I've always been interested in different theories about leadership and management, so I thought it might be interesting to do a brief analysis of the British Council in relation to this. There are many ways of approaching the issue of management. However, one of the most effective and easy-to-understand is through the Blake Mouton Managerial Grid (below), as it lays out the different styles in a clear visual form. So it is using this that I will explain what I consider to be the main changes that have occurred within the British Council over the decades.
As you can see from the grid, there are two main criteria, concern for results or tasks and concern for people. Obviously, both are very important. However, it's finding the appropriate balance for a particular context that is probably the key factor in producing the best outcome. Different situations require different combinations. For example, the army would almost certainly opt for the bottom right corner, using a strong directive managerial style, as time is at a premium. A company in severe financial crisis might adopt a similar strategy, as results alone will be at the front of their minds. However, most companies or organisations would probably opt for a more balanced approach in normal circumstances.
The British Council goes back a long way, actually being founded in 1934. Teaching centres have sprung up at different times around the world ever since the 1950s. However, we could take the 1970s or 1980s as our starting point in the modern era, as by then teaching centres were pretty widespread. During these decades, the British Council offered high quality classes for predominantly upper middle class people, i.e. people with plenty of loot. Learning English with the British Council was definitely not for the masses, and was really more of a luxury pursuit for high class people. Moreover, the BC was then still fully supported by the UK government.
All of this was reflected in the management style of the Council then in that there was a distinct lack of urgency or concern for concrete results. In addition, teachers were well paid with plenty of perks and given light work loads. In fact, this era was probably the golden era from a teacher's point of view, since the management style was undoubtedly Country Club, as in the top left hand corner of the Blake Mouton grid, i.e. high concern for people but low concern for results.
From the 1990s the British Council Teaching Centres started to professionalise with a much clearer focus on results. This was particularly true from the mid 90s with the advent of IELTS and the need to provide courses. Nevertheless, teachers' conditions remained very good, well above the industry average. To get a job with the BC was still a kind of Holy Grail for EFL teachers. Really at this stage we could say it was Middle of the Road management according to the Blake Mouton grid.
This situation probably lasted quite a few years into the new millennium, and may have lasted longer. However, it was the momentous decision towards the end of the first decade to stop direct governmental funding of Teaching Centres that caused a major shift in managerial style. Teaching Centres were to be run as businesses and be self-sufficient. In fact, at time of writing 85% of the British Council's income comes from Teaching and Examination Centres.
Thus anyone joining the Council after about 2010 will have noticed the much stricter type of management with a clear focus on results. In fact, taking the Blake Mouton Grid as our standard, the ball has now been firmly in the bottom right hand corner pretty much ever since. Manifestations of this new style have been seen in tougher teaching schedules, lagging salaries, reduced perks, and lack of appreciation from the management. In fact, staff turnover has increased hugely during the period.
