Northouse, Introduction to Leadership: Concepts and Practice, 4e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
Lecture Notes
Chapter 5: Attending to Tasks and Relationships
Chapter Summary
I. Introduction
II. Task-Oriented Style Explained
III. Relationship-Oriented Style Explained
IV. Task and Relationship Styles in Practice
A. Task Leadership
B. Relationship Leadership
C. Change Leadership
V. What Kind of Leader Do Your Followers Need?
VI. Leadership Snapshot: Mick Wilz, Director, Enterprise Excellence
VII. Case Study: From Two to One
Chapter Objectives
1. Explain the task and relationship styles of leadership.
2. Describing the use of task and relationship leadership in practice.
Lecture Notes
• What kind of leader are you?
• What is your inclination toward tasks and relationships?
• Are you more work oriented or people oriented in your personal life?
I. Introduction
A. The origin of style
1. The unique habits we develop through work and play
3. Behaviors persist over the years
B. Style inclines us toward tasks or relationships
1. Are we oriented toward work or people?
2. Are we gratified by “getting things done” or relating to people?
II. Task Style Explained
A. Task oriented people are goal oriented.
B. These individuals’ reason for being comes from doing.
C. Examples of a task oriented person includes someone who uses color codes in
their daily planners or who have sticky-back notes in every room of their house.
III. Relationship Style Explained
A. Not as goal directed as task oriented people.
B. Finds meaning in being rather than doing.
C. Strong orientation in the present. They find meaning in the moment rather than
in some future objective to be accomplished.
IV. Task and Relationship in Practice
1. Task and relationship at opposite ends of the continuum
2. Most leadership falls in the midrange
A. Task Leadership
1. Behaviors facilitate goal accomplishment
3. Production orientation: Stresses production and technical aspects of the
job.
5. Personal style influences degree of task leadership behaviors
B. Relationship Leadership
2. Consideration behavior: Builds camaraderie, respect, trust and regard
4. Concerned for people: Builds trust, provides good working conditions,
maintains fair salary structure
5. Leader is doing three things:
6. Personal style influences degree of relationship leadership behaviors
C. Change Leadership
2. Behaviors include: visioning, intellectual stimulation, risk-taking, and
external monitoring.
3. Behaviors are closely related to leadership skills and vision.
• With which student perspective do you most identify?
V. \What Kind of Leader Do Your Followers Need?
A. Leader’s challenge is to integrate the two behaviors
B. Task leadership is important when subordinates are uncertain about their roles
and responsibilities and want a leader who clarifies tasks.
VI. Leadership Snapshot: Mick Wilz, Director, Enterprise Excellence
A. Wilz’s changes to the manufacturing process led to the company receiving the
AME Manufacturing Excellence Award in 2012.
B. Wilz’ unique relationship-oriented approach to those tasks that made the most
difference.
C. Wilz is dyslexic and finds reading, writing, and spelling to be very difficult.
D. His mother was very supportive, advocating for him with teachers and shifting
him to five different grammar schools in order to find the best school.
E. Because of his difficulties, Wilz relies heavily on visual communication, which
VII. Case Study