Individual Differences and Interpersonal Relationships — Page 242, Lesson 397

I want to walk you through a set of principles about how we work with others on the flight deck, and then into a structured model of leadership styles that helps us understand our own behaviour and that of our colleagues. Let’s start with the practical dos and don’ts. First, do not become ‘ego involved’ with your own point of view. That means don’t get so attached to your own idea that you simply try to get your own way. If the group — the crew — has made a decision, accept it, unless you feel it contains some hazard that the other group members haven’t appreciated. In that case, you have a duty to speak up, but otherwise, you go with the group. Next, do not let others progress down wrong paths of action and into trouble just to make yourself look clever. That’s a form of passive sabotage — letting someone fail so you can say ‘I told you so’. That has no place on a flight deck. Also, do not compete, do not get angry, do not shout, and do not sulk on the flight deck. Do not let your own bad mood show. Try to maintain a pleasant working atmosphere even if you do not like the other crew members. Professionalism means you manage your emotions, not that you have to be best friends. There’s a Chinese proverb quoted here: “Tell me and I’ll forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I’ll understand.” That’s a reminder that real learning and cooperation come from participation, not just being told. Now, let’s move into a formal model of leadership. This is Blake and Mouton’s Leadership or Managerial Grid Theory from 1964. They integrated the ideas of task orientation and relationship orientation into a grid with five main styles. The grid is based on the concept that leaders vary from 1 to 9 in their concern for people — that’s relationships — and their concern for getting things done — that’s tasks or goals. So each style is described by a pair of numbers: concern for people first, concern for task second. The first style is Authoritarian or Obedience Style, labelled 9.1. That means maximum concern for task completion — a 9 — combined with minimum concern for people — a 1. This leader dictates to followers what they should do and how they should do it. They concentrate on maximising the tasks to get done. They tend to regard colleagues as a means of production and seek to motivate by encouraging competition between people. If someone challenges them, they look upon it as non-cooperation. The excerpt notes this is similar to G+ P- — that’s a shorthand from earlier in the book, likely standing for high goal orientation and low people orientation. The second style is the “Country Club” Management Style, labelled 1.9. Here the leader shows minimum concern for task completion — a 1 — but maximum concern for people — a 9. Fostering good feelings gets primary attention, even at the expense of achieving results. Production is secondary to the avoidance of conflict and the maintenance of harmony. These managers will always seek to find compromises and arrive at solutions acceptable to everyone. This is similar to G- P+ — low goal, high people. The third style is Impoverished Management Style, labelled 1.1. The leader has minimum concern for both production and people — a 1 in both dimensions. They make only the least effort required to remain in the organization. This is similar to G- P-. The fourth style is the Organization Man Style or Middle of the Road Style, labelled 5.5. The leader goes along to get along. This results in conformity to the status quo. An attitude of “live and let live” is typified, together with a tendency to avoid real issues. The fifth and final style is Team Management Style, labelled 9.9. This leader integrates the concern for production and the concern for people — maximum on both axes. They seek results through the participation, involvement, and commitment of all those who can contribute. This is the ideal we aim for in professional aviation — high task focus and high people focus working together. That figure shows the grid visually, with the five styles plotted. You can see how the numbers map to the axes. That’s the Blake and Mouton model as it applies to leadership on the flight deck.