MGMT 601: Book Review of Facilitative Leadership, Gibbs Cycle Analysis

This assignment is a book review of "Facilitative Leadership: Managing Performance without Controlling People" by Steve Reilly, completed as part of a MGMT 601 course. The review utilizes the Gibbs Reflective Cycle to analyze the book's content. The introduction outlines the author's purpose in comparing autocratic and facilitative leadership styles and their impact on individual performance. The description section details the book's structure, focusing on the wheel of thought attributes. The evaluation assesses the book's clarity, credibility, and strengths, while also acknowledging its weaknesses. The analysis section discusses the key concepts of facilitative leadership, emphasizing its positive influence on individual responsibility and decision-making. The author reinforces concepts learned in class by making specific claims on the representation in the elite decisions, variables of the society and their backgrounds, and the basic concept of facilitative leadership which are vital features covered in class and the idea on effective leadership. The paper reinforces the different concepts of autocratic and facilitative leadership approaches learned in class by backing some of the key concepts on operational separation more so on the institutions the author focuses on. The review concludes with a reflection on the author's insights and their relevance to leadership and management. This assignment is a comprehensive exploration of leadership styles, supported by academic sources and personal reflection.

Running Head: BOOK REVIEW 1
Book Review: Facilitative Leadership: Managing Performance without Controlling People
Name
Institution
Date

BOOK REVIEW 2
Book review: Facilitative leadership: managing performance without controlling people
Introduction
“Facilitative Leadership: Managing Performance without Controlling People” book by
Steve Reilly discusses in depth two different approaches of leadership and the effect and
influence that these approaches have on the performance of people under the leadership. The two
approaches discussed in the book are autocratic leadership and facilitative leadership approach
(Reilly, 1996). As per the book, autocratic leadership is an approach whereby leaders try to
control the behavior and performance of individuals by using authority. Facilitative leadership
approach on the other hand is an approach whereby leaders try to help individuals under them to
be responsible for each and every decision they make (Reilly, 1996). Most leaders and managers
have a hard time deciding the best approach between the two. The reason why this book was
selected is because the author in the book discusses in depth the characteristics, benefits, and
challenges of the two approaches. Besides, these two leadership approaches have not been
compared in past researches hence the need to review this book.
Reflection is a mental process that gives an individual fundamental insights that lead to
further learning (Göker & Bozkuş, 2017). It is a process whereby one revisits an event, text or
situation thinking of the effect and influence it had on one’s life (Tesh & Kautz, 2017). Besides,
this process enables one to evaluate what could have been differently in an attempt to achieve a
different outcome (Markkanen et al., 2020). Gibbs Reflective Cycle is a reflective cycle model
created by Graham Gibbs an American psychologist and sociologist (Potter, 2015). The model
helps individuals to reflect on the various experiences during an activity or event (Sekarwinahyu
et al., 2019). To help one reflect on the experiences in detail, the model is divided in phases

BOOK REVIEW 3
(Nicol & Dosser, 2016). These phases are; Feelings, Evaluation, Analysis, Conclusion and
Action plan (Chen et al., 2018).
Description
This is the first phase of the Gibbs reflective cycle. In this step, one is supposed to
describe the event, activity, or situation in detail (Dressler et al., 2018). It is important to note
that in at this stage is not supposed to draw any conclusions regarding the activity or situation
(Al-Jubouri & Al-Jubouri, 2019). Under this phase, the eight elements of the wheel of thought
that are used are purpose, point of view, implications, assumptions, information, concepts,
inferences, and questions (Oham et al., 2016). The main purpose of the book by Steve is to bring
out the reasons why facilitative approach of leadership is preferable to autocratic approach based
on the performance and outcome of individuals (Reilly, 1996). This purpose is achieved since in
the book, Steve deeply discusses what autocratic and facilitative leadership are, how they
influence individuals in terms of performance and decision making, the benefits and
disadvantages of both these styles of leadership.
Steve’s point of view in the book is that facilitative leadership is the best approach to use
for managers since it mainly focuses on motivating and helping people to take responsibility and
accountability of their actions. Besides, he describes that autocratic leadership has been
ineffective in the long run since under this approach, managers use authority to control the
behavior of individuals. In the book, Steve assumes that individuals work best under minimal
pressure (Reilly, 1996). Building on information and inferences made by Steve in the book,
leadership is the quality that individuals that possess it have the capacity to steer others towards
achievement of specific goals. Management on the other hand is the process through which the

BOOK REVIEW 4
objectives of an organization are attained through effective utilization of human and
organizational resources.
Evaluation
The book is well-written. This is because, the author clearly arranges the book in a
chronological order that is easy for one to follow. In addition, the book provides many
weaknesses and strengths under the various perspectives the author discusses. One of the
fundamental strength in this book is clarity and credibility. The author of this book placed a lot
of significance on the literary quality of the text. Throughout the book, his effort and focus on
high literal quality are noticed. He has sacrificed every other need such as personal satisfaction to
simplicity and plainness of style so as to enhance the understanding of the readers.
The additional advantage in this book is the information and interpretation that the author
gives and makes in analyzing the two approaches of leadership discussed in the book. The author
relies on empirical data that provides readers with clarity in terms of understanding every
specific discussion he makes. In the analysis of the two leadership approaches and decision
making processes of leaders, the author focuses on the specification as a key strength whereby
the author names institutions, individuals, public establishments, and other many specifics to
back the key concepts (Markkanen et al., 2020). In addition to this, he has laid down evidence-
based plans of action that are practical hence making the content of the text of high quality. He
also reviews other books critiquing some ideas and supporting others which make the quality of
his book quite commendable. The additional advantage in this book is the contribution that the
author makes in analyzing the different aspects of facilitative leadership. In this case, the author
makes essential separations of entities such that he shows understanding of different concepts
and attributes of facilitative and autocratic leadership which is a critical factor in general

