What is the difference between task-oriented leadership and people-oriented leadership?

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If you've ever noticed that when working with some employees you just seem to "click," while with others there is friction no matter what the task, it could be a clash in natural working styles. There are numerous leadership styles, but two that are very different from one another are task-oriented leadership and relationship-oriented leadership. By understanding the differences between the two, you can see which one is your natural style, and how to adapt if an employee works best in the other leadership environment.

When you see your employees on Monday morning, do you ask about their weekend - or do you ask what time they'll have their reports on your desk? Although the two examples may be extreme - and your typical action lies somewhere in between - people have a tendency to lean toward one style or the other. This is true for leadership style as well as working style.

For some people, it's important to get to know those they work with or those they employ. They work better with someone when they know more about him than his work. For example, if Karen is unusually out-of-sorts, a relationship-oriented leader would know that it could be because she's going through a difficult divorce, rather than that her job is too difficult for her.

A task-oriented leader doesn't spend much time on "small talk" because he's goal-oriented, rather than people-oriented. It's important to him to accomplish outlined goals, usually in a step-by-step fashion, task by task. Therefore, meeting deadlines is more important than anything else, so that goals can be accomplished as planned.

Anything that interferes with completing tasks is an unnecessary distraction, and that includes talking about life outside of work. If you're not sure whether you're task-oriented, ask yourself what you know about your employees' personal lives. If you know James has children, but you have no idea of their genders or ages - and you think that Michelle is engaged because you saw a wedding magazine on her desk - it's a good bet you're task-oriented.

Neither leadership style is totally good or bad, right or wrong. It's when they are taken to extremes that problems can occur.

Task-oriented style: Task-oriented leaders meet their deadlines and goals and make sure their employees do, too. But in doing so, they may hover and micromanage to see that employees are on track. They can be perceived as overbearing, especially by employees who are more people-oriented. Task-oriented managers may wonder why they have such high employee turnover, not realizing how stressful it is to work for them.

Relationship-oriented style: Leaders who value building relationships with their employees have loyal workers who enjoy the vibe in the office. But, by knowing details of their employees' personal lives, they may become too understanding when deadlines are missed and tasks go unfinished. Employees can then think deadlines are always soft and can be extended, and productivity may decrease.

Many, if not most, leaders naturally manage employees by combining several leadership styles. Consider your employees' working styles and determine if they are clashing with your style of management. If so, consciously adapting your style with those people can make the difference.

If you realize you might hover too much while they're working, check in half as often and watch morale improve. Meet with each employee one-on-one, perhaps over lunch, and make an effort to get to know them, even revealing a bit about yourself. Or, if you feel your employees are taking advantage of your relationship-oriented style, let them know deadlines and work quality matter by motivating them with prizes and recognition for completing tasks on schedule, increasing sales or whatever productivity needs to increase.

Business leaders around the world have become increasingly aware of the fact that an effective leadership style is more important than ever in the workplace. The wrong leadership style can lead to a lot of problems, including:

• Low motivation
• Poor productivity
• Team disharmony
• High employee turnover

It's critical that both local employers who need local workers and non-local employers that need online workers provide appealing leadership. Modern workers are not limited to local job markets and income options. Instead, they can now find unlimited income opportunities online and they are not as tied to their geographic location as generations before them. Remote workers can move easily from job-to-job because they have no physical connection to a remote company. A supervisor's leadership style often influences a remote worker's loyalty.

There are plenty of leadership styles that you might use in your business. The task-oriented and people-oriented styles are two of the most popular ones:

What Is Task-Oriented Leadership?

A task-oriented leader is someone who focuses on overall success through the completion of tasks. This type of leader doesn’t care as much about relationship building as he/she cares about workers meeting particular goals within a preset time frame. A task-oriented leader sees a goal, creates a step-by-step plan to reach that goal, creates a work schedule and then expects workers to follow that schedule and finish the task by a specific deadline.

What Is People-Oriented Leadership?

A people-oriented leader focuses on creating overall success by building lasting relationships with employees. This type of leader does care about tasks and schedules, but he/she believes that work culture is more important. A people-oriented leader uses relationship building techniques, such as employee recognition and team-building exercises, to create an environment where employees feel appreciated and motivated enough to invest personally in the success of the business and work at their highest possible levels.

There is little doubt that task-oriented leaders can get results. They provide workers with simple steps and detailed guidance. Yet, many task-oriented people are referred to as micro-managers that make workplaces uncomfortable and non-welcoming. Task-oriented leaders care less about whether a worker has a good idea for making production easier than they do that the worker complete the task as outlined on time. As a result, task-oriented leaders often make workers feel like drones. Eventually, if this leadership style is used constantly, workers feel under-appreciated and less motivated to reach their goals; and then production suffers.

People-oriented leaders create a workplace environment where employees trust their leaders and feel loyalty toward the business and their co-workers. Productivity increases because workers actually want to come to work each day. These leaders also open the door for creating newer, better business processes by accepting and promoting employee and team feedback. Yet, many people-oriented leaders are referred to as weak leaders. They often invest so much time into relationship-building through team meetings, one-on-one reviews and team-building events that production delays occur and cause missed deadlines. Some relationship-oriented leaders give workers so much control over completion of a task with little guidance or monitoring that tasks don’t get completed on time.

