The Grid addresses the change power zone by providing a model of leadership that allows people to explore their actual conditions in comparison with an ideal model. The model gives people a starting point for change in the form of a motivational map. They see where they are and where they want to go.
This is not as easy as it may sound. Change at the value level is the most powerful and most difficult change to achieve. Just because people see a sound model and want to change doesn't mean they can. Personal intentions distort individual perceptions, making people see their actual behavior in terms of what they "want" to achieve instead of what they "are" achieving. With the model in place, however, change occurs by learning sound critique skills that explore personal values, bringing them out into the open. These skills include how to take initiative, practice inquiry, advocate convictions, make decisions, resolve conflict, demonstrate resilience, and practice critique.
The following personal leadership styles test examines individual values regarding leadership. This test is part of the 4-day Grid learning experience. Participants complete the test as prework to measure personal values before the seminar, and then the test is repeated after the seminar to measure changes in personal values. Complete the test and see how your values reflect Grid styles. The test is completely confidential - only you will receive the results!
The 9,9 Style: Sound (Contribute and Commit)
Excerpt from the book, The Power to Change.
The 9,9 style is located on the top right corner of the Grid figure and integrates a high concern for people with a high concern for results. The difference between 9,9 and the other six Grid styles is that the 9,9 person sees no contradiction in demonstrating a high concern for both people and results. He or she feels no need to restrain, control, or diminish the concerns for people or results in relationships. The consequence is a freedom to test the limits of success with enthusiasm and confidence. The 9,9 attitude leads to more effective work relationships based on "what's right" rather than "who's right."
The full integration of concern for people and results is in contrast to the levels of control evident in each other style. The 9,1 person feels that a high concern for results disables the expression of a high concern for people. The 1,9 person feels the reverse—that a high concern for people is more important than results. The 5,5 feels that a high concern for either is too risky, and prefers to remain at a middle level to maintain the status quo. The 1,1 sees any high concern as unrealistic and too demanding. The paternalist expresses a high concern for results and for people, but is unable to relinquish control and allow others to make their own contribution. The opportunist sees a contradiction in working with others in the first place and so uses people and organizations to further selfish goals.
The 9,9 style is firmly entrenched in logical reasoning and common sense business thinking: If you have a problem, get it out into the open and work through it. This person is truly objective, and is not afraid to tackle tough issues openly and honestly. This approach brings strength and focus to team resources and potential results, but can also lead to dramatic resistance in a culture unfamiliar with the concept. Although effective, the 9,9 style can come across as forceful and blunt in a team or company where the culture dictates playing politics, smoothing over conflict, or always deferring to one or more people in authority regardless of how sound or unsound their actions might be. Over time, however, 9,9 actions demonstrated in a team overcome any fears that prevent people from embracing the style.
The PAT Style: Paternalistic (Prescribe and Guide)
Excerpt from the book, The Power to Change.
The Paternalistic style results from two individual Grid styles coming together in a way that produces a unique, joined style. The two styles merge in the same interdependent way that the two concerns do in the other Grid styles. Relationships between the paternalist and co-workers are like those between parent and child, where reward comes from the 1,9 influence to nurture, and punishment comes from the 9,1 influence to dictate behaviors. The resulting style is a person who commands action and results by providing guidance, praise, and reward and subtle punishment.
The paternalist represents one of the most prevalent and powerful leadership styles in successful companies. The style represents a "new and improved" version of the traditional autocratic leader. He or she demonstrates all of the strength, determination, and courage that brings about results, and yet also considers people in the process. Paternalists are often viewed as benevolent autocrats—as people who don't just want to control others, but who want them to smile and say, "Thank you!" He or she often has a proven track record of accomplishment and wants to share that expertise by taking care of everyone in what he or she perceives to be a helpful and supportive way. The paternalist comes across as overbearing by imposing help regardless of whether it is wanted or even needed. The trouble is, doing too much, the paternalist creates dependence in others by limiting their ability to contribute.
As a result of the 9,1 influence, the paternalist holds himself or herself up to high standards of performance and expects the same from others. A person who complies with these demands receives rewards in the form of praise, advantage, and benefits, which is more characteristic of the 1,9 style. The "cooperative" team member is still expected to maintain the high standards of performance, but receives more support, encouragement, and overall "help" from the paternalist along the way. A person who does not comply receives more of the 9,1 treatment exemplified by increased scrutiny, a stance that communicates "prove to me you are worthy of my support," and "this is for your own good" attitude regarding expectations for performance.
________________________________________
The 9,1 Style: Controlling (Direct and Dominate)
Excerpt from the book, The Power to Change.
The 9,1 style is found in the lower right corner of the Grid figure. This person demonstrates a high concern for results interdependent with a low concern for others. The high concern for results present in this style brings determination, focus, and drive for success to any team. This person is usually highly trained, organized, experienced, and qualified to lead a team to success. He or she also has the confidence and courage to demand high standards and takes calculated risks as needed to reach them. The low concern for others, however, limits the ability to reach synergy because the effort to involve others is low and results in an overly forceful approach. The person with this style approaches relationships with an underlying assumption that the two concerns work against each other in the workplace. He or she believes that demonstrating a concern for people diminishes the ability to achieve results, and so actively works to downplay and suppress the "people" side of relationships.
