Angela Misko

Leadership: Chapter 4

Directions:
Chapter 4 Attending to Tasks and Relationships:
Due by the end of your food service management rotation. We suggest that
you read the chapter before starting the rotation.
o Read the chapter and complete the self-assessment (4.1)
o Answer 4.3 reflection questions #1-3, p. 82
o Answer action question #1, p.82
o Read Case study and answer questions, p. 77.
o Submit to Phyll







4.3 Reflection & Action Worksheet

Reflection
1. As you reflect on what has been discussed in this chapter and on your own
leadership style, how would you describe your own style in relation to task and
relationship orientations? What are your strengths and weaknesses?

Although I scored high in both task and relationship oriented leadership behavior,
I feel that I am slightly more task-oriented than relationship. Task-oriented people
are goal oriented whereas relationship-oriented people are not as goal directed. I
enjoy getting things done and crossing items off of my to-do list. I find
pleasure and gratification in completing tasks because it brings a sense of
accomplishment. I am very relationship-oriented as well, and I enjoy building
relationships and feeling connected with others, however if I were to rate myelf
on the continuum, I would be slightly more towards task-oriented. My strengths
include great time management and dependability due to my organized/goal
oriented nature. An area of my leadership that needs improvement would
therefore be the ability to understand employees/followers. I think it is more
difficult to build camaraderie, trust, and respect between people than it is to
initiate structure because relationships take time to develop.

2. What biases do you maintain regarding task style and relationship style? How do
your biases affect your leadership?

I am biased towards task-oriented leadership because of my past experiences with
managers at work and my personality and preference to get things done. I have
always enjoyed working for a task-oriented manager because they are usually
very efficient and productive at what they do. I like to feel connected to others in
the workplace; however building friendships with co-workers is not my first
priority. I am very extroverted and I love making new friends, but I prefer to keep
relationships at work to a certain level because I like to keep my social life and
business life separate. Since I am very task-oriented in my personal life, my
leadership is affected because I tend to also be more task-oriented in my work life
and leadership. For example, in my personal life I generally make to-do lists for
everything. This is similar to my work life because I will also make to-lists to
ensure the job gets done on time and correctly.

3. One of the most difficult challenges leaders face is to integrate their task and
relationship behaviors. Do you see this as a challenge in your own leadership?
How do you integrate task and relationship behaviors?

I dont think integrating task and relationship behaviors is a difficult challenge.
Even though I consider myself to be a more task-oriented type person, I am still a
very strong relationship-oriented person as well. I have a strong interest in
building relationships with other people and promoting good social relations in
the workplace. I think the challenge would be to integrate both behaviors at the
same time. For example, it would be a challenge to deal with an employee who
does not feel comfortable completing a certain task. In order to avoid
compromising task or relationship behaviors, the leader must exhibit good
problem solving skills so that the end result will include the task getting done and
the employee feeling comfortable. I also think finding the time to build
relationships can be difficult because when there is a lot of work to be done, it can
be hard to build relationships at the same time.

Action
1. If you were to change in an effort to improve your leadership, what aspect of your
style would you change? Would you try to be more task oriented or more
relationship oriented?

I would try to be more relationship-oriented. Relationship leaders help
subordinates to feel comfortable with themselves, with each other, and with the
situation in which they find themselves. I think that my strong-mindedness and
independence can sometimes cloud my ability to feel sympathy for others because
of my no excuse mindset. I definitely treat others with respect and want people
to get along, however I think that in order to be more relationship oriented, I
would have to go a few extra miles to build camaraderie with followers. This may
include socializing outside of the work setting or simply striking up a
conversation at work that doesnt relate to the job itself.

Case Study: From Two to One
1. Using ideas from the chapter, describe Dans and Ashers styles of leadership

Dans style of leadership is more task-oriented while Ashers style of leadership is
more relationship-oriented. Dans employees describe him as an efficient task
master who has checklists they are all required to follow and sign off on as they
complete each job. This fits the description of a task-oriented person because
task-oriented people are very goal oriented and usually have checklists for
completing their goals. Ashers leadership is very relationship-oriented because
he tries to understand the challenges they may face and lets them manage their
own jobs. He holds a breakfast for the employees once a month for them to bond
which is very illustrative of a relationship-oriented leader.

2. How will Ashers employees, who are used to being able to manage themselves in
their own way, respond to Dans task-oriented style?

Ashers employees will resist Dans task-oriented style because they are used to
doing things on their own. Dan is very involved and visits his teams at each
school while they are working, whereas Asher is very hands-off. If Dan exhibits
his task-oriented behaviors with Ashers employees, they may feel that they are
not trusted and therefore will not be trusting and respectful to Dan.

3. How will Dans employees, who are used to being given clear direction and
procedures, respond to Ashers more relationship-oriented style?

Dans employees may feel lost and confused. If Asher remains hands-off and does
not give the employees clear directions, tasks may be done incorrectly or not done
at all. Productivity will decrease and employees will not be satisfied with
leadership which will also result in poor social relations between Asher and his
employees.

4. If you were an employee at Co-Ed Cleaners, whom would you want Mark to let
go? Explain your choice.

I would want Mark to let Asher go because Dan is more of a task-oriented leader.
I think that Dan will be able to better handle the consolidated responsibilities and
although Ashers employees may resist the change in management, I think they
will eventually respect Dan for his hard work and Dan will also be able to learn to
trust them and give up a little control. I think it is more difficult to have Asher
take on more responsibilities since he is not that involved in the day-to-day tasks.
Task leadership is critically important in this situation because Ashers group can
be considered as new employees since they are not familiar with Dans
management style. I think it is more important to focus on tasks and
responsibilities first, and then build relationships.