Blake and Mouton founded Scientific Methods in the 1950s to help managers and companies apply the management theory of Robert Blake that evolved from the ideas of Robert Blake and Jane Mouton about behavioral science. Grid-based organization development, along with the managerial grid questionnaire, soon became in demand as companies became more aware of the benefits of team development, conflict resolution and strategic modeling.

Blake and Mouton theory, and in particular the Robert Blake Managerial grid, is perhaps one of the most influential management theories that has successfully been adapted to corporate industries, governmental and even academic institutions to effect progressive and lasting change. To learn more information about Robert Blake, the Blake and Mouton managerial grid and other forms of Robert Blake's management theory, it is important to verse yourself with the appropriate or proper management theory information. Consider the following to receive optimal management theory of Robert Blake education and training:

1. Attend a workshop that incorporates the management theory of Robert Blake into its curriculum.

2. Hire a consulting firm that utilizes Blake and Mouton theories when training and teaching.

3. Explore Blake and Mouton theory further by reading articles online.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Attend a workshop that incorporates the management theory of Robert Blake into its curriculum

Attending a workshop, either online or in person, is a great way to build your foundation knowledge of Blake and Mouton's theory about organizational development and grid culture. Many of these workshops allow you to complete a survey first, which gets analyzed prior to attending the workshop that will review your results.

I recommend: Grid International, formerly Scientific Methods founded by Blake and Mouton, offers The Grid Organizational Culture Survey and Workshop online. Grid Organization Development offers a Grid Culture Survey & Workshop that can accommodate up to 25 participants.

Hire a consulting firm that utilizes Blake and Mouton theories when training and teaching

There are many consulting firms that incorporate Blake and Mouton's management theories into their practices. These firms offer tailored training and consulting services to organizations that promise to teach everything from how to navigate the managerial grid questionnaire to how to apply the results to day-to-day work.

I recommend: SCAN Consulting Network offers training in managerial grid concepts along with several other HR and management topics. Robinson Organizational Consulting incorporates the teachings of Mouton and Blake when working with its clients.

Explore Blake and Mouton theory further by reading articles online

There are many websites that offer detailed explanations about Blake and Mouton management theories. These sites also include details about managerial grid applications.

I recommend: The WorkStar Library offers a summary article based on Blake and Mouton theories entitled "Managing by the Grid." Shelley Holmes Leadership-and-Motivation-Training website also provides an overview of Blake and Mouton's Leadership Grid

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Consider completing the managerial grid questionnaire and attending any training as a team with coworkers. The results and the work that follows may prove to be huge eye openers as to each person's working style, as well as an excellent team building opportunity.

The management theory of Robert Blake, formulated in 1961, was ground-breaking then and still resonates today. With partner Dr. Jane Mouton, Blake's management theory was one of the first to quantify management styles into a mathematical grid. While seemingly simple, the Blake and Mouton managerial grid provided a fresh, scientific look at management style.

The Blake and Mouton theory revolved around the comparison between a manager's commitment to employee needs versus company production. A successful management style is able to incorporate both work and worker effectively, while less productive styles focus too much on one or the other, or in some cases, neither.

Robert Blake and Jane Mouton identified 5 different styles of managers:

1. The "impoverished style" on Blake's managerial grid cares little about people or production.

2. The "country club style" focuses solely on the needs of the employee and not the company.

3. The "produce or perish style" is all about performance and production with no regard for employee well-being.

4. The "middle of the road style" is an attempt at balance that yields only average results.

5. The "team style" is Robert Blake's model target and attains optimum performance and production from an engaged workforce.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Take the managerial grid questionnaire by Robert Blake and Jane Mouton

The management theory of Robert Blake and Dr. Mouton is important because it established a quantifiable means for assessing your own management style. You don't need to have a deep understanding of psychology to understand their management theory. By simply answering a series of questions, your place on the grid can be determined.

I recommend: There are 2 ways to assess your status on the Robert Blake managerial grid. You can introspectively ask yourself a few key questions, or complete the extensive managerial grid questionnaire.

Use Blake and Mouton consistently

Using Blake's theory gives managers and employers a better understanding of not only what motivates their team, but also why it motivates them. By promoting a strong group dynamic, equating worker goals with company goals, and encouraging performance-based incentives, leaders can better understand and motivate their employees. The practical application of Blake and Mouton's work can take time to develop, but resources exist to help.

I recommend: Grid International,Inc., the company born out of Blake and Mouton's Scientific America, offers a seminar on the management grid. They also release a monthly GridLink newsletter offering advice to managers on how to better put grid theory into practice. The consulting firm Grid O.D. also offers a series of seminars that assist management teams interested in implementing the Blake theory. Read a discussion by consultant Dianne Hill of how United Airlines adapted the management theory of Robert Blake to train cockpit crews.

Consult experts to adapt Blake and Mouton's theory

Getting optimum results out of Robert Blake's management theory might not be easy. Depending on the size and scope of your organization, timely and effective implementation may be beyond your means. Hiring a consultant to assist you in the transition to a Blake and Mouton styled leadership paradigm might be beneficial.

I recommend: There is no shortage of consulting services that can assist you in implementing the Blake and Mouton leadership style. TSO Consulting offer a wide range of services, including training based on Blake's work. The Leader's Path offers week-long retreats to train your team. Stewart Associates offers both online and in-house consulting services and puts a heavy emphasis on the Grid Management model. Heidrick & Struggles offers an analytical, fact-based approach to leadership training. Teleometrics publishes handbooks for applying Blake grid theory at work.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Achieving success utilizing the Robert Blake managerial grid is meaningless unless there is regular follow-up and reinforcement. To make it work, management must be vigilant in upholding the standards and practices established over a long period of time.
• •  Blake and Mouton developed the grid theory based on their consulting work for Exxon.
• •  Blake's theory is first of all a tool for self-analysis: Understanding your own management style is the first step toward changing your organization.

