Managerial grid

Researchers at the University of Michigan also attempted to isolate the behaviors of effective leaders. Rensis Likert (1961, in Yukl, 2010) extracted two leadership styles from the University of Michigan studies: employee-oriented leaders and job-centered leaders. Job-centered leaders focus on the technical aspects that enhance productivity. Employee-centered leaders focus on the needs of employees while developing relationships [See Image 4: Leadership behavior continuum]. Likert argued that employee-oriented leaders are most effective at motivating performance. Research does not support this central assumption of the managerial grid (Yukl, 2010).

Drawing from the Michigan Studies, Robert Blake and Jane Mouton (1964) proposed a managerial grid that shows a scale between the degree to which a manager exhibits concern for people and how a manager exhibits concern for production. The grid presents 81 possible leadership styles; but the extremes closely align with those of the Ohio State studies, as follows:

Country Club Management. Country Club Management means that the leader demonstrates high concern for people but low concern for productivity. This leader pays careful attention to the needs of people and works hard to build a comfortable, friendly atmosphere with satisfying relationships—at the expense of productivity.

Authority-Obedience Management. Authority-Obedience Management means that the leader demonstrates a high concern for productivity and low concern for people. This leader focuses on building efficient operations in a way that minimizes human involvement.

Impoverished Management. Impoverished Management means that the leader demonstrates low concern for people and low concern for production. This leader exerts the minimum effort necessary to get the job done and sustain organizational membership.

Team Management. Team Management means that the leader demonstrates a high concern for people and a high concern for productivity. This leader focuses on developing people committed to interdependently working to accomplish common goals in an environment of respect and trust.

Organization Man Management. Organization Man Management falls in the middle of the grid, showing that the leader has an adequate concern for people and an adequate concern for productivity. This leader achieves satisfactory organizational performance by balancing task needs, and people needs to maintain morale at a satisfactory level.