Blake and Mouton's Managerial Grid
Production vs. People Focus - What's Your Managerial Style?
May 24, 2009
During the course of an average working day or week, a manager has many opportunities to interact with staff and directly change the course of their work or the work of the organisation. The manager/staff interaction can result in productivity increases or decreases and changing levels of morale, which if morale is decreasing as a result of the manager's style, can lead to increased staff turnover.
The Managerial Grid, devised by Blake and Moulton is a way to identify whether a manager has a high focus on people to the detriment of results or whether the manager focuses solely on results or is somewhere in between the two ends of the spectrum. A Manager's style can be classified as one of seven types in the Managerial Grid, specified as a score for "Concern for People" and a score for "Concern for Results."
Controlling (9,1) Managerial Style
The Controlling Manager scores high on "Concern for Results" and low on "Concern for People." These types of managers tend to be dominating and do not allow staff to offer suggestions or comments. They are it's my way or the highway type managers.
Accommodating (1,9) Managerial Style
Accommodating managers score high on "Concern for People" and low on "Concern for Results" and seek harmony and focus on the positive.
Status Quo (5,5) Managerial Style
Status quo managers are middle of the road with the same scores on both "Concern for People" and "Concern for Results." This managerial style is happy to endorse popular options but is not a risk taker and is open to ensuring that decisions are acceptable to the team.
Indifferent (1,1) Managerial Style
Indifferent managers care little for either people or results with low scores on both the "Concern for People" and the "Concern for Results" scales. These types of managers will exert the least amount of effort in order to meet work deadlines.
PAT (Paternalistic) Managerial Style
Paternalistic managers act like the head of the family, by determining pathways for staff and providing encouragement to those staff members who support their thinking. However paternalistic managers actively discourage any challenges to their way of doing things or suggestions that their answers may be wrong.
OPP (Opportunistic) Managerial Style
Opportunistic managers are out to get the best deal for themselves and will offer people sweeteners along the way in order to gain their support. Managers in this style can be chameleon-like and open to trying anything in order to gain an advantage.
Sound (9,9) Managerial Style
Scoring high on both the "Concern for People" and the "Concern for Results" scales are the Sound Managers. Valuing the concept of a team, sound managers work to deliver the required productivity results from committed staff. Sound managers focus on the interdependence of the relationship and focus on building trust, respect and commitment.
Each managerial style listed above has its own positives and negatives, however Blake and Mouton advocate that the Sound (9,9) style of management is the best way to manage. Sound (9,9) management moves beyond simply supervising staff and setting tasks but also develops the leadership skills of both manager and staff member.
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