Leadership Ideas: BLAKE AND MOUTON'S GRID THEORY

BLAKE AND MOUTON'S GRID THEORY

Blake and Mouton (1964) integrated the ideas of task and relationship orientations into a grid with five main styles. It is based on the concept that leaders vary from 1 to 9 in their concern for people (relationships) and their concern for getting things done (tasks).

9,1: Authority-Obedience

The leader's maximum concern is for task completion and is combined with a minimum concern for people (i.e., dictating to followers what they should do and how they should do it, the leader concentrates on maximizing the things to get done).

1,9: "Country Club" Managment

The leader shows a minimum concern for getting tasks completed, but a maximum concern for people (i.e., even at the expense of achieving results, fostering good feelings gets primary attention).

1,1: Impoverished Management

The leader has a minimum concern for both production and people and puts forth only the least effort required to remain in the organization.

5,5: "Organization Man" Management

The leader goes along to get along, which results in conformity to the status quo.

9,9: Team Management

The leader integrates the concern for production and the concern for people at a high level; is goal centered; and seeks results through the participation, involvement and commitment of all those who can contribute.

(This style can take the form of paternalism if the leader fails to integrate the concerns of tasks and people and the two are kept in logic-tight compartments. Paternalism occurs, for example, when the leader expresses a strong concern for the well-being of followers but does not consider their contributions to the tasks being completed. They care as fathers (or mothers) for dependent subordinates from whom they expect unconditional loyalty.)

Opportunistic leaders use several styles interchangeably, depending on the persons with whom they are dealing. Sometimes leaders masquerade as 9,9s when they are really paternalists or opportunist hiding behind facades. The leader's style is likely to be backed up by other styles. Thus, the 1,9 leader may begin a meeting in casual, but friendly way, but quickly become tough and no-nonsense, 9,1 which is his or her dominant style.

Blake and Mouton prescribe the 9,9 orientation because it involves participation, openness, trust and respect, involvement and commitment, consensus, and mutual support. The researchers reported that prior to a seminar, 69% of the managers reported themselves as 9,9. But after the seminar only 16% believed they were 9,9. In a study of 716 managers, they found that 9,9-oriented managers were more likely to advance further in their careers. The authors believe that a 9,9 style of team-management characterized the leadership of the twentieth century U.S. presidents who had performed with greatness. They determined this by analyzing contemporary writings about the president's different ways of decision making, exercising initiatives, analyzing problems, etc.

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Send questions about this website to Denise Davies at ddavies@ag.arizona.edu. For course information or questions not included in these pages contact Dr. James Knight. Copyright (c) 1998 Department of Agricultural Education, The University of Arizona. Website version 1.2, last updated on Thursday, August 16, 2001.