Chapter 4 -Style Approach

Style Approach

Leadership
Theory and Practice, 3/e
Peter G. Northouse, Ph.D.

William Allan Kritsonis, PhD

Presenter

SAGE Publications 2003 Jan Krieger 1

Chapter 4 -Style Approach

Overview
Style Approach Perspective
Ohio State Studies
University of Michigan Studies
Blake & Moutons Leadership Grid
How Does the Style Approach Work?

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Chapter 4 -Style Approach

Style Approach Description

Perspective Definition

Leader-focused Comprised of Two

Kinds of Behaviors
perspective
Task behaviors
Emphasis on Facilitate goal
what leaders do accomplishment
Relationship behaviors
and how they act Help subordinates feel
comfortable with
themselves, each other,
and the situation

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Chapter 4 -Style Approach

Ohio State Studies

Leadership Behavior Description Questionnaire (LBDQ)
Identify number of times leaders engaged in specific behaviors
150 questions
Participant settings (military, industrial, educational)
Results
Particular clusters of behaviors were typical of leaders
LBDQ-XII (Stogdill, 1963)
Most widely used leadership assessment instrument
Results - Two distinct, independent behaviors conceptualized
along separate continua
Leaders provide structure for subordinates
Leaders nurture subordinates

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Chapter 4 -Style Approach

University of Michigan Studies

Exploring leadership behavior
Specific emphasis on impact of leadership behavior on
performance of small groups
Results - Two types of leadership behaviors
conceptualized along a single continuum
Employee orientation
Strong human relations emphasis
Production orientation
Stresses the technical aspects of a job
Later studies reconceptualized as two independent leadership
orientations

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Chapter 4 -Style Approach

Blake & Moutons

Leadership Grid
Historical Perspective
Leadership Grid Components
Authority-Compliance (9,1)
Country Club Management (1,9)
Impoverished Management (1,1)
Middle-of-the-Road Management (5,5)
Team Management (9,9)
Opportunism
Paternalism/Maternalism (1, 9; 9,1)
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Chapter 4 -Style Approach

Historical Perspective
Blake & Mouton Leadership Grid
Development Purpose
Developed in early Designed to explain how leaders
1960s help organizations to reach
Used extensively in their purposes
organizational training Two factors
& development Concern for production
How a leader is concerned with
achieving organizational tasks
Concern for people
How a leader attends to the
members of the organization
who are trying to achieve its
goals

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 Chapter 4 -Style Approach

The Leadership Grid

High
9 1, 9 9, 9
8 Country Club Management Team Management
Concern for People

7
6
5 5, 5
4 Middle-of-the-Road

3
2 Impoverished Management Authority-Compliance Mgmt

1 1, 1 9, 1
Low
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Low High
Concern for Results
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Chapter 4 -Style Approach

Authority-Compliance (9,1)
Definition Role Focus
Efficiency in operations More emphasis on task and
results from arranging job requirements and less
conditions of work such emphasis on people
that human interference Communicating with
is minimal subordinates outside task
instructions not emphasized
Results driven; People
regarded as tools to that end

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Chapter 4 -Style Approach

Country Club (1,9)

Definition Role Focus
Thoughtful attention to Low concern for task
the needs of people accomplishment coupled with
leads to a comfortable, high concern for interpersonal
friendly organization relationships
atmosphere and work De-emphasizes production;
tempo leaders stress the attitudes
and feelings of people
Positive climate fostered by
being agreeable, eager to help,
comforting, noncontroversial

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Chapter 4 -Style Approach

Impoverished (1,1)
Definition Role Focus
Minimal effort exerted Leader unconcerned with both
to get work done is task and interpersonal
appropriate to sustain relationships
organizational Going through the motions,
membership but uninvolved and
withdrawn
Have little contact with
followers and are described as
indifferent, noncommittal,
resigned, and apathetic

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Chapter 4 -Style Approach

Middle-of-the-Road (5,5)
Definition Role Focus
Adequate organizational Leaders who are compromisers;
performance possible have intermediate concern for
through balancing the task and people
necessity of getting work To achieve equilibrium, leader
done while maintaining avoids conflict while
satisfactory morale emphasizing moderate levels of
production and interpersonal
relationships
Described as expedient; prefers
the middle ground, soft-pedals
disagreement

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Chapter 4 -Style Approach
Team (9,9)
Definition
Work accomplished
through committed people;
interdependence via a
common stake in the
organizations purpose,
which leads to relationships
of trust and respect
SAGE Publications
Role Focus
Strong emphasis on both tasks
and interpersonal
relationships
Promotes high degree of
participation and teamwork
Leader stimulates
participation, acts
determined, makes priorities
clear, follows through, etc.
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Chapter 4 -Style Approach
Hybrids
Opportunism
Definition Role Focus
People adapt and shift Performance occurs according
to any grid style needed to a system of selfish gain
to gain maximum Leader uses any combination
advantage of the basic five styles for the
purpose of personal
advancement
Leader usually has a dominant
grid style and a backup style
that is reverted to under
pressure

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Chapter 4 -Style Approach
Hybrids
Paternalism/Maternalism
Definition Role Focus
Reward and approval Leaders who use both 1,9 and
are bestowed on people 9,1 without integrating the two
in return for loyalty and The benevolent dictator; acts
obedience; failure to gracious for purpose of goal
comply leads to accomplishment
punishment Treats people as though they
were disassociated from the
task

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Chapter 4 -Style Approach

How Does the

Style Approach
Work?
Focus of Style Approach
Strengths
Criticisms
Application

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Chapter 4 -Style Approach

Style Approach
Focus Overall Scope

Primarily a framework Offers a means of

for assessing generally assessing the
leadership in a broad behaviors of leaders
way as behavior with a
task and relationship
dimension

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Chapter 4 -Style Approach

Strengths
Style Approach marked a major shift in leadership research from
exclusively trait focused to include behaviors and actions of leaders
Broad range of studies on leadership style validates and gives
credibility to the basic tenets of the approach
At conceptual level, a leaders style is composed of two major
types of behaviors: task and relationship
Based on style approach, leaders can assess their actions and
determine how to change to improve their leadership style

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Chapter 4 -Style Approach

Criticisms
Research has not adequately demonstrated how leaders
styles are associated with performance outcomes
No universal style of leadership that could be effective
in most situations
Implies that the most effective leadership style is High-
High style (i.e., high task/high relationship); research
finding support is limited

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Chapter 4 -Style Approach

Application
Many leadership training and
development programs are designed
along the lines of the style approach.
By assessing their own style, managers
can determine how they are perceived by
others and how they could change their
behaviors to become more effective.

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