Task vs People Orientation

For several decades the world has been obsessed with striking the right balance between the two factors of leadership: task and people.

Way back in 1945, researchers spoke about the pulls between two factors of leadership, Task Orientation (TO) and Relationship Orientation (RO).

Douglas McGregor Spoke about it in 1960 through his Theory X and Theory Y model – should employees be coerced or involved and encouraged.

Blake & Mouton Spoke about “concern for task” and “concern for people” through his Managerial Grid in 1960.

Several movements thereafter including TQM, the Malcolm Baldrige Model for Performance Excellence and the dozens of employee engagement models have all emphasised the importance of this fine balance in one way or the other.

As we look back at the past and then look at the present, what seems to be our track record on this balance between the two factors?

I seem to believe that “task” has won for more than one reason. Watch my video to find out why.