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Should managers be concerned with interpersonal relationships?
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Should managers be concerned with interpersonal relationships?
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Do you prefer to work under task management -a style of leadership that is goal or task oriented with little concern for personal relationships, or team management - a style of leadership that shows a
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Forums » Topic Forums » Work Views » Should managers be concerned with interpersonal relationships?
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Should managers be concerned with interpersonal relationships?
posted at 10/10/2002 2:49 PM EDT
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Posts: 2
First: 10/10/2002 Last: 10/10/2002 |
Do you prefer to work under task management -a style of leadership that is goal or task oriented with little concern for personal relationships, or team management - a style of leadership that shows a high concern for both task and interpersonal relationships? |
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Should managers be concerned with interpersonal relationships?
posted at 10/11/2002 3:36 AM EDT
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Posts: 25
First: 9/23/2002 Last: 5/30/2003 |
I prefer task management when working on a project. It is easier to focus on what needs to be done and I feel more productive when concentrating on the work rather than how other people are acting. I think manager's should focus on interpersonal relationships when issues arise that need mediation, otherwise they should not be addressed as part of routine management. |
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Should managers be concerned with interpersonal relationships?
posted at 2/6/2003 6:17 AM EST
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Posts: 206
First: 11/21/2001 Last: 11/30/2006 |
The problem with task management is this: once the task is completed, there's nothing to hold the individuals together. Tasks almost never require the input of just one person. The inherent interdependence of work demands some level of cooperation, a cornerstone of team-based models.
Teams also deal with completing tasks, but it is not the task that glues them together - it's the relationships. |
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Should managers be concerned with interpersonal relationships?
posted at 2/25/2003 3:43 PM EST
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Posts: 495
First: 9/30/2000 Last: 8/19/2011 |
I think reality is we actually need both. We need a "task monger" to make sure that actions are defined and designated, where ultimately a team or an individual would be accountable for their in/actions.
It's a balance, as everything else in life. We also need teams to ensure that those affected have an opportunity for input on how/why we do the things we do, and the way we do them. Sorry, but I don't see an easy answer to your question. |
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Should managers be concerned with interpersonal relationships?
posted at 3/4/2003 8:04 AM EST
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Posts: 71
First: 7/19/2002 Last: 4/5/2011 |
Interpersonal relationships are important if they are impacting the job and the working environment. They are central to success in almost all levles of an organization.
There is not an either/or relationship between task and relationships in management. The issue is usually the degree to which managers focus on these to get the objective accomplished. As others note, it is not that a task oriented manager does not care about relationships, it is that the person focuses more the task or relationship side as a primary managerial orientation. I have known excellent task-oriented leaders who have the appropriate concern for relationships in the workplace. The danger with a primary focus on relationships is that relationships can become more important than getting the work done. As the small group movement found back in the late 1970s, you should focus on interpersonal relationships in the workplace where they are getting in the way of getting the job done. There are two things in an organization that are scarce and they are time and energy. Both must be focused on the right things. The researh into whether "a happy worker is a productive worker" rather than "a productive worker is a happy worker" tends to suggest clearly that the latter statement is consistently true. Productive workers who know their jobs, have well defined goals, rewards and recognition, and the tools to accomplish their work are generally happy. It is not the other way around. The key is to remember you can overemphasize either of task and relationships to the detriment of accomplishing the organization's objectives. The values based leadership approach is intended to focus on the values and needs of the followers to determine the leadership approach, rather than more narrowly on task, relationship or situational leadership behaviours. You might find James O'Toole's book "Leading Change" of interest. What O'Toole suggests is that today's leaders must achieve decentralization, delayering and the destruction of bureaucracy to serve customers appropriately through trust based leadership that is based on shared purpose, vision and values. Leadership becomes the glue that holds the organization and its people together during the challenge of moving to a more innovative, entrepreneurial and autonomous environment. All leaders should read O'Tooles book and one of the best is his Vanguard Management (1985) where he promotes the concept of stakeholder symmetry as the means to organizational success. He is a great writer who is the equal of the greats like Warren Bennis and Peter Drucker. He is not as well known as these two, and likely not quite as rich. His answer to the question would be to focus on the values of the followers. As O'Toole sees it "In the end, the leader's vision becomes their (the followers) vision because it is built on the foundation of their needs and aspirations. They see in the vision what they desire, and they embrace it as their own." The focus on making workers happy as a primary goal can lead to misplaced energy and results that are less than satisfactory. That is not suggest that good leaders don't worry about relationships, they do. |
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