The low concern for others prevents the 9,1 person from being aware of others involved in an activity beyond what is expected of them in relation to results. The overriding focus lies in results, often leaving others lost in the wake of his or her forceful initiative. The 9,1 person expects everyone else to "keep up" with his or her efforts, and so moves ahead, intensely focused on results.
The 9,1 person can come across as pushy and demanding without considering how his or her behavior impacts others. "People" concerns such as benefits, training, flexible work hours, social meetings, and personal discussions are often given low priority. In short, this person is unapproachable in a personal sense. Human qualities of relationships (candor, openness, mutual trust and respect, personal goals) are often seen as issues that slow down the main focus of maintaining high standards and achieving results. If costs need to be cut, the "people costs" are the first to go, often with little awareness of important developmental work which eventually has to be reinitiated later with increased expense and under-motivated and perhaps less knowledgeable employees. The 9,1 person does not mean to attack people, but truly believes a singular focus on results is the only way to get the job done: "All that other stuff is frills, anyway."
________________________________________
The 1,9 Style: Accommodating (Yield and Comply)
Excerpt from the book, The Power to Change.
The 1,9 style is found in the upper left corner of the Grid figure. This person demonstrates a low concern for results with a high concern for others. The high concern for people brings a valuable quality to teams for building relationships. This individual maintains a heightened awareness of personal feelings, goals, and ambitions of others, and always considers how proposed actions will affect them. He or she is approachable, fun, friendly, and always ready to listen with sympathy and encouragement. The interdependent low concern for results, however, works against the high concern for others in the workplace by shifting the focus away from work achievement. This makes the relationships, although warm and friendly, too shallow and superficial for synergy to occur because full candor is lacking. This leads to individuals and teams that are ultimately unprepared for the kind of challenges that arise in the pursuit of improved productivity and change.
The 1,9 and 9,1 styles are diametrically opposed in their perspectives. Each of these orientations leads in a narrow and singularly focused manner by trying to diminish the other primary concern in the workplace. The Achilles' heel in 1,9 thinking is, "As long as I'm keeping people happy, they respond by working hard to achieve results." The evidence shows the opposite: relationships suffer when employees are not challenged in the workplace. People become bored with work and frustrated with each other because something is missing in the relationships. Further, productivity decreases when the concern for results is low.
Some cornerstone phrases of the 1,9 attitude are "Let's talk about it. What can I do to help? Let me know what you think." The main weakness, however, lies in the focus of the discussions. Instead of focusing discussions in specific terms of causes and solutions, 1,9 discussions include an overwhelming emphasis on personal feelings and preferences. The discussion itself becomes the goal, so conversations can meander in any direction. If an individual is angry, the 1,9 person follows the comments and offers sympathy and encouragement whenever appropriate. If an individual is pleased, the 1,9 person offers compliments and celebration. He or she uses discussions to constantly gauge morale levels and quickly offer encouragement, support, and praise as needed.
________________________________________
The 5,5 Style: Status Quo (Balance and Compromise)
Excerpt from the book, The Power to Change.
The 5,5 style is located in the middle of the Grid figure indicating a medium level of concern for both people and results. Like the 9,1 Controlling and the 1,9 Accommodating styles, the 5,5 person believes there is an inherent contradiction between the two concerns. But unlike 9,1 and 1,9, neither concern is valued over the other. Instead, the 5,5 person sees a high level of either concern for people or results as too extreme and takes actions to moderate both in the workplace. This is accomplished by balancing the needs of people with the need for results through compromises and tradeoffs. The overwhelming attitude is, "Good enough or a little better is okay."
The objective of the 5,5 person is to play it safe and work toward acceptable solutions that follow proven methods. This is a politically-motivated approach that seeks to avoid risk by maintaining the tried and true course that follows popular opinion and norms. The 5,5 does not strive to settle for less, or to reduce results, but that is what happens as a consequence of the 5,5 approach. Creativity, personal commitment, and mutual trust and respect are found only at the high end (level 9) of concerns. These characteristics are found in the kind of strong convictions, bold ideas, disagreements, and deep commitment people experience when sound relationships are in place. These qualities are diluted in the 5,5 approach through an overdependence on these criteria: relying on history, precedent, and past practices to guide action following the majority rule and popular opinion adhering to the norms and standards in place whether they are sound or not
The 5,5 person is often the best informed person in the team. He or she reads company policies, periodicals, and other sources of information, and maintains a historical knowledge of events. A 5,5 can often quote detailed history at length and is well-versed regarding existing reservations, doubts, and dangers. The 5,5 person also tracks norms by regularly observing and talking to people about progress and expectations. All of these efforts can provide strength in evaluating a calculated risk and in progressing at an acceptable pace. These efforts are weakened, however, because the information gathered is not used to challenge standards and search for creative solutions. The objective is to identify popular patterns and trends in order to maintain the status quo.
