The Leadership Grid Model & Its Application By Bruce Kastner MGMT500PA – Organizational Behavior & Human Resource Management  February 10, 2013 Dr. Marci Johnson Southwestern College Professional Studies Good day! I am Bruce Kastner from Group 1 and we conducted our research on the Leadership Grid Model. This presentation is intended to discuss an overview of the leadership grid model and application of the model into my professional life.

The Leadership Grid Model & Its Application Introduction to the Leadership Grid Model The leadership grid was developed by Blake and Mouton. They based their model on two interdependent variables. Concern for people, and concern for results or production. When placed on a grid and coordinates are assigned to each axis, a leadership model begins to form. The first coordinate to note is 9,1 labeled “Authority,” which refers to compliance management or task management. An example of the “Compliance Manager” could easily be a manager who is focused on producing statistics, and meeting those numbers by actions. These types of leaders stress the importance of results while expressing a minimum concern for the people who produce those results. Employees are viewed as tools to achieve a goal. This type of leader is overbearing, controlling, and coercive when dealing with subordinates. The second coordinate corresponds to the type of leader that is referred to as a “Country Club Manager,” coordinate 1,9 on the grid. This type of manager listens to his employees’ needs. In the manager’s eyes, this will lead to happy, more productive people. The negative side to this style of leadership is that the leader lacks focus on accomplishing the task. The “Country Club Manager” uses a form of democracy to make decisions, and is regarded as ineffective when it comes to motivating workers to complete a task or goal. The third coordinate, 1,1, is titled the “Impoverished Leader”. This type of manager is someone who does not give much effort to the situation and allows the minimum actions to complete the job to take place. Leaders from this coordinate typically obtain this position through attrition. In other words, they waited for their turn to lead, instead of seeking a leadership position. These leaders tend to go through the motions of what they feel a leader should do. They are less involved with the task, do not commit to ideas, and adopt a laissez faire leadership philosophy. The fourth, the “Middle of the Road Manager” is someone who has a correct level of balance between job performance and keeping employees happy. This style of leadership corresponds to coordinate 5,5 on the grid. The “Middle of the Road Manager strives to achieve a balance between relationships and achieving results, accomplished through group compromise. The potential downside to this style of leadership is that by avoiding conflict, these managers tend to miss out on opportunities to drive creative thought and team development. The final coordinate to be discussed, 9,9, is the “Team Manager”. Blake and Mouton contend that the 9,9 leader is the most effective leadership style for any situation. This leadership style is characterized by a vested interest in the company.

The Leadership Grid Model & Its Application Professional Application What must be done as an organizational leader What must be done as an organizational follower What must be done from the organizational perspective With a general knowledge of the leadership grid we can synthesis its application into three areas applicable to my current profession. At various times throughout our professional lives we are either leaders or followers. Both have an integral role on the success of an organization. Lets first look at the role of leadership. Leaders: Being in the military the term “leader” is used no less than 100 times per day. When it is our time to lead, we must act with concern for both our people and the task. Without people, the task doesn’t get done. Without task accomplishment, the people are worthless. By showing the utmost concern for both, military leaders will succeed in mission accomplishment. We have all heard the expression, “too many cooks spoil the meal”. Well, leadership is the same way. There are also times when we are required to follow instead of lead. When it’s our turn to follow, we must know how to be an effective follower and support our leader. Followers: Followership traits are very important for a leader to understand. It’s’ part of understanding people and being genuinely concerned for them. As followers, we need to understand the leaders role and be certain to allow them the opportunity to “see” what's going on inside the team. If leaders are enabled by the followers, they can better assess the team needs and adapt their leadership style to match. Being a good follower is just as important to being a good leader. Both are required for organizational task accomplishment. Organizational perspective: From the view of the organization as a whole, we must understand how both leaders and followers interact. This interaction is how the mission gets done. Concern for both the people and task are interrelated and cannot be separated. Without one, the other will surly fail.

The Leadership Grid Model & Its Application Summary Leadership Readiness Leader provides for team needs! Team Readiness Teams form to perform! Organizational Success Organizations move forward! The Leadership grid has been used by many to understand how leaders achieve organizational objectives through production and concern for people. This presentation has discussed the Leadership Grid Model and it application to the profession of arms in the United States military. Leadership is a process and the leadership grid is one model that helps us understand how actions as leader affect the group, organization, and task being accomplished.

The Leadership Grid Model & Its Application References Hersey, P. H., Blanchard, K. H., & Johnson, D. E. (2012). Management of organizational behavior: Leading human resources, 115. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Figure 1. The Leadership Grid Coordinates retrieved February 3, 2013 from http://www.mbaknol.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Leadership-Grid mbaknol.jpg   Figure 2. The Leadership Grid by Leadership Style retrieved February 3, 2013 from http://www.mbaknol.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Blake- Mouton-Grid-mbaknol1.jpg