The Origin of the Leadership Grid Lab
In 1961, Dr. Blake and Dr. Mouton, pioneers of Organizational Behavior Science designed the Leadership Grid seminar based on their years’ researches and practices on “Group Therapy” as well as the research outcome of the “General Semantics” for helping organizations develop effective leadership styles and team interaction. Their book Management Grid published in the same period became a best-seller around the world and was translated also into Chinese.
In the next 40 years, Leadership Grid, through continuous review and improvement, gradually became a classical program for leadership development. Thousands of middle and senior managers from corporate and non-profit organizations around the world took this training. A considerable number of corporate listed as a compulsory program for managers.
As the end of 2005, we introduced the program to China. In 2008, based on our understanding of the market and the participants, we localized the program making it better accommodating to China’s managers.
Up to now well-known companies including IBM, GSK, Ericsson, COFCO, Honeywell and Pepsi-Cola have using this program. Globally the client list also includes BMW, AT&T, Philips and Air France.
Leadership Grid Lab is based on the over 40 years’ Leadership Effectiveness and Leadership Behavior Studies:
1. Clear theory: each leadership style stands for a typical type of leaders
Key theoretical input 1: R1 (Resource) +R2 (Relationship) =R3 (Result)
R1 is the resources brought by team members to the team, R2 is how team members work together, and R3 is the result of team activities. With the same resources (R1), different leaders will lead to different results (R3).
How to measure R2? What on earth works? This program centers on R2, and participants will experience the impact of R2 in a quantitative way and link to their respective leadership style.
Key theoretical input 2: 5 relationship skills: Critique, Inquiry, Advocacy, Decision Making, and Conflict Resolution
What is R2? It is embodied by the above 5 relationship skills. Different leadership styles have different representation of the 5 skills. In the program, participants will experience the 5 skills under different styles and see their impact on R3.
Key theoretical input 3: 7 leadership styles ——9.1 Controlling style, 1.9 Accommodating style, 5.5 Status Quo style, 1.1 Indifferent style, PAT Paternalistic style , OPP Opportunistic style, 9.9 Sound style.
The 7 Grid leadership styles are distinguished by their different concern to the result and to the relationship.
Participants will learn each style, see how the relationship skills of each style affect the team’s R3 and how the 9.9 style maximizes R2, and eventually understand that the 9,9 style is the most sound leadership style.
The 9 leadership styles:
9.1 Style: Controlling (Direct & Dominate) — it believes that the result is primary importance, and whether people are happy does not carry much weight. R3 is constrained by the limit of the leader’s competency.
“I expect results and take control by clearly stating a course of action. I enforce rules that sustain high results and do not permit deviation.”
1.9 Style: Accommodating (Yield & Comply) — it believes that only happy people produce result so making people happy is the most important. R3 is discounted since demand on performance is sacrificed to maintaining the happiness.
“I support results that establish and reinforce harmony. I generate enthusiasm by focusing on positive and pleasing aspects of work.”
5.5 Style: Status Quo (Balance & Compromise) — it tends to harmonize the people concern and the result concern by balancing and compromise. The leader’s goal is to meet the majority’s goal instead of maximizing R3.
“I endorse results that are popular but caution against taking unnecessary risk. I test my opinions with others involved to assure on-going acceptability.”
1.1 Style: Indifferent (Evade & Elude) — it tends to avoid both people and result, and therefore is passive in participating to create better performance.
“I distance myself from taking active responsibility for results to avoid getting entangled in problems. If forced, I take a passive or supportive position.”
Paternalistic Style (Prescribe & Guide) — it is a mixed style of 9.1 and 1.9, or a mixture of a strict father and a kind mother. It becomes 9.1 (as a strict father) when stipulating actions or implementing punishment to control people’s behavior, and it becomes 1.9 (as a kind mother) when granting awards to gain people’s support. The leaders’ pursuit is people’s loyalty which stifles people’s creativity.
“I provide leadership by defining initiatives for myself and others. I offer praise and appreciation for support, and discourage challenges to my thinking.”
