About the FIRO-B™: Leadership Patterns - Control

A person's scores on an Expressed Need can tell us a great deal about how that person will likely behave as a leader.  Each of the three scales indicates a particular style that will probably be used by that leader.  It's likely the leader will focus on that area where he or she scored the highest.  This time we'll look at those who score highest on Expressed Control.

Leaders with this style will probably lead by authority.  That means they will probably concentrate on getting results, providing direction, setting roles, creating a hierarchy and structure, making decisions, and dividing tasks up.  Other signs include devising and implementing strategy and testing for compliance.

This style usually works best when decisions must be made quickly, the problem is well-defined, a crisis or competitive threat faces the team, or a variety of good solutions are available.  When team members are frustrated or facing internal confusion or chaos, this style can be effective.  Finally, when people outside the team believe it’s off course or needs new direction, this leadership style might be applied.

Situations when this style might be inappropriate include when there are poor work relationships or mistrust among the team members, the problem is ill-defined, solutions are tentative, or when team members are used to acting and deciding autonomously.