Leadership ideology is just not about martyred heroes who fought for their rights, nor does it require major events like people rally. The ideology of leadership is also the quiet street sweeper who does his job day in and day out. It is about an ordinary folk, trying to do his best and to lead in whatever task is before him.
Success and remarkable performance of an organization parallels to the efficient and effective approach employed by management and subsequently gives us a picture on how proficient and exceptional the leaders that the company has. Thanks to the ingenuity of Robert Blake and Jane Mouton who developed a behavioral leadership model that identifies five different leadership styles which combines an approach to people and an approach for production – the Managerial Grid.
The model highly promotes improvement in the organizational performance as it focuses on the leadership approach best suited for the management to fully address people and production concerns. Indeed, this gives the leaders a picture on where should they be aiming their own management methodology. This is one value that needs to be practiced and focused more. More often than not, people are guilty of separate mentality that creates division and destructive competition among sectors in the organization and the society at large. Leadership needs to transcend this tendency and decide once and for all, to put common peoples’ welfare above all.
Certainly, no organization has ever become successful without excellent and outstanding leaders – leaders who take time to venture on various leadership styles measurable to their extent. These leaders who appreciate and reward the efforts of their subordinates to the key objectives of the organization, who can bring out the full potential of each individual on their teams, and who can be good followers as well. The grid gives an analysis particularly regarding relationships skills such as initiative, dealing with feedback and critics, conflict resolution, advocacy in expressing opinions and ideas, resilience in reacting to negative scenario and even decision-making.
This perhaps brought to fame the one of the online travel agency giants, Expedia which provides travelers all they need in one setting from searching, planning and preparation, and purchasing even after the completion of the trip services such as rewards program and credits. The management has ventured into a variety of leadership approaches that lead them to become one of the successful off-shore traveler arrangers with centers reaching up to the Philippines and Costa Rica. The leaders attend high concerns to both their people and production which gives them high-spirited motivation. They manage teamwork and commitment among their employees world-wide and make them feel part of the company-family by understanding organizational purpose based on trust and respect. All these are a product of their soft style approach.
Hence, identifying the behavioral leadership approach is a vital step in helping the organization and management achieve success with the hand-in-hand efforts among people within the organization, be it in one place or around the globe. Even if we have a million techniques and guides available, if we have reservations on this functionality, but without having a marginal grid, still the number that we target and aim for may just be figures that will keep us gazing up even with the sweats and toils we exerted all out.
References
E-Learning Community (2008, June 4) Managerial Grid (Blake and Mouton). Retrieved July 20, 2008, from http://www.12manage.com/methods_blake_mouton_managerial_grid.html