Opportunistic Style (Exploit & Manipulate) — it is a style that constantly changes for personal benefit. R3 is constrained by serving the leader’s personal goal. Trust is missing and people mostly display 1.1 or OPP behaviors.
“I persuade others to support results that offer me private benefit. If they also benefit, that’s even better in gaining support. I rely on whatever approach is needed to secure an advantage.”
9.9 Style: Sound (Contribute and Commit) — it shows sufficient concern towards both people and result, and challenges the limits of success with passion and confidence. With a 9.9 style leader, the team pursues result with candor.
“I initiate team action in a way that invites involvement and commitment. I explore all facts and alternative views to reach a shared understanding of the best solution.”
Through the study of the Leadership Grid theory and self-assessment, participants will clearly know which leadership style they are exerting, realize their styles’ limitation, review the motive behind and find out how to adjust to 9, 9.
2. Team learning: Aware - Identify - Apply
The program is a self discovery journey in team. The facilitator will help participants clarify the concepts of the 7 Grid leadership styles and the 5 Grid relationship skills but will not tell the participants their respective leadership styles and behaviors as well as how to make improvement, which are to be discovered by the participants themselves. Participants need to complete multiple team activities, displaying their behaviors and responding to others’ behaviors. Through continuous measurement on the team performance and mutual feedback among team members, participants will make reflections and discover their own behavioral problems and areas for improvement.
The 3-day program will help participants:
Aware: the 7 leadership styles and the 5 relationship skills;
Identify: self and other’s style, see the consequence of the behaviors, explore the motives, and be ready to change.jpg)
Apply: by adjusting one’s style and displaying the most effective leadership behavior in a given situation.
Features for “Leadership Grid Lab” Learning Plan
1. The program is a means to develop leadership in depth
Based on over 40 years of research on psychology and behavioristics, the program has unique depth in discussing people’s behavior on the level of values, identity and motives. It provides solution on in-depth leadership discussion and development followed by general management skill training.
2. The program is a means to build corporate culture
The program can help leaders establish effective leadership styles which will lead team to establish team norm internally and form condor-oriented culture. Thus, Leadership Grid Lab has long been the program for enterprises to launch management team building and management culture building. Many enterprises will apply the principles and skills (e.g. critique) to real work after the training.
How you will benefit
- Deepen self awareness and explore one’s fears and motivations underlying one’s leadership behaviors
- Benchmark one’s leadership practice against the sound leadership behaviors and set the step to change
- Develop the courage and the critical leadership skills
- Establish trust, respect and candor, develop sound management team culture and maximize results
What you will cover
Prework: Completing Grid Concepts Multiple-Choice
DAY I: Be AWARE of the different leadership styles and relationship skills
- Lecture 1: Introduce Leadership Grid concept
7 leadership styles
5 relationship skills
- Activity 1: Reach team agreement on Grid concepts
- Lecture 2: Explain 4 types of Critique
- Activity 2: Discuss teamwork during Activity 1 and provide critique
- Lecture 3: Introduce the concepts of 7 leadership styles, belief and motivation
- Activity 3: Discuss and explain the 7 leadership styles, belief and motivation
DAY 2: IDENTIFY the different leadership styles in reality
- Lecture 4: Introduce the concepts of dominant and backup style
- Activity 4: Identify the dominant and backup style of the roles in the movie 12 Angry Men
- Activity 5: Discuss teamwork during Activity 4 and provide critique
- Activity 6: Personal critique and feedback—What is your style?
DAY 3: APPLY Grid theory into daily work
- Activity 7: The performance of leadership styles on the relationship skills
- Activity 8: Develop 9,9 conflict resolution
Case discussion and role play
Develop individual and team resolution
- Activity 9: Grid styles in action
- Activity 10: Discuss teamwork during Activity 9 and provide critique
“The program is just like a mirror. Through activities and others’ feedback, I realized my own leadership style, and noticed how this style would affect relationship and result. It really touches me.”
“Via activities, the program let me carry on the self-exploration process, understand myself, and establish my objectives.”
“The program enables me to clarify my objectives and move closer to 9,9 style.