Question

One essential trait of an effective leader is the ability to be both task oriented and relationship oriented. Most leaders are either task or relationship oriented; being competent at both can be very challenging. Which of these two options is your stronger orientation? If you were in a leadership position, how would you strengthen the weaker option? If you were the leader of a small business (50 employees), would you adopt a centralized or decentralized structure for your organization? Explain your rationale in some detail. Where do you think your current workplace is in those three areas? (If you are not currently working, then you can use a past workplace for this question.) Do you feel as though that workplace environment has a centralized or a decentralized structure?

Answer 1

Task-oriented (or task-focused) leadership is a leadership approach in which the leader focuses on the tasks that need to be performed by the group members in order to meet the group goals. Task oriented leadership style has its necessary advantages in helping to increase the productivity And efficiency of the members as the leader controls external and internal rewards for motivation. However, a major problem with such as approach is that it can easily lead to an autocratic set up where the leader is not invested in the well being and individual interests and difficulties of the Members. H/she can thus lose sight of the members who constitute the group in the bid to maintain a high standard of work.

Relationship-oriented (or relationship-focused) leadership is a behavioral approach in which the leader focuses on the satisfaction, motivation and the general well-being of the each of the team members and ensures that members have th opportunity to pursue their specific goals in line with the group outcomes. S/he is more likely to share and delegate responsibility and therefore increase the rate of success and productivity by enhancing the intrinsic motivation of the members. Relationship leaders work in a cohesive environment where they help the members to attain greater self-reliance and gradually create new group leaders form amongst the group. Relationship oriented leadership can thus ensure a continuity in the group processes as the members are less likely to suffer a setback absence of a leader.

In organisational setups, a combination of these two style styles of leadership is regarded as a crucial process. However, this goal is not easy to attain. Personally, I feel that my own striving for goals and competitive attitude makes my task oriented leadership orientation stronger and I can motivate the group members to continue to deliver their best performance. However, I feel that it is more challenging for me to maintain a relationship style of leadership as I may find it difficult to extend empathy to other group members and continuously maintain an emotional bond with them. Having said that, I feel that there are certain effective strategies which I can incorporate in my repertoire to enhance my weaker orientation and become more relationship-oriented in group processes. These may include measures such as:

Placing time and effort in meeting the individual needs of the group members by offering incentives like bonuses.

Effective mediation in group conflicts in the workplace or classroom

Creating more casual interactions with team members such a study through social get togethers, lunch, etc, to learn about their strengths and weaknesses, and

creating a non-competitive and equalitarianism work environment where each individual is made to feel that s/he is valued for his/her individual contribution made to the group.

These strategies can prove to have effective consequences in attaining a greater balance between the two leadership orientations and ensure an efficient functioning within the group.