Understanding Managerial Grid Model and Leadership Styles

Managerial Grid

The treatment of task orientation and people orientation as two independent dimensions was a major step in leadership studies. Many of the leadership studies conducted in the 1950s at the University of Michigan and the Ohio State University focused on these two dimensions.

Five resulting leadership styles are as follows:

1.Impoverished Management: Managers with this approach are low on both the dimensions and exercise minimum effort to get the work done from subordinates. The leader has low concern for employee satisfaction and work deadlines, resulting in disharmony and disorganization within the organization.

2.Task Management: Also called dictatorial or perish style. Here leaders are more concerned about production and have less concern for people. The style is based on theory X of McGregor. The employees' needs are not taken care of, and they are simply a means to an end. The leader believes that efficiency can result only through proper organization of work systems and through the elimination of people wherever possible. Such a style can increase the output of the organization in the short run, but due to the strict policies and procedures, high labor turnover is inevitable.

3.Middle-of-the-Road: This is basically a compromising style wherein the leader tries to maintain a balance between the goals of the company and the needs of people. The leader does not push the boundaries of achievement, resulting in average performance for the organization. Here neither employee nor production needs are fully met.

4.Country Club: This is a collegial style characterized by low task and high people orientation where the leader gives thoughtful attention to the needs of people, thus providing them with a friendly and comfortable environment. The leader feels that such treatment with employees will lead to self-motivation and will find people working hard on their own. However, a low focus on tasks can hamper production and lead to questionable results.

5.Team Management: Characterized by high people and task focus, the style is based on the theory Y of McGregor and has been termed as the most effective style according to Blake and Mouton. The leader feels that empowerment, commitment, trust, and respect are the key elements in creating a team atmosphere which will automatically result in high employee satisfaction and production.

7 Key Behaviors Associated with the Managerial Grid Model

Forms of Organizational Structure: Line, Functional, and Line and Staff Organization