Both of the above questions are reflected in two acclaimed contingency theories of the 1960s and 1970s. Hersey and Blanchard’s Situational Leadership Theory (Hersey, Blanchard & Johnson, 2008) posits that the leader needs to change leadership style according to the situation, in particular the maturity of co-workers – moving from a more ‘telling style’ to a ‘laissez-faire’ approach as the co-workers mature.