Book Review by Jack Falt
Beck and Yeager also create a four-by-four matrix and come up with their
four styles of leadership. One axis of their matrix divides those who lead
by low or high support of their staff, and the other axis divides those
who lead by low direction or high direction.
| • Supportive Behaviour
• Participation • Listening |
S3 - Developing
• High Support - Low Direction • Team Member Decides with Direction Active Listening - Limited Influencing |
S2 - Problem Solving
• High Support - High Direction • Leader Decides with Input Active Listening - Active Influencing |
| S2 - Delegating
• Low Support Low Direction • Team Member Decides Alone Limited Listening - Limited Influencing |
S1 - Directing
• Low Support-High Direction • Leader Decides Alone • Limited Listening Active Influencing - Active Influencing |
|
| • Directive Behaviour
• Leader’s Responsibility • Influencing |
Style 1 is directing or telling employees what to do, when to do it and how to do it. In its negative form it is called dominating.
Style 2 involves getting together with the employees and listening to their ideas before coming to a decision. Its negative form is over-involving the employees rather than making a decision and getting on with the task at hand, a kind of group wallow.
Style 3 is developing. The leaders acts as a support as the employee solves any problems that need to be dealt with. In its negative form it is over-accommodating. Here the leaders just lets the employee flounder around without stepping in.
Style 4 is delegating. The leader assumes that the employee knows what to do and assumes that the task is being done without the need of direction. In its negative form the leader is abdicating, assuming the task is being carried out.
The book then gives examples of top leaders of industry who use one
of these styles as their main way of leading. Also of interest are examples
of politicians who use these styles.
| Style | Leader | Politics |
| Style 1 | Ray Kroc - McDonald’s | VP Al Gore |
| Style 2 | Bill Gates - Microsoft | George Bush Sr. |
| Style 3 | Jack Welch - General Electric | Corazon Aquino - Philippines |
| Style 4 | Ted Turner - CNN | Ronald Reagan/George W. Bush |
The book emphasises the need for a leader to use all four styles. One trap that leaders get into is the 1-4-1 combination of styles. Here the leader tells the employee what to do (1). Then the employee is left alone (4). The leader then see that the employee isn’t doing it the way expected, so the leader goes back into directing mode (1).
The most useful combination is 1-4-3-2. Here the leader gives direction (1), lets the employee get on with the task (4), meets with the employee to assist with any problems (3), and when the employee meets a roadblock, listens and then makes a decision (2).
I see a close correlation between Berens Interaction Styles. In Charge - Style 1. Get things Going - Style 2. Behind the Scenes - Style 3. Chart the Course - Style 4.
The book finishes off by looking at how to make a group of people a team using the four styles of leadership.
The book is meant as a text for a leadership course the authors give. It has lots of examples and has lots of ideas a leader could use. It is meant for captains of industry and Fortune 500 companies. The concepts are valid for any leadership situation, but there aren’t many examples of how to give leadership in a small company.
In the Jung/Myers theory chapter, the four dimensions of behaviour include descriptions on how those who score near the middle of each dimension tend to behave as opposed to those at the extremes. See the accompanying article called “Near the Midpoint.”