Consider the findings from the Ohio State and Michigan studi

Consider the findings from the Ohio State and Michigan studies: Good leadership requires effectiveness on two dimensions – initiating structure, commonly called task orientation, and showing consideration, commonly called employee orientation. Evaluate a leader you know using those two dimensions of good leadership. Describe how well that leader manages both those dimensions. What is the outcome of their strengths or weaknesses in those dimensions?

1. Describe a situation that would call for a more task oriented leader.
2. In what situations would a more employee oriented leader be more successful?

Which orientation do you reflect in your style of leadership? Why do you tend to lean toward that style?

Solution

Evaluate a leader you know using those two dimensions of good leadership. Describe how well that leader manages both those dimensions. What is the outcome of their strengths or weaknesses in those dimensions?

A leader would be for example Steve Jobs, founder of Apple Computers.

At the beginning of this career he was known to be a task oriented manager, he would set up goals and make their employees work hard to achieve them, he did not take no for answers and would let go people who didn’t share his same mentality.

There is a common known story about him that he made his employees work 90 hours per week to reach their results.

He was eventually fire from the company he created and hired back after several years where the company was almost at bankruptcy, it was until then that Steve learned the hard way to pay attention to people as well not only to task. This was the time he came up with the iPod and made a revolution the entire music industry with the help of the team he build.

We can say that on his early 20`s Steve`s strength was the task oriented type of management and at the end of his life it was employee oriented.

Describe a situation that would call for a more task oriented leader.

In a situation where the organization needs to improve productivity to meet financial goals

In what situations would a more employee oriented leader be more successful?

In a situation where the organization is having high turnover because employees do not feel comfortable, an employee oriented leader would need to investigate why people is not conformable with the organization and find way to motivate them.

Which orientation do you reflect in your style of leadership? Why do you tend to lean toward that style?

My style is more employee oriented because I strongly believe the most important asset of a company is its people, without them we would lose our customers, this is why we need to keep them motivated, well paid and train. They need to feel like their opinion matters which if fact it does.