Another key aspect of the 5,5 approach is maintaining popular status within the team and organization. He or she must be intelligent and informed enough to persuade people and companies to settle for less than they want—less than they could achieve. This is done by being well liked, keeping well informed, and effectively convincing people that the consequences are not worth the risk. On the surface, this may make the 5,5 appear unbiased and impartial, but more accurately, the 5,5 approach represents a narrow view that underestimates people, results, and the power of change.
________________________________________
The 1,1 Style: Indifferent (Evade and Elude)
Excerpt from the book, The Power to Change.
The 1,1 style, located in the lower left corner of the Grid, represents the lowest level of concern for both results and people. The key word for this style is neutral. This is the least visible person in a team; he or she is a follower who maintains distance from active involvement whenever possible. A 1,1 person carefully goes through the motions of work, doing enough to get by, but rarely making a deliberate effort to do more.
1,1 survival is enabled and even inadvertently caused by highly structured workplaces where the boundaries of effort are rigid and communication is minimal. Over time, the entire culture of a company can become firmly entrenched in a 1,1 style because of an overbearing structure that blocks independence and creativity. The stereotypical image of this is the government agency where everyone is treated like a number. This sort of workplace allows the 1,1 to blend in without attracting attention. In fact, he or she often seeks work that can be done in isolation in order to carry on without being disturbed.
The 1,1 relies heavily on instructions—he or she depends on others to outline what needs to be done. Reliance on instructions prevents the need to take personal responsibility for results: "No one told me to do that." If problems arise, the 1,1 ignores or overlooks them (unless the instructions specify how to react), or points them out to someone else, but with little or no effort to offer a solution. With no instructions, he or she simply carries on with the attitude that "This is not my problem." If the 1,1 person were to suggest a solution, others might expect him or her to carry it out, which is not worth the risk. The 1,1 feels it is safer to wait for someone else to notice and take action.
People do not usually start out embracing 1,1 values, but end up changing into that style over time as a way to recover from an ineffective and/or dominating person or culture. The 9,1 leadership style, for example, often forces people into the 1,1 corner. The low concern for people present in the 9,1 style can be devastating to individual and team morale, leaving people feeling trapped into submission. A 9,1 leader who lashes out or discounts people for suggesting creative ideas eventually breaks the spirit of others involved. The resulting attitude is, "I give up. Let him do what he wants—I'll just do my job and keep my mouth shut." People will only fight back and defend themselves so many times before retreating into a 1,1 corner as a way to survive.
________________________________________
The OPP Style: Opportunistic (Exploit and Manipulate)
Excerpt from the book, The Power to Change.
The opportunist style can use any other style found on the Grid. The opportunist approaches every situation with the underlying attitude of "What's in it for me?" and then takes on whatever style is most likely to result in private advantage. Opportunism stands out from every other Grid style because the expressed levels of concern shift as needed to create a convincing façade. The inconsistency in the approach used makes the style difficult to identify in the short term. Depending on the perceived advantage, the opportunist may come across as strong and capable of leading others, vulnerable and needing guidance, or politically oriented. The style chosen depends on the people and situation faced in conjunction with the potential gain perceived.
The opportunist approaches teamwork like a game that he or she must win. The key to successful opportunism is the ability to persuade people to support selfish objectives without revealing the underlying motives. The opportunist doesn't want to bother with traditional ways of building trust and respect—the traditional approach is too slow and the rewards uncertain. He or she prefers to "cut to the chase" and secure this trust as quickly as possible. To accomplish this, the opportunist appeals to people personally and professionally. Once he or she has capitalized on the trust, the opportunist feels little obligation to continue the relationship unless there is potential future gain; he or she has "won" and can move on without the encumbrance of long-term commitments.
The method of appeal may take the form of any Grid style. The opportunist may take the 9,1 or paternalistic approach of appearing confident and capable, so that people feel encouraged to follow and be supportive. Another approach is to appear innocent and submissive in a 1,1, 1,9 or 5,5 way. This prompts people with higher levels of concern for results to take the opportunist "under his or her wing." This "submissive" approach could be valuable for gaining information from a paternalist. In order to gain another loyal follower, a paternalist might eventually come to see the opportunist as a confidante. The 9,1 person is easily seduced by an opportunist who appears to work twice as hard as everyone else with little concern for making friends. In every case, once the selfish objectives are reached, the opportunist feels no further loyalty or obligation.
The opportunist approaches every team activity as a "deal": he or she takes action only when something is expected in return—there is no such thing as a selfless act. The opportunist may make this fact clear up front, to establish obligation: "I'll do this for you, but you owe me." Or, nothing may be said until later, when he or she needs something from that person: "I did that for you, and now I need something." More often the reminder of obligation is subtle, such as,"Remember when I helped you out last week. I could really use your help now." If someone asks the opportunist for help, he or she weighs the request against what that person has done in the past: "You helped me last week, so I owe you."
No comments:
Post a Comment