Week 5: Task-Oriented and Relationship-Oriented Leadership in Action

From my observations after five weeks of working at The Broad, I can tell Ali demonstrates a mixture of task oriented leadership and relationship oriented leadership. A task oriented approach tends to be autocratic and emphasizes completing tasks required to meet organizational goals. This form of leadership requires step by step planning, defining structure and goals, and requiring employees to set process-oriented goals and formulate plans to achieve them. Ali’s demonstration of this is evident in the task management tool she uses, Asana. This tool allows a leader to create as many tasks as needed with a due date, assign tasks to different employees, assign tasks to different divisions of the business, and make any comments on the task when completing it. Once someone is done with a task, they can either complete the task or assign it to a different person on the team. I think this is an effective way for Ali to run her small business, as it organizes everything she needs to get done in one space. However, there are a few downsides to using this form of leadership. I think it allows the leader and the follower to be sort of distanced. There is a form of communication, but it is mainly virtual. Although Ali and I talk face to face regarding the tasks, I think there should be more communication outside of Asana to create a better work space. Communication is sometimes limited because she is busy completing her tasks, or away at meetings, and I am busy completing my tasks.

I do notice some relationship oriented leadership from Ali as well. Relationship oriented leadership is an “approach in which the leader focuses on the satisfaction, motivation and general well-being of the team members.” The leader still understands the importance of tasks, but they also focus on meeting the needs of all of the team members. They take time to notice the strengths and weaknesses of an employee, as well as lead them in a personable or encouraging manner. During the beginning of the internship, Ali asked what I was mostly interested in doing, so she could assign me tasks more focused on my interested. She is personable, and to a degree encouraging, but I think there could be more encouragement from her to create an even more comfortable environment with even more motivation. There have been one or two times where Ali has expressed her gratitude for all the work that I have done thus far, which was amazing to hear. But I think sharing those feelings and creating a stronger relationship with an employee would create an even better sense of belonging, worthiness and motivation.