Leadership – 5 management styles that define leadership

Leadership is defined as the art of influencing and directing people in such a way that they are able to match their vision of accomplishment with the goals of the organisation. Generally, leadership seen in the form of a quality possessed by an individual called the Leader.

After realising the essence of this tool of management, many people gave varying theories as an effort to find out the best leadership style in accordance with the objectives in mind. Managerial Grid was one of the ways of explaining the above.

This grid was first discovered and explained by Dr. Robert R. Blake and Dr. Jane Srygley Mouton in 1964. This grid is composed of alternative combination of leadership styles. It has two dimensions: Concern for production and Concern for people. A leader generally works as a combination of and within the limits of these two dimensions. Leaders are categorised into 81 possible categories out of which 5 have been explained by these two management theorists.

THE FIVE COMBINATIONS

1. Impoverished Management – Low Results/Low People (1,1)

Under this, the manager holds a very low regard for his employees and the performance of the organisation. He doesn’t focus on creating a motivating and healthy working environment for the workers. The leaders are generally indifferent and selfish. This is considered to be an inefficient leadership style.

2. Country Club Management – High People/Low Results (1, 9)

This type of leader is highly concerned about the happiness and well being of his employees. The firm has a friendly and comfortable environment. The leader believes that the workers will put in their best efforts if they are satisfied. But due to lack of direction and control the production suffers.

3. Authority-Compliance Management – High Results/Low People (9, 1)

Also known as Authoritarian, these leaders believe that human elements must not affect the productivity of the firm. All the jobs are well planned and systematically executed. The leader has strict work rules, policies, and procedures, and believes punishment to be the most effective means to motivate employees.

4. Middle-of-the-Road Management – Medium Results/Medium People (5, 5)

This style reflects a balance between both people and production. Leaders expect average output from the employees. Though it seems to be an ideal spot, it has some major drawbacks in the long run. Full exploitation of any aspect is not possible hence giving only half satisfaction to employees and a mediocre performance.

5. Team Leadership – High Production/High People (9, 9)

It is believed to be the best point on the managerial grid. There is an environment of commitment and trust among co-workers. People rely on one another and believe in team efforts. The leader has maximum concern for both production and his employees. He takes the opinions of his team into consideration and comes to a common solution.

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