The managerial grid
A particular approach to the idea of leadership style is provided by ROBERT R. Blake and JANE S. Mouton. Blake and mouton managerial grid will be showed in the figure below reflect a theme that is common in many approach to leadership. That theme is that effective leadership requires attention to both task and people. We saw the theme in the Ohio state leader behavior dimensions of initiating structure and considerations. Likert also develops this theme in his theme research when he discusses job centered and employees centered supervision.
The 9.9 style represents the best of both world’s high concern for people and high concern for production. It is not always the best style, however, because the particular leader follower situation interaction may require something less than 9.9 styles.
THE LEADERSHIP STYLE
Autocratic Democratic Laissez-faire
1.All determination of policy by the leader. 1.all policies a matter of group discussion and decision, encouraged and assisted by the leader. 1. complete freedom for group or individual decision, with a minimum of leader participation.
2. Techniques and activity steps dictated by authority, one at a time, so the future steps were always uncertain to a large degree. 2. activity perspective gained during discussion period. General steps to group goal sketched, and where technical advice is needed, the leader suggests two or more alternative procedures from which choice can be made. 2.various materials supplied by the leader who makes it clear that he or she would supply information when asked. Takes little part in work discussion.
3. The leader usually dictates the particular work task and work companion of each member. 3.The members are free to work whomever they c...
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...ers. He found that “supervisors with the best records of performance focus on their primary attention on the human aspects of their subordinate’s problems and on endeavoring to build effective work groups with high performance goals.”
These supervisors were called “employee-centered.” Other supervisors who kept constant pressure on production were called “job-centered” and were found more often to have low producing sections.
Likert also discovered that high producing supervisors “make clear to their subordinates what the objectives are and what needs to be accomplished and then give them freedom to do the job.” Thus, he found that general rather than close supervision tended to be associated with high productivity.
The implication throughout Likert’s writings is that the ideal and most productive leader behavior for industry is employee-centered or democratic.
Introduction What does it mean to be an effective supervisor? Before taking this class, I thought that if a supervisor is able get their employees to work effectively, and efficiently, then the person is an effective supervisor. I didn’t realize until taking this class that supervisors do so much more. After learning more about the other tasks supervisors do like planning, being effective listeners, and motivating employees, I have a better understanding of effective supervision. I am aware that I have had supervisory experiences.
This paper has summarized some prominent studies about leadership styles. Before understanding the styles which I may choose to practice, extensive studies on various leadership theories and approaches have been carried out. After conducting this research paper, I believe that there is no one-size-fits-all style for leadership. Lewin’s Model and Belbin’s Team Role Model have extended my knowledge and they have encouraged me to learn to assume different roles or styles in different possible situations. Therefore, I can get acquainted more easily to carrying out teamwork in my future job.
There are many other traits that earmark a good supervisor; for instance setting a “good example,” being efficient, thorough, and dedicated. “Flexibility” is also important. It is necessary to provide employees with “training and feedback.” A good supervisor is “consistent and fair.” A good supervisor also provides his staff with “recognition for a job well done” (Merit, 1998, p.1).
Rue, L., Byars, L. (2010). Supervision: Key link to productivity. (10th ed.). New York, NY:
Dr. Sutton highlights what it takes to be a good boss. People that work for a good boss are 20 percent less likely to have a heart attack (Sutton, 2010). Dr. Sutton wrote that teams with stronger leaders cost the company less money and achieved their work better (Sutton, 2010). Engagement and performance of employees were based upon their direct boss and not if the company was good or bad (Sutton, 2010). Most bad bosses have employees who have check-out: actively disengaged, and undermine their co-workers accomplishments. Managers have to find the balance between performance and humanity to be successful. Performance is about doing everything possible to help followers do great work; while humanity is about employees experiencing dignity and pride. Treating managerial work as an endurance race instead of a sprint race with small wins will lead one to becoming a good boss called grit by Sutton. Sutton believes that good bosses walk a constructive line between being assertive and not assertive enough with guidance, wisdom, and feedback that he called Lasorda’s law (Sutton, 2010).
What is leadership? Think of the last time you were asked to come together with peers into a group assigned to a specific goal; was there someone in charge of keeping the group on task and helping it towards the goal? This person is considered the leader, whose main job is to motivate and keep their selected members on task. Leaders develop different relationships with their subordinates based upon different levels and types of influence, known under the leader-member exchange (LMX) theory.
It is imperative for supervisors to focus on what is required in order for his/her employees to accomplish their job. They must be supportive of their employees and provide continual feedback on their job performance .Supervisor need to include their employees when making changes that effect they way they perform their jobs or finding new way to do things that were problematic. Supervisors should give their employees more responsibly to make them feel more valued and powerful. There is also a major need for promotion, pay increase and compensation system (educational reimbursement, vacation incentives etc.
There are several different leadership techniques, the different styles vary depending on what type of characteristics the person has. The most common leadership styles are people-oriented and task-oriented leadership. Each technique has its advantages as well as disadvantages with more disadvantages than the other. Research will be conducted to figure out which of those two techniques are most effective in a workplace. Which leadership technique shows the most success?
According to Northouse (2013), leadership styles are described as task-motivated or relationship motivated. Task-motivated leaders are focus on task accomplishment and reaching their goal (Daft, 2015; Northouse, 2013). Relationship-motivated leaders are sensitive to other’s people feelings and concerned with developing close interpersonal relationship (Daft, 2015; Northouse, 2013). A leader’s style can be measured by the Least Preferred Co-worker (LPC) scale.
In today’s business world, supervisors must have a unique skill set that includes being able to communicate well with others, having the ability to effectively coach others, understanding the dynamics of working through others, and possessing performance management skills that allows them to handle changes in a positive manner.
Leadership in the work conditions is not determined by one’s ability to make decisions quickly or by being self-confident but rather depends on a person’s ability to harmonize workers and having their interests at heart.
Supervisors can learn about leadership through research. One of the reading assignments said leadership studies can be classified as trait, behavioral, contingency, and transformational. Earliest theories assumed that the primary source of leadership effectiveness lay in the personal traits of the leaders themselves. Yet, traits alone cannot explain leadership effectiveness. Later research focused on what the leader actually did when dealing with employees. These behavioral theories of leadership would explain the relationship between what the leaders did and how the employees reacted, bot...
As a supervisor, you have the responsibility of playing many different roles both to the employees that you supervise as well as to the management that is above you. The management that is above you wants to see that your performance is a positive one. In order to do that, you need to have a good understanding of the employees that you are supervising and have the skills that are needed to be a great supervisor. Workers come from all generations and have many different personality traits as to how they work best, and there are many different ways in which one can supervise others. In order to be the best supervisor that you can be, you need to know what supervising style you should use with the different employees that you have.
Leadership may be defined as a position of power held by an individual in a group, which provides him with an opportunity to exercise interpersonal influence on the group members for miobilising and directing their efforts towards certain goals. The leader is at the centre of group’s power structure, keeps the group together, infuses life into it, moves it towards its
The leadership is broadly based on three defining elements: hands-off approach by the leader, the subordinates in charge of decision-making and leader’s accountability.