The Trials of Leadership Styles
by Andrew Cooke, Growth & Profit Solutions
Adapting your leadership style for effective results - balancing task- and people-oriented
leadership.
When organising a company meeting what do you, or
the individual you have delegated to, do first? Do you
develop the timeline and associated task, or do you
consider who would prefer to do what and then try to
develop an approach and schedule around their needs?
And how do you respond if you fall behind schedule –
do you focus on the tasks or the people?
How you answer the above can reveal your preferred
personal leadership style, these can be:



Task-oriented – you focus on getting things done, you are more production or taskfocused;
People-oriented – you want to people to be happy, you are more people-focused;
A blend of both.
Neither preference is right or wrong, just as no one type of leadership style is best for all
situations. However, it's useful to understand what your natural leadership tendencies are,
so that you can then begin working on developing skills that you or your reports may be
missing.
Understanding the Model
The Leadership Grid is based on two behavioural dimensions:


Concern for People – This is the degree to which a leader considers the needs of
team members, their interests, and areas of personal development when deciding
how best to accomplish a task.
Concern for Production – This is the degree to which a leader emphasizes concrete
objectives, organizational efficiency and high productivity when deciding how best to
accomplish a task.
© Andrew Cooke, 2013
Page 1 of 5
Growth & Profit Solutions
andrew.cooke@business-gps.com.au
www.business-gps.com.au
In the Leadership Grip below there are five leadership styles.
The Leadership Grid highlights how placing too much emphasis in one area at the expense
of the other leads to low overall productivity. However, when both people and production
concerns are high, employee engagement and productivity increases accordingly.
The Five Leadership Styles
Impoverished Leadership – Low Production/Low People (A)
This leader is mostly ineffective. He/she has neither a high regard for creating systems for
getting the job done, nor for creating a work environment that is satisfying and motivating.
Often typified by a delegate-and-disappear management style, the leader of manger shows
a low concern for both people and production. He (or she) avoids getting into trouble. His
main concern is not to be held responsible for any mistakes. Managers use this style to
preserve job and job seniority, protecting themselves by avoiding getting into trouble. The
result is a place of disorganization, dissatisfaction and disharmony.
Produce or Perish Leadership – High Production/Low People (B)
Also known as authoritarian or compliance leaders, people in this category believe that
employees are simply a means to an end. Employee needs are always secondary to the need
for efficient and productive workplaces. There is little or no allowance for cooperation or
collaboration. This type of leader is very autocratic, has strict work rules, policies, and
© Andrew Cooke, 2013
Page 2 of 5
Growth & Profit Solutions
andrew.cooke@business-gps.com.au
www.business-gps.com.au
procedures, and views punishment as the most effective means to motivate employees.
Although results may be achieved in the short-term it is not sustainable in the long-term as
employees become disengaged and employee turnover increases.
Middle-of-the-Road Leadership – Medium Production/Medium People (C)
This style seems to be a balance of the two competing concerns. It may at first appear to be
an ideal compromise. Therein lies the problem: when you compromise, you necessarily give
away a bit of each concern so that neither production nor people needs are fully met.
Leaders who use this style settle for average performance and often believe that this is the
most anyone can expect.
Country Club Leadership – High People/Low Production (D)
This style of leader is most concerned about the needs and feelings of members of his/her
team. These people operate under the assumption that as long as team members are happy
and secure then they will work hard. The leader or manager is almost incapable of
employing the more punitive, coercive and legitimate powers fearing that using such
powers could jeopardize relationships with the other team members. The organization will
end up with a friendly atmosphere, but not necessarily very productive due to a lack of
direction and control.
Team Leadership – High Production/High People (E)
This is the pinnacle of leadership style. These leaders stress production needs and the needs
of the people equally highly. The premise here is that employees are involved in
understanding organizational purpose and determining production needs. When employees
are committed to, and have a stake in the organization’s success, their needs and
production needs coincide. This creates a team environment based on trust and respect,
which leads to high satisfaction and motivation and, as a result, high production.
Applying the Leadership Grid
1. Identify the Current Leadership Style
What is your current leadership style? Review past and current situations where you
have been the leader. For each situation mark your position on the matrix. What
themes or trends can you identify? Why have you put yourself there? What was the
outcome for using that style?
© Andrew Cooke, 2013
Page 3 of 5
Growth & Profit Solutions
andrew.cooke@business-gps.com.au
www.business-gps.com.au
2. Identify areas of improvement and
develop your leadership skills?
Are you more task-focused or peoplefocused? How effective are the leadership
styles you are using? Are you in the
middle-of-the-road? If so, do you need to
operate outside your comfort zone? Are
you too task-focused? If so, what people
skills do you need to develop? Are you
too people-focused? If so, what do you
need to do develop task-related skills?
D
3. Monitor, Review and Solicit Feedback
Get others to assist you in this and to
share their perspective and reasoning in a
constructive manner. This is an on-going
process, not a one-off event.
A
E
C
B
Summary
Being aware of the various approaches is the first step in understanding and improving how
well you or your reports perform as a leader or manager. It can also help you to anticipate
how you lead can impact the level of employee engagement either positively or negatively.
At different times and for different situations you will find that you will adapt your
leadership style – there is no one style that can be universally applied to produce the results
and the people that you want to develop and achieve. However, the Leadership Grid
provides you with a tool by which to assess the alternative styles that are available to you.
Don’t treat the Leadership Grid as the “ultimate truth” – it is only there to provide input for
you to consider when trying to determine and understand what is the most effective
leadership style for you to use given your situation, the context of the situation (including its
seriousness, urgency and whether it will become more acute if left unaddressed), your
current skills and capabilities, your experience, your people.
Finally, don’t forget to use this tool with your own reports – a great leader develops his or
her people.
© Andrew Cooke, 2013
Page 4 of 5
Growth & Profit Solutions
andrew.cooke@business-gps.com.au
www.business-gps.com.au
About Andrew Cooke and Growth & Profit Solutions (“GPS”)
Andrew Cooke
An experienced executive coach, business facilitator, and management consultant Andrew has more than 25
years’ national and international experience, working across a range of industries and businesses. He is
passionate in helping people, teams and companies to unlock their individual and collective potential, enabling
them to achieve their personal and business goals and, in turn, to help them unlock the potential of others.
Andrew has extensive experience in dealing with both blue-chip and start-up companies, and has had extensive
international experience in the UK, the Middle East and Ireland across a range of industries.
He has post-graduate business qualifications with a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from the London
Business School.
Growth & Profit Solutions(“GPS”)
Andrew runs Growth & Profit Solutions, working with individuals, teams, groups and corporate so they can
unlock their potential, that of others, and create a life and a job they love and choose to lead.
Through customized development programmes using experiential learning, backed by group workshops,
individual one-to-one coaching and on-going support the individual and group development needs are
addressed, the skills and capabilities are unlocked and the people can grow and achieve both personal and
business outcomes on a sustainable basis. His blog, Growth and Profit, can be found at
http://growthandprofit.wordpress.com.
To find out more about this visit the GPS website or contact Andrew at andrew.cooke@business-gps.com.au or
on +61 (0)401 842 673.
© Andrew Cooke, 2013
Page 5 of 5
Growth & Profit Solutions
andrew.cooke@business-gps.com.au
www.business-gps.com.au