The Blake Mouton Grid – Leadership Theory for a High Performance Team
Blake Mouton Grid Definition
The Blake Mouton grid, also known as the Managerial Grid, is a management model that helps individuals assess and improve their leadership styles.
It was developed by Robert Blake and Jane Mouton in the 1960s.
At its most basic, the grid evaluates leadership behavior based on two fundamental concerns:
- Concern for People
- Concern for Production
Concern for People (Y-Axis)
The vertical axis of the grid measures the importance a manager places on the happiness, pleasure, and development of their team members.
It is said that managers who look after the needs of their staff creates a positive working environment, builds interpersonal relationships and encourages a supportive atmosphere.
Concern for Production (X-Axis)
The horizontal axis measures the importance a manager places on achieving goals, meeting targets and “getting the job done”.
Managers with a focus on results and outcomes are often very task oriented, and would typically prioritise effectiveness and efficiency at all costs.
Blake Mouton Grid Five Leadership Styles
The Blake Mouton grid defines five leadership styles, each represented by a square on the grid:
[1,1] Impoverished Management (Low Concern for People, Low Concern for Production)
Managers in this section would have minimal interest in both their team members and production outcomes.
This results in low motivation and morale in the workforce and low levels of productivity or lack of quality output.
For example – a disgruntled manager who doesn’t care about the members on their team or achieving overall business goals.
[1,9] Country Club Management (High Concern for People, Low Concern for Production)
Leaders in this quadrant would prioritise employee happiness over task completion.
While creating a positive work environment, there may be a lack of direction, leading to reduced productivity and poor output.
For example – a manager whose main focus is on team building activities and employee satisfaction but achieving business targets suffer as a result.
[5,5] Middle-of-the-Road Management (Moderate Concern for People, Moderate Concern for Production)
Managers in this quadrant will aim to find a compromise between achieving business goals and maintaining a positive atmosphere for employees.
While not extreme in either dimension, this style may lack the strengths of the more focused approaches and will often produce mediocre results.
For example – a manager who finds a balance between employee happiness and task completion, but may not excel in either aspect.
[9,1] Produce or Perish Management (Low Concern for People, High Concern for Production)
This style focuses on hitting goals and targets at the expense of team morale.
Leaders will often be strict, rigid and demanding to ensure productivity, potentially leading to poor team morale and staff retention.
For example – an authoritarian manager who enforces strict rules but overlooks the well-being and personal aspect of team members.
[9,9] Team Management (High Concern for People, High Concern for Production)
This quadrant represents an ideal balance between caring for team members and achieving goals.
Managers in this section will foster a high performing team that are content and happy.
For example – a leader who strikes the perfect balance between cultivating a positive work environment and consistently achieving and excelling on business goals.
Applying the Blake Mouton Grid
Now that we understand the elements of the Blake Mouton Grid, let’s now look at how this can be applied in the real world:
Step 1 – Self-Reflection
The first step is to identify your own leadership style.
Make sure you are being honest and truthful with yourself too!
Think about how you usually interact with your team in terms of concern for their well-being and motivation (people focused) and your concern for achieving tasks and goals (production focused).
Leaders should ask themselves questions such as:
- How do I prioritise the needs and concerns of my team members?
- Am I more focused on achieving results or building relationships?
- Do I strike a balance between people and production concerns?
By exploring these questions, leaders can start to understand their current leadership approach and recognise areas for improvement.
Step 2 – Development
Once leaders have used the Blake Mouton Grid to identify which leadership style they fit into, the next step is focused development.
This involves striving towards a more balanced leadership style that equally integrates both concern for people and concern for production.
For example, if a leader identifies as having a “produce or perish” style with a high concern for production but low concern for people, they may need to develop their interpersonal skills.
This could involve actively listening to team members, providing constructive feedback, and creating a supportive team environment.
On the other hand, a leader with a “country club” style, where their concern for people is high but concern for production is low, may need to focus on setting clear goals and establishing performance expectations.
Step 3 – Monitoring and Feedback
The last step in applying the Blake Mouton Grid is continuous monitoring and feedback.
Leadership development is an ongoing process, and regular self-assessment is essential to keep incrementally improving.
Leaders should monitor their behaviors, decisions, and interactions to make sure that they align with the desired balanced leadership style.
Additionally, seeking feedback from team members and colleagues can provide useful insights into the effectiveness of the leader’s evolving style.
Constructive feedback helps leaders understand how their actions impact the team and identifies areas that may still require attention.
Blake Mouton Grid Advantages
There are several advantages of using the Blake Mouton grid:
Simple and Easy to Understand
The grid provides a visual way to understand different leadership styles.
With only two factors to consider, leaders can easily direct their focus to either their concern for people or concern for production.
Identifies Leadership Styles
The grid offers five different leadership styles, which makes it easy for leaders to categorise themselves into one of the quadrants.
Depending on the style a manager initially identifies as also means that they know which areas they need to improve.
For example, if a manager decides that they most resemble the Country Club Management style, they would be aware that while they look after their team members, but would need to focus more on producing results.
Encourages Self Awareness
Managers can use the grid to assess their own leadership style and become more aware of their strengths and weaknesses in terms of concern for people and concern for production.
Promotes Balance
The Blake Mouton grid promotes the idea that an effective leader should equally balance both concern for people and concern for production.
This can build the perfect team culture where team members are happy and fulfilled, but are also performing at an exceptional level.
Blake Mouton Grid Disadvantages
For balance, there are also several disadvantages of using the Blake Mouton grid:
Overly Simplistic
While the grid is simple to use and understand, it could be argued that the grid oversimplifies the complex nature of leadership by reducing it down to just two elements.
Fixed Nature
The model assumes that leaders have a fixed style that is used on all team members, which may not be accurate.
In reality, leaders may adapt their style based on the situation, context or member of their team.
For example, some employees may respond better to a stricter approach (Produce or Perish Management), while others might produce outstanding output with a more lenient approach (Country Club Management).
Limited Scope
The grid focuses exclusively on concern for people and concern for production, which neglects other important leadership qualities such as influence, resilience, and strategic thinking.