Blake-Mouton Managerial Grid

Abstract

Leadership skills involve the ability to lead, guide, motivate and direct a project team. In project management the terms leader and manager are often interchanged and it requires elements of both to succeed in project management. The project manager plays a critical role of leading a team to achieve the objectives of a project. He provides the team with leadership, planning and coordination through communication. To understand leadership, it is vital to focus not only on the leader, but on the team as a whole. Leadership a productive field of study, with many theories reaching back decades. Thoughts on leadership and the ideal characteristics of a leader have evolved through time, but many of the thoughts have passed the test of time.

In the 1950’s and early 1960’s Robert Blake and Jane Mouton developed the Managerial Grid as it was the outcome of their research for Exxon, where they worked towards improved leader effectiveness. It was developed with influence from the work of Fleishman, using attitudinal dimensions rather than behavioural, like Fleishman used. Blake and Mouton were humanists and wanted to represent the benefits of Theories X and Y, the work of Douglas McGregor.

The Managerial Grid is a 9x9 matrix and it quantifies the degree to which the emphasis is on tasks and the emphasis is on the relationship with the subordinates, with Concern for Production as the x-axis of the matrix and Concern for People as the y-axis. Blake and Mouton labelled and characterised the extreme corners as well as the centre of the matrix. The Managerial Grid is a widely accepted as an important and critical analysis of the behaviour of a leader. Its simplicity captures vital truths about management styles and implications. The following consists of what is needed to know about the Managerial Grid, the application of it, how and when to use it as well as its limitations.

Application

Initiative
A	I put out enough to get by.
B	I initiate action the help and support other.
C	I seek to maintain a steady pace.
D	I drive myself and others.
E	I stress loyalty and extend appreciation to those who support me.
F	I exert much effort and on other to join in enthusiastically.
Inquiry
A	I go along with facts, beliefs, and positions given to me.
B	I look for facts, beliefs and positions that suggest all is well. I don’t like challenging others.
C	I take things at face value but check facts, beliefs and positions, if critical.
D	I investigate facts, beliefs and positions, to control and so nobody makes mistakes.
E	I double-check what others say and verify their positions before complimenting.
F	I search for-and validate information. I and inviting and listen for others’ opinions and acknowledge them
Advocacy
A	I respond if asked, but avoid taking sides by not revealing my opinions, attitudes or ideas.
B	Even having some reservations I embrace opinions, attitudes and ideas of others.
C	I try to meet others halfway and express my opinions, attitudes and ideas.
D	I stand up for my opinions, attitudes and ideas, even if it means rejecting others.
E	I hold strong convictions but let others express ideas to help them think objectively.
F	I tell my convictions and concerns but if others’ idea is sounder, I acknowledge it.
Conflict Resolution
A	I seek to stay out of conflict by remaining neutral.
B	I avoid conflicts but if they appear, I keep people together by soothing feelings.
C	I try to find a reasonable position that others find suitable, when a conflict arises.
D	I try to cut off a conflict if it arises or try to win my position.
E	I terminate conflicts when they arise but thank people for expressing their mind.
F	I seek out reasons for conflicts, to resolve possible underlying causes of it.
Decision Making
A	I let others make decisions.
B	I make decisions that maintain relations and encourage others to make decisions.
C	I search for decisions that other accept.
D	I am seldom influenced by other and I make my own decisions.
E	I make an effort so that my decisions are accepted, and I must have the final say.
F	I seek understanding and agreement of others, as I feel it is important to arrive at a sound decision.
Critique
A	I avoid giving feedback.
B	I avoid giving negative feedback but give encouragement given opportunity.
C	I give indirect feedback as a suggestion for improvement.
D	I pinpoint weakness to measure up.
E	I give others feedback and consider that it is for their best interest to accept it.
F	I encourage a two-way feedback in order to strengthen performance.

Annotated bibliography

The following are the main resources used for the construction of this article, and can provide basis for further and deeper studies on the topic.

1. Blake, R, and Mouton, J. (1985). The Managerial Grid III: The Key to Leadership Excellence. Houston: Gulf Publishing Company.

This is the third edition of the book that Robert Blake and Jane Mouton wrote about the Managerial Grid. The book discusses the Grid in great details. It presents the Grid framework, the five different leadership styles and examinates the 9.9 orientation in great depth. The three additional leadership theories are discussed as well as how the Grid can be used to increase organizational effectiveness in a company. In addition, there is a conceptual analysis of current leadership theories as well as a research evaluating the validity of the 9.9 orientation.

2. Molloy, P. (1998). A Review of the Managerial Grid Model of Leadership and its Role as a Model of Leadership Culture. Aquarius Consulting.

This article provides a more critical perspective of the Managerial Grid, other than what is displayed in the original book, as might be expected as it is written by the developers of the Grid. The Grid is described in a pretty detailed way, but the main focus of the article is to show the Grid as a OD process and as a model of leadership culture. The Grid is tested, with the main focus being on the longitudinally on Grid OD as a process.

3. Blake, R, and Mouton, J. (1981). The Versatile Manager: The Grid Profile. Homewood, Ill. : R.D. Irwin.

This book is about the dilemma of managerial leadership, and it identifies behavioural principles that underlie organizational effectiveness and how to put them into use. It shows the Grid in detail, but it also describes in depth how important healthy communication is, especially with the subordinates. In addition, it deals with conflicts, confrontations and responsibilities, in a team setting and shared participation in general. Versatility refers to the capacity of a manager to solve a wide range of dilemmas, either regarding production or people, in a sound way.