The Leadership Grid® builds on the Ohio State and Michigan studies. It is based on the same two leadership dimensions that they called “concern for production” and “concern for people.” The ideal leadership style incorporates a high concern for both production and people. A questionnaire is used to measure a manager’s concern for people and production on a scale from 1 to 9, 1 being low concern and 9 being high concern. Five major leadership styles are highlighted on the grid.
Like with trait theory’s inconclusive finding, behavioral theories couldn’t find one style that researchers agreed was the one best style to use in all situations. Today, we know that leaders use different behavioral approaches to influence employees.