Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Managing Relationships, Task and Process, By Katelyn Chapman

Do you feel conflict between managing relationships, getting the task done, and/or deciding on the process? Some people tend to be more task-oriented- thinking “I just want to do it. Why should we talk about HOW we are going to do it?” While others have more concern for people and are relational-oriented- thinking “Is everyone involved? How are we accommodating each other’s needs?” Still others are process-oriented- thinking “How are we going to do this? We need a specific plan of what’s going on before we do anything.”

The Leadership Triangle identifies three aspects of any activity- (1) Task, (2) Process, (3) Relational.

What’s the Task? It’s the goal or what you’re trying to get done. For example, when trying to complete a high ropes course, your task is to physically complete the course. What tasks can you think of?

What’s the Process? It’s how you went about completing the task… Did you plan how you were going to climb the course or did you just go for it? If you just went for it, you most likely tend to be more “task-oriented.” Did you discuss it with everyone involved? Did everyone equally participate in the planning? Were the key stakeholders involved? What are the consequences of planning or not planning? Is there a penalty or risk if you do it wrong?

What’s the Relational? The people in your activity! Are people invited to contribute their thoughts/ideas? What’s the dynamic among group members? How are people’s needs being met?

How do you incorporate these 3 elements to get results? GREAT question! What do you think and why? I suggest you identify where you are within the triangle for a specific situation. Now that you are aware of your position, do you need to shift to incorporate another aspect more?

Another suggestion is to recognize when activities tend to shift to one aspect. For example, when an activity is a competition, what tends to happen? People generally become extremely task-oriented and may do so at the jeopardy of the people (relational) and not use the most effective process. When do people become more relational? A possibility is if someone has something in their personal life that’s a serious concern- i.e. sickness or death in the family.

The key to remember is that where you want to be in the triangle depends on the situation. By better managing relationships, task and process, your results will be improved!

Author:
Katelyn Chapman
Leadership Graduate Assistant
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG)

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