The Tannenbaum and Schmidt continuum

• The Tannenbaum and Schmidt continuum is a simple model of leadership that shows the relationship between the level of freedom in relation to decision making that a manager chooses to give a team of workers and the level of authority retained by the manager
• As the teams freedom increases, so the managers authority decreases
• Tannenbaum and Schmidt identified seven varying levels of control by the manager and freedom for the team (known as delegated freedom)
• At one extreme, the manager orientated position illustrates a democratic / laissez-faire style
• The model highlights that there are a range of styles rather than categorising management and leadership simply in terms of either authoritarian and democratic, it shows that there is a continuum
• The approach that the manager will adopt will vary and depend upon:

  • the forces in the manager (personality and characteristics, experience, attitude towards and trust in subordinates)
  • the forces in the subordinates (personality and characteristics, experience, attitude towards and trust in leader)
  • the forces in the situation (nature of the problem / situation, resource constraints including time, culture of the organisation)
• Influences on the leadership style selected

  • company structure
  • particular situation
  • organisations cultures and traditions
  • nature of the tasks involved
  • nature of the employees
  • group size
  • personality and skills of the leader
  • time frame