Introduction to Leadership Tasks and Responsibilities

Good leaders understand the work that needs to be done and, at the same time, can relate to the people who help them do the job. When we look at what leaders do—that is, at their behaviors—we see that they do two major things, they attend to tasks, and they attend to their relationships with people. The degree to which leaders are successful is determined by how these two behaviors are exhibited. Situations may differ, but every leadership situation needs a degree of both task and relationship behaviors.

Certain circumstances may call for strong task behavior, and other situations may demand strong relationship behavior, but some degree of each is required in every situation. Because these dimensions are inextricably tied together, it is the leader’s challenge to integrate and optimize the task and relationship dimensions in his or her leadership role. One way to explore our own task and relationship perspectives on leadership is to explore our personal styles in these two areas.

All of us have unique habits regarding work and play that have been ingrained over many years, probably beginning as far back as elementary school. Many of these early habits stay with us over the years and influence our current styles. In considering your personal style, it is helpful to describe in more detail your task-oriented and relationship-oriented behaviors. Do you find more rewards in the process of “getting things done” or in the process of relating to people? Although these descriptions imply that individuals have either one style or the other, it is important to remember that each of us exhibits both behaviors to some degree.