An Exploration of a leadership Grid to Identify Management 
                         Potential. 
        
        
        
        
        
                             
                             
                         Helen Bray 
                         12118737 
                             
                             
                             
         A dissertation Submitted in Partial fulfilment of a Master’s in Business 
                        Administration 
                             
                             
          Submitted to the National College of Ireland, 1st September 2014. 
                             
                     
       Abstract 
        
       The purpose of this piece of research was to look at the leadership styles engaged by senior 
       management in company X to see if a leadership grid could be developed which identified 
       those leadership styles most prevalent amongst senior managers and those deemed to be most 
       effective by them. The objective of the study was to gain an insight into the senior managers 
       leadership styles and to establish which styles of leadership they used according to Golemans 
       (2000)  6  different  styles  of  leadership.  The  result  of  the  initial  analysis  allow  for  the 
       development of a management development programme specifically targeted at developing 
       and nurturing those leadership styles considered effective within the organisation and as such 
       is bespoke to them.  The resulting analysis also provides the potential to assess existing and 
       potential future managers to gauge their level of preparedness to take on leadership roles 
       within the organisation.   
       The data for the study was collected using quantitative methods in the form of in-depth 
       interviews. These were conducted with five senior employees in the organisation.   
       The research found that overall the senior managers liked to think that they were using a suite 
       of styles rather than just one style within their role in the organisation. But on analysis of the 
       interviews all the managers with the exception of one agreed that they had a dominant style 
       which was used predominately. The style that they utilised was a mix between the affiliate 
       and democratic style. One manager confirmed that by having a dominant style he would 
       undermine his own credibility and therefore felt that he no longer portrayed a dominant style.  
       In conclusion the best development plan for any new senior manager within the organisation 
       is learning through experience using a combination of practices. To confirm that effective 
       leadership development is less about which one or combination of practices that are used by 
       the organisation but more about the consistent implementation of these practices.  
                     
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       Acknowledgements  
        
       I  would like to take this opportunity to thank a number of people who made this thesis 
       possible,  
       First and foremost I would like to thank my husband Brendan that without his continued 
       support and encouragement I would never have achieved my goal, you knew when I was 
       struggling and you were always there to lend a hand and encourage me to keep going.  
       To my children, Adam and Saoirse, I promise I will be home from now on.    
       To my supervisor Dr. Colette Darcy, thank you for your patience and continued support 
       throughout this process, I know at times when I felt like giving up your guidance and support 
       was invaluable. 
       And finally I would also like to thank my work colleagues who kindly participated in my 
       research and gave me valuable insights into their leadership styles.  
        
                     
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               Submission of Thesis and Dissertation 
                             
                     National College of Ireland 
                 Research Students Declaration Form 
                   (Thesis/Author Declaration Form) 
        
       Name:  Helen Bray  
       Student Number:  12118737 
       Degree for which thesis is submitted:  Master of Business Administration 
        
       Material submitted for award  
          (a) I declare that the work has been composed by myself.  
          (b) I declare that all verbatim extracts contained in the thesis have been 
          distinguished by quotation marks and the sources of information 
          specifically acknowledged.  
          (c) My thesis will be included in electronic format in the College  
          Institutional Repository TRAP (thesis reports and projects)  
          (d) Either *I declare that no material contained in the thesis has been 
          used in any other submission for an academic award.  
          Or *I declare that the following material contained in the thesis formed 
          part of a submission for the award of  
       ________________________________________________________________  
       (State the award and the awarding body and list the material below)  
        
       Signature of research student: _____________________________________  
        
       Date: _____________________ 
                     
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