Leadership Grid Theory- Why Insight is a 9,9

A theory that I found was relevant to describing the operation and effectiveness of Insight was the Leadership Grid Theory. This theory states that there are 2 key responsibilities for leaders: taking care of people they lead (having a concern for people) and making sure the group reaches its goals (having a concern for results). This theory distinguishes between relationship-oriented and task-oriented behaviors but rejects the idea that these 2 forms of leadership are incompatible with one another. Instead, it says that they are compatible and leaders who value both people and products highly are the most effective leaders.

I found that at Insight as a whole, and my team especially, there is a high emphasis on reaching goals and being task-focused but there is also a high emphasis on teamwork and collaboration. This is seen when every Monday to kick off the week we have a team meeting that consists of recapping the weekend and then outlining the tasks for the week. This meeting is more task focused and demonstrates more concern about the results and making sure the week is structured so that everyone gets their tasks done accordingly. The team leader will always remind everyone to keep the group chat active and to constantly keep the team updated on what is going on so that everyone is on the same page about what is getting done. Then, every Friday we have a team meeting that is more focused on discussing exciting plans for the weekend and talking about non-work related things to get to know each other better and our interests outside of the office. During this meeting we also brush up on what got done this week and the leader will always wrap up by ensuring everyone feels comfortable and how if there is any concern to be vocal about it. This expresses a concern for the people which is very much appreciated as an employee. Having both of these meetings, one more task-oriented and the other more relationship-oriented is a great example of how the Insight work culture and my team adopts this 9,9 leadership style from the Grid Theory. 

Another example is how Insight made an effort to create opportunities for people to get to know each other even through the barriers COVID has introduced through a virtual world. While my internship was remote, I had the opportunity to go to a dinner with some of my co-workers to get to know people which is an example of Insight being relationship-oriented and valuing the needs of their employees. As a new worker, it is hard to develop relationships with people via Zoom and Teams and this was a great way to put a name to a face and meet people. Also, Insight celebrated National Intern Day on July 29th by giving all the interns the opportunity to go into the office for 2 days and planning fun bonding activities. This demonstrates Insight’s concern for its employees and creates a very welcoming environment for the interns. On top of creating these fun bonding events, Insight also sent the interns a gift for National Intern day with a handwritten note expressing their gratitude for our work. This expressed to me as an intern that they really do care about us and made my work feel appreciated. All in all, Insight as a whole and my team specifically demonstrates the 9,9 leadership style from the grid theory and being on the follower end of this demonstrated to me that having a both task and relationship-oriented style is very effective.