These two leadership styles are obviously beneficial to a business. Most experts believe that business leaders should create a custom mash-up style that equally focuses on task completion and relationship-building while also emphasizing ways to overcome the obstacles related to both styles.

Related:

How Poor Leadership Styles Cause an Organization to Fail

Sources Cited:

Gill, Eric. “What is Relationship-Oriented Leadership? How Supporting People Promotes Teamwork.” St. Thomas University Online. Web. 25 November 2014.

Randall J. Ponder. “Determine Your Leadership Style.” Entrepreneur. Web. 26 September 2005.

Topics: business ideas, Self Help, Leadership

As a leader, which do you consider more important: The wellbeing of your team, or the effective achievement of company objectives?

While the majority will note that both are vital parts of effective management, a lot can be determined about your leadership style by which you grant higher importance.

Leaders who place prominence on their team’s wellbeing are considered to be people-oriented leaders, and this comes with a whole host of implications in the workplace.

This blog post will explore the advantages and disadvantages of people oriented leadership style, and the situations where this leadership style can thrive.

What is a People-Oriented Leadership Style?

Maybe you’re wondering what the traits, skills, and qualities of a people-oriented leadership style are?

To answer this question, you need to understand the distinction between task-oriented and people-oriented leadership.

Where task-oriented leaders have a strong focus on getting a job done, people-oriented leaders place more emphasis on the development and involvement of their team.

Democratic and participative decision making processes are used to invite contributions from members of staff, and their personal development - as well as organisational success - is a key consideration of all activities.

Words like motivational, transformational, and moralising are associated with this style of leadership.

Why is People-Oriented Leadership important?

Because relationships are given precedence, people-oriented leadership is often held in high regard in an organisation. Managerial staff are increasingly aware of the importance of a work culture that makes people feel involved and respected, and they seek to use leadership styles that foster these things.

In task-oriented workplaces, a strong focus on achieving results can sometimes come at the expense of personal considerations. When people feel left behind, the quality of their work, and even their allegiance to the company, can begin to suffer.

This can set off a chain reaction where the leadership loses the respect and buy-in of their team, and productivity plummets.

Advantages and Disadvantages of People-Oriented Leadership

The best way to understand the contributions that people-oriented leadership can bring to a workplace is to understand tangible outcomes it can lead to.

Let’s start with the benefits:

Team members feel that they and their contributions are valued, and likely feel more closely aligned to organisational objectives as a result. This harmony is a boon to any workplace.

This dialogue extends to other areas, too. If a team member feels they will be listened to, they are more likely to be open about difficulties they may be facing elsewhere in their role, giving the opportunity to nip problems in the bud.

Employees working under this management style are more likely to feel motivated and energised, which may translate to reduced staff turnover and burnout.

People-oriented leadership invites creativity, innovation, and fresh thinking: Vital aspects of a fluid and nimble workplace. By incorporating new ideas into procedures and organisational goals, a company is able to be responsive and to move with the times.

But we’d be lying if we pretended there were no drawbacks to people-oriented leadership. Here are some things that can be problematic:

There is an increasingly blurred line between leaders and their subordinates. When an important decision must be made and the leader needs to exert authority, team members who are used to having their contributions valued may feel snubbed if this opportunity is not present.

To reduce the risk of this outcome, firm boundaries should be established and observed. Team members who know that their voices will be heard, but that there are exceptions to this rule, will be less begrudging.

Another limitation is the nature of the work that an organisation carries out. Certain workplace rhythms just don’t lend themselves to people-oriented leadership, unfortunately. If this is the case, ensure team members are made to understand their value in another way, else you risk alienation and burnout.

And finally, people can feel more pressured if their is the expectation - real or perceived - that contributions must be made, and that this will be judged negatively. Effective people-oriented leaders must communicate to their team that participation is optional, or if this is not the case, they must do what they can to facilitate contributions without creating pressure.

People-Oriented vs Task-Oriented Leadership

Ultimately, the situation should dictate which leadership style is used, rather than a lack of willingness or ability from a leader to adapt.

The difference between a general and task environment will also determine whether people-oriented or task-oriented leadership is most suitable.

Here are some points to recap the difference between the styles:

• Task-oriented places emphasis on the task at hand, whereas people-oriented prioritises the individuals doing it.
• Task-oriented leaders are more likely to impose a method on their team, whereas people-oriented leaders will work with them to decide on how things should be done.
• People-oriented workplaces are prone to benefit from new and inspired ideas from people whose experiences are different to the traditional decision makers in an organisation. A task-oriented workplace is less conducive to this.
• People-oriented leadership considers relationships and rapport to be vital and integral parts of managerial experience.
• The boundaries between a leader and subordinates are more clearly defined and communicated in task-oriented leadership, leading to less ambiguity in expectations. This ambiguity can be negative though: If someone feels unambiguously that their contributions will be ignored, they will begin to feel disenfranchised.

Bear in mind that this is a top level picture of the intricacies of these two leadership styles, and in practice things will be less black and white.

In conclusion…

This blog post should lend some clarity to the strengths and weaknesses of the people-oriented leadership style, when considered in relation to task-oriented leadership.

No leader will fit neatly into one leadership style for the duration of their career, and it’s unlikely that doing so would be beneficial to them, their team, or their organisation.

Refining your understanding of different leadership styles and the situations that warrant them, you stand to become a more effective leader.

If you’re curious to learn how your people-oriented leadership skills can be improved, get in touch.

Every Success,
Graham