Leadership Styles--Task-Oriented Leadership
Leadership styles are not necessarily in-born qualities. Most of the times circumstances define the method and when the method becomes a practice it becomes a pronounced leadership style. In all the previous posts except in case of Servant Leadership style, it can be very difficult to follow the particular type of leadership style throughout one's life cycle. Servant Leadership is something which is more imbibed due to the very nature of the person following this type of leadership style. Rahul Dravid cannot look at limelight since it hurts his eyes and he goes about doing his task irrespective of whatever others think or do. His role is to clearly play the role of a mentor from behind.
If we wish to check for opposites to Servant Leadership style we could probably come very close with another type of leadership style i.e., "Task Oriented Leadership Style". The methodology is only different, the purpose is the same. However, here, the leader irrespective of whether he needs it or not, ends up being in the limelight. Even when they converse, they follow the written rule. Even if they are not the best of orators, they end up going about the task as though they are reading the script from a piece of paper. They feel everything they do should be absolutely perfect else they would fail. And failure is something these leaders despise. They cannot accept being second. "The Perfectionist" is their nick name. They have a method to everything even while they are working up a fight.
Their focus is always the task at hand and only on the task at hand. Due to this attitude, they can be confused with Autocratic Leaders. Their approach is however much different, they see development of their team as a part of the task whereas, the Autocratic Leaders look at self before others and that includes even their team.
Kapil Dev and Javed Miandad, two of the greatest cricketers ever. One a die-hard perfectionist and the other, a thorough planner, who could plan a street fight much in advance. They chose their targets, assigned roles, assigned methods to ensure that the players achieved the combined goals through hard work and hard work alone. It is always said that Task Oriented Leaders plan much in advance to actively define the work, assign the roles required for the work, put the structures in place, plan, organize and finally monitor the progress. Readers would have found both Kapil Dev and Javed Miandad somewhat different from what is mentioned here. However, one has to really analyze the method used by these Leaders and the way they played and achieved their goals to really appreciate their success. Kapil Dev's 4 sixes of Eddy Hemmings of England to help India avoid follow-on was something only a Task-Oriented leader could have achieved. In the same manner his 175 not out against Zimbabwe in the historic 1983 World Cup is another example of a person completely focused on the task at hand and each of the partnerships after 17 for 5 were with persons whom he had already planned a role during the Innings. Readers may feel that it is easier to analyse once the task is completed and quote an example, however, if you really analyse Kapil's method it was like his only task was to Play hard Cricket. Even for speaking in English, he used a task oriented approach and it is easy to understand the perfectionist in Kapil through his conversation and his never say die attitude.
Javed too had a similar attitude, the street fighter's attitude, which had already created the big picture in the mind even before he had arrived at the crease. How he worked with Tauseef Ahmed and Iqbal Quasim during the epic 1985 Sharjah Cup match, was something we all missed and to be fair to Chetan Sharma, India had lost the match much before the last ball six. He was a mind player and his role creation did not only focus on his team but also on the opposition. He had planned a role for the opposition and targeted them in that manner. He was the one who finished off the career of Dilip Doshi through his antics on the field and almost created something similar in the mind of Kiran More during the jumping jack act in Australia. But for the classic act of Tendulkar and Srikkanth, India would have lost that match too. His street fighting qualities to needle the biggest of them all, Dennis Lillie was something no one could dare to do.
This type of Leadership style has the benefit of achieving deadlines and typically benefits those team members who cannot manage themselves. They are known for maintaining high standards of performance. Both Kapil and Javed were focused on making their team members absolutely fit and their quest for fitness was something of an obsession. However, these type of Leaders are not able to take their team members with them for too long, just like the Autocratic leaders. However, while Autocratic leaders focus too much on their self, these type of leaders focus too much on the task thereby forgetting to motivate their teams beyond a certain level. Despite being great individual performers, both Kapil and Javed fell short of achievements as Leaders.
If we wish to check for opposites to Servant Leadership style we could probably come very close with another type of leadership style i.e., "Task Oriented Leadership Style". The methodology is only different, the purpose is the same. However, here, the leader irrespective of whether he needs it or not, ends up being in the limelight. Even when they converse, they follow the written rule. Even if they are not the best of orators, they end up going about the task as though they are reading the script from a piece of paper. They feel everything they do should be absolutely perfect else they would fail. And failure is something these leaders despise. They cannot accept being second. "The Perfectionist" is their nick name. They have a method to everything even while they are working up a fight.
Their focus is always the task at hand and only on the task at hand. Due to this attitude, they can be confused with Autocratic Leaders. Their approach is however much different, they see development of their team as a part of the task whereas, the Autocratic Leaders look at self before others and that includes even their team.
Kapil Dev and Javed Miandad, two of the greatest cricketers ever. One a die-hard perfectionist and the other, a thorough planner, who could plan a street fight much in advance. They chose their targets, assigned roles, assigned methods to ensure that the players achieved the combined goals through hard work and hard work alone. It is always said that Task Oriented Leaders plan much in advance to actively define the work, assign the roles required for the work, put the structures in place, plan, organize and finally monitor the progress. Readers would have found both Kapil Dev and Javed Miandad somewhat different from what is mentioned here. However, one has to really analyze the method used by these Leaders and the way they played and achieved their goals to really appreciate their success. Kapil Dev's 4 sixes of Eddy Hemmings of England to help India avoid follow-on was something only a Task-Oriented leader could have achieved. In the same manner his 175 not out against Zimbabwe in the historic 1983 World Cup is another example of a person completely focused on the task at hand and each of the partnerships after 17 for 5 were with persons whom he had already planned a role during the Innings. Readers may feel that it is easier to analyse once the task is completed and quote an example, however, if you really analyse Kapil's method it was like his only task was to Play hard Cricket. Even for speaking in English, he used a task oriented approach and it is easy to understand the perfectionist in Kapil through his conversation and his never say die attitude.
Javed too had a similar attitude, the street fighter's attitude, which had already created the big picture in the mind even before he had arrived at the crease. How he worked with Tauseef Ahmed and Iqbal Quasim during the epic 1985 Sharjah Cup match, was something we all missed and to be fair to Chetan Sharma, India had lost the match much before the last ball six. He was a mind player and his role creation did not only focus on his team but also on the opposition. He had planned a role for the opposition and targeted them in that manner. He was the one who finished off the career of Dilip Doshi through his antics on the field and almost created something similar in the mind of Kiran More during the jumping jack act in Australia. But for the classic act of Tendulkar and Srikkanth, India would have lost that match too. His street fighting qualities to needle the biggest of them all, Dennis Lillie was something no one could dare to do.
This type of Leadership style has the benefit of achieving deadlines and typically benefits those team members who cannot manage themselves. They are known for maintaining high standards of performance. Both Kapil and Javed were focused on making their team members absolutely fit and their quest for fitness was something of an obsession. However, these type of Leaders are not able to take their team members with them for too long, just like the Autocratic leaders. However, while Autocratic leaders focus too much on their self, these type of leaders focus too much on the task thereby forgetting to motivate their teams beyond a certain level. Despite being great individual performers, both Kapil and Javed fell short of achievements as Leaders.
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