Managing without Power

Citation

Ingram, H. (2002), "Managing without Power", International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Vol. 14 No. 4, pp. 199-200. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijchm.2002.14.4.199.4

Meredith Belbin is a well‐known name in the management literature. His pioneering work in characterizing and categorizing team roles has help to unpack the complexity of teamworking in an increasingly people‐centred age. His name has become synonymous with team roles and their associated characteristics. Other publications have addressed the nature of work and the shape of organizations in the future. At the grand old age of 75 Belbin is still hard at work and has no plans for retirement.

His reasons for writing this book stem from the observation in his talks and seminars that the percentage of female attendees was high, but that gender differences was a subject that was not being addressed. Married to an anthropologist, he felt that there was an economic junction that was divided by gender and that this was an important message on the human species. He feels that gender‐roles are linked to the success of the species and that equality of opportunity has never happened before in history. In the past, women have successfully used their psychosexual skills to manage men and their roles should complement rather than conflict with men’s roles. Belbin says that power does not have a payoff. He notes that many firms are owned by fund managers whose sole aim is performance, but we operate in a networking age where lateral communications are more important than top‐down connections. He contends that the age of authority will surely give way to an age of accommodation where softer and more “female” roles will become more important.

In the book, Belbin describes himself as an “evolutionist” and gives a personal account of human evolution, so as to try to make sense of the present‐day genetic inheritance in order to point to the future. Several principles underscore this approach, including the effects of biological utility in the evolution of physical and behavioural characteristics. It is argued that “changes do not endure unless they serve some useful purpose”. The “story” of human evolution is modelled in four main stages, from primaeval society to the ages of migration, power and accommodation. In primaeval society humans were concerned with physical adjustment to the environment in an economy of the hunter‐gatherer and already separate functional gender roles. Gradually, groups of people migrated to new lands, where the adventurous and flexible reaped the rewards of exploration and the discovery of new resources. The third age was one in which power was exercised first by absolute rulers whose power base was increasingly eroded by technical advances and the division of labour. These psychogenic changes produced four main genetic archetypes:

1. 1.

   1 true primaevals;

2. 2.

   2 true warriors;

3. 3.

   3 true slaves; and

4. 4.

   4 true professionals.

Belbin seeks to map the male and female behaviours of each of these four archetypes against his nine team roles. As with any role, individuals are likely to exemplify one of the prime archetypes, but hybrid characteristics are frequently to be encountered. The lesson is clear that, while behavioural mapping is useful, it cannot fully explain individual behaviour.

The fourth and current age in which Belbin sees us is the age of accommodation, where gender roles are softening and culture is adapting. In an age where absolute power has been curtailed, how does leadership operate? By rank, genetic type, respect, reputation? Belbin suggests that contemporary society finds itself at a crossroads in its development “while the signposts are being read and new directions considered”. At this critical time, organizations are being run by both P (power) and A (accommodating) managers. Belbin thinks that it is far from clear which managerial type will predominate in the future, as the gender gap in management becomes narrower and more blurred. In its simplest form, A‐type managers are associated with quintessentially masculine (although Margaret Thatcher is regarded as being the best example of this type!), and A type behaviour, that is softer, feminine and more accommodating.

This book comes together in the last quarter, when Belbin summarises how the genetic legacy is manifested in the behaviour of male and female archetypes in contemporary society. Finally, there is a feedback loop to Belbin’s previous work on team roles where the two modes of management are explored. The text is peppered by a number of cartoons aimed at “combining light relief and truth”, and an appendix offers a commentary on the well‐drawn cartoon themes.

Managing without Power offers an intensely personal but intelligent view on where society has come from and where it might be headed. Belbin has consulted many academic sources and has managed to produce an authoritative, yet accessible book that will provoke discussion of an important, but neglected topic. Every reader may not agree with what he writes, but this tireless polymath is always interesting and readable.