Contemporary Approaches to Leadership

Contemporary approaches to leadership are the descendants of Taylor, Mayo and the Ohio State Leadership studies. The evolution of contemporary theories went through several stages.

The first was Taylor's scientific management, in which management's role was entirely technical -- they were to stay completely clear from their employess human affairs and emotions. It was the role of employees to adjust to management.

Secondly came a swing in the opposite direction to Elton Mayo and the Human Relations movement. Here the main focus was on individual needs and not on the needs of the organization. In other words, human relations emphasized relationships with people, while scientific management emphasized the importance of organizational tasks.

It was at OSU that the grid defining four combinations of task/relationship leadership styles originated. Blake and Mouton took the grid public and became famous for its use in OD work.

(1) The Managerial Grid
The most po...