Robert Blake, along with Dr. Jane Mouton, developed a management theory utilizing a mathematical grid to define management styles. The theory is centered on a manager's level of attention to employee needs and the overall effect on the productivity of the company.

To determine one’s management style, a managerial questionnaire is completed and plotted on a grid. Results for questions pertaining to 'concern for people' are plotted on the vertical axis, while questions regarding 'concern for results' are plotted on the horizontal axis. The location on the grid corresponds to one of five management styles: Country Club, Impoverished, Produce or Perish, Middle of the Road and Team Style.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Grid based organization development

Grid based organization development, sometimes referred to as the leadership grid, identifies seven types of relationships or leadership styles that exemplify workplace behavior. These identifications are founded on the two fundamental interests of 'concern for people' and 'concern for results' that occur when people interrelate. The seven types of leadership styles identified by Robert Blake are controlling, accommodating, status quo, indifferent, paternalistic, opportunistic and sound.

I recommend: Refer to Grid Organization Development for more information regarding Blake’s grid based organization.

Managerial grid questionnaire

The managerial grid questionnaire allows individuals to determine their managerial style by answering questions related to how much they enjoy working with others and on certain tasks. Questions are answered on a zero ('Never') to five ('Always') scale and totaled with regards to the two concerns of people and results. The totals from the questionnaire are plotted on the axes of a grid, corresponding to one of five leadership styles.

I recommend: Determine if you are an authoritarian, impoverished, team or country club leader by taking the Managerial Grid Questionnaire.

Country Club management style

The qualities of the Country Club management style leader include taking an interest in staff, accommodating their needs as much as possible, and creating a relaxed work environment. This type of leader places less emphasis on tasks and productivity.

I recommend: Reference Changing Minds to learn more about the Country Club management style identified by Robert Blake.

Impoverished management style

A leader with an Impoverished management style demonstrates little concern for staff, tasks or productivity, resulting in an inefficient and disorganized work environment.

I recommend: Reference 12Manage to learn more about the Impoverished management style identified by Robert Blake.

Produce or Perish style

The Produce or Perish management style is characterized by little interest or concern for workers, yet high standards for productivity. This type of leader often implements regulations and punishments if goals are not met.

I recommend: Reference Economic Expert to learn more about the Produce or Perish management style identified by Robert Blake.

Middle of the Road style

A leader with a Middle of the Road management style tries to reach equilibrium between an interest and concern for staff and productivity. This style generally results in a healthy work environment, allowing employees to meet adequate performance standards.

I recommend: Reference the US Department of Health and Human Services to learn more about the Middle of the Road management style identified by Robert Blake.

Robert Blake and Jane Mouton contributed to the modern human resources movement by introducing their management model in 1961. They wanted to meld management’s growing demand for productivity measurement with their aspirations of keeping a human touch in business, especially in motivating people. They put forward their model as a tool businesses can apply to find the best way to manage people.

The Blake and Mouton theory posits that management trades off between personnel and productivity concerns. The most effective managers successfully juggle both. The management theory of Robert Blake broke ground by combining empirical research with ways to transmit the results to those affected by the work, to promote change in the workplace. To get more familiar with Robert Blake’s management theory, break it down into three stages:

1. Understand the background of Robert Blake.

2. Comprehend the grid at the heart of the model.

3. Adapt the tool to your organization’s management style and culture.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Peruse information about Robert Blake

Dr. Jane S. Mouton and Dr. Robert Blake, two PhD's studying behavioral science in the psychology department at the University of Texas in the 1950s, formed Scientific Methods, Inc. (now Grid International, Inc.) in Austin, Texas and co-authored 'The Managerial Grid' in 1961. Harvard Business School still considers their work a business classic.

I recommend: Get to know the man behind the theory at his legacy company, Grid International. For a more in-depth understanding, read excerpts of Joe Flower’s interview published in Healthcare Forum Journal.

Get a handle on the Robert Blake managerial grid

The classic Robert Blake managerial grid places concern for production on the horizontal axis and concern for people on the vertical axis, both ranging from one to nine. The various leadership styles plot on the grid based on the trade-offs made between emphasizing production and people: indifferent or impoverished 'evade and elude;' accommodating or country club 'yield and comply;' dictatorial or produce or perish 'control and dominate;' status quo or middle-of-the-road 'balance and compromise;' and sound or team 'contribute and commit.'

I recommend: 12manage provides a concise summary of the five points on the grid, plus a note on a third axis (motivation, from fear-driven to desire-driven) and links to help you compare Blake’s managerial grid with other management theories. The Free Library by Farlex summarizes the work of Blake and Mouton and outlines the process involved in executing a development program to make the Blake and Mouton managerial grid work for your organization.

Try the managerial grid questionnaire and adapt the results to your workplace

Blake's management theory emphasizes management, and helps you analyze current leadership styles by plotting them on a graph for all to review. Use this map to figure out where your company is in general, as well as by leadership level or by department. Once you map the current terrain, determine where to improve management's balance of employee morale and productivity.

I recommend: Mind Tools reviews the grid, then helps you understand how to use and adapt the theory to your work situation, placing it in proper context. For a dry run, check out a sample questionnaire published by Don Clark.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Situational leadership (SL), first introduced by Paul Mersey and Ken Blanchard in 1969, has challenged Blake's theory in supervisor leadership training today. While others have adapted the grid by adding two styles to address some of the changes (opportunistic 'exploit and manipulate' and paternalistic 'prescribe and guide'), the grid may best be used on a 'macro' level to determine the overall leadership temperature of the organization, then have individual managers use SL to adapt to the work styles of employees within their teams or by individual performance levels.