions than anyone expects, and racing the list is what makes a book club feel like homework.
- Open with what people noticed, not what they concluded. Asking for a verdict first hardens opinions before anyone has heard each other.
- Let the disagreement run. The questions below that split a room are the ones worth the time; the ones everyone answers the same way can be skipped.
- Ask the quiet person a specific question. A direct, narrow question is far easier to answer than an open invitation to contribute.
Themes worth steering toward
If the conversation stalls, these are the threads that usually restart it.
Common questions
What are good book club questions for Management of Organizational Behavior?
Here are 12 book club questions for Management of Organizational Behavior by Paul Hersey and Kenneth Blanchard, ordered to open easily and end somewhere worth arguing about. The strongest openers ask what each reader noticed rather than what they concluded, and the discussion usually turns on leadership, management, situational judgment.
How long should a book club discussion of Management of Organizational Behavior last?
Most groups run 60 to 90 minutes of actual discussion. That is roughly six to eight questions, not all of them, so pick the ones that suit your group rather than working down the list in order.
What are the main themes in Management of Organizational Behavior?
Leadership, Management, Situational judgment, Organizational behavior, Motivation. Those are the threads most likely to divide a room, which makes them the useful places to steer a discussion that has gone quiet.
Picking the next one? See books like Management of Organizational Behavior or questions for other book club picks.
