Through a case study, I address the position that academic advising can be viewed as a developmental process. I present my specific experiences in applying Hersey and Blanchard's model of situational leadership (1969) during academic advising sessions. The model demonstrates that effective leadership is based on the appropriate balance of a leader's task and relationship behaviors. The leader's emphasis of either the task or the relationship behavior depends on the maturity or readiness of the follower. (Contains 1 figure.)