Video: The Blake Mouton Grid  (See human resources playlist) 
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       In 1964, management thinkers Robert Blake and Jane Mouton created their leadership grid 
       (sometimes known as the managerial grid).  Five different leadership styles were compared  
       by plotting them on a two dimensional scale. 
       One dimension is concerned with people. A manager who has high levels of concern with 
       people will be very focussed on ensuring staff like their jobs and are happy at work. There 
       will also be a big emphasis on career development opportunities.  
       The second dimension is concern for production. A manager with high production concerns 
       fully recognises the need for operational targets and keeping costs down.  
       The five leadership styles move from low concern with people and production through to 
       high concern with both of these dimensions. The styles can be summarised as follows: 
       Country club leadership  
       This sort of leader believes that as long as team members are content they will be motivated 
       to work hard. Country club leaders like to create a relaxed and appealing place to work. 
       However, the country club leader does not focus enough on getting the job done. 
       Produce or perish leadership  
       Leaders in this category see employees as first and foremost a means of achieving corporate 
       objectives. Produce or perish leaders believe that people are mostly motivated by money. 
       They focus on efficiency and productivity and don’t spend much time thinking about 
       motivating staff. 
       Impoverished leadership  
       Impoverished leaders are ineffective leaders. They pay little attention to either the needs of 
       employees or operational efficiency. The workplace is chaotic and the workforce is de-
       motivated. 
       Middle of the road leadership  
       This style compromises between people and production. The difficulty here is that the leader 
       is probably settling for an average performance. Not really good enough. 
       Team leadership  
       Production and people are given equal priority. This leader encourages people to feel that 
       they can make a valuable contribution to achieving objectives. Managers try to empower and 
       motivate teams to achieve targets and also make sure employees are looked after. Blake and 
       Mouton saw this as the ideal leadership style 
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       STUDENT TASKS 
       Task 1. Write the remaining four leadership styles in the right place on the grid at the top of 
       the page.  
       Task 2. Link each phrase to what seems the most appropriate type of leader from the Blake 
       Mouton  grid. Briefly explain your answers. 
          1.  “That will do – we need to move on now guys.” 
          2.  “I do not care if he needs time off to move house – I need that job finishing by the 
           agreed deadline.” 
          3.  “OK, you have been late a lot over the last year, but I am going to give you one 
           more chance.” 
          4.  “Sure, I can live with the team finishing work at lunchtime to get ready for Jane’s 
           retirement party. She has been with us a long time and deserves a good send-off.”