According to the Situational Leadership Model, an employee starts their position or job at maturity level 1 (M1) and ideally continues their development until they reach maturity level 4 (M4). These stages are often referred to in diagrams of the model as S1 through S4; the ‘S’ refers to the style of the manager that is the best fit for the employee’s level.  Depending on the employee’s situation, a supervisor should take a more or less task-oriented and/or relationship-oriented approach for the best results.

A graphic representation of the Situational Leadership Model follows below: