Week 1 & 2: Task vs Relationship Leadership (Theories in Action)

The organization that I am interning with this summer is The Performing Arts Project. This nonprofit organization “provides instruction in all aspects of the performing arts including acting, dancing, and singing”. They run 3 different summer programs for students interested in pursuing performing arts and have gathered well respected performers from around the nation to educate and nurture the students. When I first met my supervisor, who is the Chief Creative Officer and co-founder of the organization, it was through my interview with the Executive director and also co-founder. They were both very open and welcoming, and the interview felt more similar to a casual talk rather than a structured format. Everyone was dressed casually, and there were no written questions prepared. This was when I knew that this organization was more relationship based than task oriented.

I met all the staff and faculty through the first orientation, and it was as if everyone was part of the same family. Everyone knew and were close to each other, they were making jokes and having fun. There was no barrier or awkwardness between the faculty and staff. This made me realize how relationship oriented the leadership in this organization was to bring everyone together and know each other clearly. When we all introduced each other, we stated where we were located since everything was remote, everyone was all around the world. Then we stated what our favorite sandwich was. Every meeting had incorporation of fun, but they also made sure everyone knew what was going on.

When I was in the meeting, I did not feel certain hierarchy in leadership, rather a collaborative team trying to run the program together. Because the administrative staff team is very small, everyone worked together rather than one person telling the team what to do. Although Kim Slade had the highest position as the Executive Director, because everyone in organization knew how the programs ran every summer, they all knew exactly what to do and rather worked together to figure things out. Everyone just had different roles and when they were put together, everything worked out. Kim just made sure they all fit in together. This team, rather than showing a vertical leadership structure showed more of a horizontal one, where all the staff work together and have easier access to each other. This also allowed everyone to build closer relationships because there needs to be effective communication.

This organization is a lot more relationship leadership oriented, but through their relationships, tasks were completed. I believe this is only passible because their team is very small, and communication is easier when the group is small. IF they were bigger, more task-oriented leadership and structured hierarchy might have been necessary. But I believe this type of leadership style works very well with this team.