BOOK REVIEW 5
leadership research. When it comes to weaknesses, one of the significant weakness seen in this
book is that the author shows some strange duality in his sentiments on the inspiration behind
this book and the specific claim he makes on leadership theory. Secondly, the author does not
provide the correct information on education controlling half of the private endowment funds.
Analysis
Based on the book, it is evident that there are very many approaches that one can take in
leadership. However, each approach has different impacts and influences on individuals. There
are some approaches such as autocratic approaches whereby impose negative incentives on
individuals to perform while there are some such as facilitative leadership approach that
positively influence the participation, decision making and responsibility of individuals
(Sekarwinahyu et al., 2019). Building on the different concepts of the book, facilitating decision
making among individuals is the best approach of leadership as it helps people take full
responsibility and accountability of their actions.
The book reinforces the different concepts of autocratic and facilitative leadership
approaches learned in class by backing some of the key concepts on operational separation more
so on the institutions the author focuses on (Johannes et al., 2019). The author reinforces the
concepts learned in class by making specific claims on the representation in the elite decisions,
variables of the society and their backgrounds, and the basic concept of facilitative leadership
which are vital features covered in class and the idea on effective leadership (Unroe, 2016).
Particularly, the author reflects on some of the most prevailing problems within the leadership
structure and their causes. In addition, he elaborates on the different ways in which leaders can
make amends in an attempt to make things easier and much better.

BOOK REVIEW 6
All these information covered in the book is in line with the concepts covered in the
course which made the book very interesting. The author besides making critical remarks on
facilitative leadership and other related concepts gives us the foundation of experience through
which we can analyze various leadership issues (Hunt & Fitzgerald, 2018).. By making some of
the key and specific claims of the elites and institutions, the author provides us with the facts and
shreds of evidence of discussion these issues. Secondly, the author offers particular data that can
be reliable in discussing the same problems more so with the problems of management and
leadership taking center stage in public policy.

BOOK REVIEW 7
References
Al-Jubouri, A. H. H., & Al-Jubouri, M. H. M. (2019). The Effectiveness of Teaching in the
Gibbs Model in the Decision-Making to Solve the Environmental Problems among
Students of College of Education. Indian Journal of Public Health Research &
Development, 10(1), 732-736.
Chen, M., Zhang, S., Tenbhomer, M., & Tate, D. (2018, May). Evaluation of Learning and
Teaching Practice for Design-oriented Engineering Modules. In 2018 4th International
Conference on Humanities and Social Science Research (ICHSSR 2018). Atlantis Press.
Dressler, R., Becker, S., Kawalilak, C., & Arthur, N. (2018). The cross-cultural reflective model
for post-sojourn debriefing. Reflective Practice, 19(4), 490-504.
Göker, S. D., & Bozkuş, K. (2017). Reflective leadership: Learning to manage and lead human
organizations. Contemporary Leadership Challenges, 27-45.
Hunt, J., & Fitzgerald, M. (2018). Styles of Leadership. Leadership: Regional and Global
Perspectives, 62.
Johannes, H., Batyi, T. T., Goldstone, S. P., Olsen, A. M., & Champion, E. (2019). Exploring
academic development programme evaluation at a university: A systematic scholarly
approach. South African Journal of Higher Education, 33(1), 144-172.
Markkanen, P., Välimäki, M., Anttila, M., & Kuuskorpi, M. (2020). A reflective cycle:
Understanding challenging situations in a school setting. Educational Research, 1-17.
Markkanen, P., Välimäki, M., Anttila, M., & Kuuskorpi, M. (2020). A reflective cycle:
Understanding challenging situations in a school setting. Educational Research, 1-17.
Nicol, J. S., & Dosser, I. (2016). Understanding reflective practice. Nursing Standard
(2014+), 30(36), 34.

BOOK REVIEW 8
Oham, C. A., Pestano, C., & Allen, J. (2016). Social enterprise and the wider community: one
possible model. International Journal of Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation, 4(2),
172-181.
Potter, C. (2015). Leadership development: an applied comparison of Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle
and Scharmer’s Theory U. Industrial and Commercial Training.
Reilly, S. (1996). Facilitative Leadership: Managing Performance without Controlling People
Sekarwinahyu, M., Rustaman, N. Y., Widodo, A., & Riandi, R. (2019, February). Development
of problem based learning for online tutorial program in plant development using Gibbs’
reflective cycle and e-portfolio to enhance reflective thinking skills. In Journal of
Physics: Conference Series (Vol. 1157, No. 2, p. 022099). IOP Publishing.
Sekarwinahyu, M., Rustaman, N. Y., Widodo, A., & Riandi, R. (2019, February). Development
of problem based learning for online tutorial program in plant development using Gibbs’
reflective cycle and e-portfolio to enhance reflective thinking skills. In Journal of
Physics: Conference Series (Vol. 1157, No. 2, p. 022099). IOP Publishing.
Tesh, A. S., & Kautz, D. D. (2017). Using Reflective Practice in a Leadership Course. Nurse
educator, 42(3), 117-119.
Unroe, C. E. (2016). Conditions and Constraints Related to Collaborative Management of
Natural Resources in Pennsylvania.