Task v. People

In a leadership seminar you will likely be asked, “What is more important, task or people?” One website asks the question this way. The answer, of course, is, “Yes!”

While both task and people are important aspects of almost any leadership situation, there are various ways of combining a leader’s concern for task and people.
Blake and Moulton use this grid:

(1, 1) indicates Impoverished leadership where a leaders is unconcerned with both task and interpersonal relationships. (9, 1) indicates Authority-Compliance leadership where efficient operations and productions goal are emphasized. (1, 9) demonstrates Country Club leadership where concern for interpersonal relationships remains paramount and production minimal. (9, 9) indicates Team leadership where both tasks and interpersonal relationships are stressed. (5, 5) indicates Middle-of-the-road leadership where a compromise between people and production is achieved. This matrix is a useful tool for helping leaders to identify their leadership style.

An example from my work at the IRD is apropos. My responsibility was to give our weekly volunteer, Jennifer, work to do. Often she arrived early and I would be irritated by her chatty stories that always seemed to interrupt my morning routine. I’d rather be left alone until I was ready to start the day’s tasks. One day I realized that when it was Jennifer’s day to volunteer, she was my task. Other things became less important. Because she would do whatever we asked and help lighten our load, the least I could do was listen. As my thinking changed, I gained an appreciation not only of Jennifer’s work, but of Jennifer herself. The work was no less important, but Jennifer was just as important. Productivity and satisfaction increased for both of us. I remember Jennifer when I encounter new leadership opportunities. And to consider what’s more important, task or people. That’s the power of the leadership grid.

Standing on Shoulders

A dear friend has said, “We never make it on our own; we always find ourselves standing on the shoulders of others. And when we do, we discover that we can see farther, think more deeply, and engage more vigorously.” I have found that to be true. Many have been generous enough to allow me this privilege; I want to tell you about two of them.

When my dad attended Asbury Theological Seminary, two years of Hebrew were required. During his junior year, at one of the early classes in the quarter, a puckish middle-aged professor looked at the class and asked, “What do you think of trying to learn two years of Hebrew in one? At our current pace, we won’t finish the textbook material this year, and the library has a new audio lab that would help us. If you’re willing to study hard and do some extra work, I think we have a small enough class that we could do this. Let me know next time.” After considering the offer, the students answered, “Well, if you’re willing to teach us that much in such a short time, we’d be willing to try.” And so, a life-long association with “Prof.” began.

While my dad studied his Hebrew, my mom taught elementary school and supported the family. During that time the seminary president’s wife became concerned about the wives of the future pastors: “Soon they’ll be preacher’s wives. They might need to know about what being a preacher’s wife will be like before they leave seminary. We ought to help them prepare for their ministry.” She organized other professors’ wives and they began meeting regularly with the students’ wives. Thus, the “Seminary Annes” (a word-play on “seminarian”) started.

My mom recalls one of their meetings. Each professor’s wife brought something from home that they used to support their husband’s ministry. The items were displayed on tables around the room. One by one, each wife shared in simple show-and-tell fashion. One professor’s wife displayed a blue Delft porcelain tea set and teaspoons—noting the importance of social activities in a pastor’s ministry. Undoubtedly, another brought a Bible—indicating the importance of personal and family bible study. But my mom remembers one item particularly: a framed photograph of the professor—the same professor who was teaching my dad Hebrew.

When the professor’s wife shared, she said simply and passionately, “My husband is my ministry. The Lord has called me to Dennis, and it is my role to support and encourage him, especially in prayer. I pray for Dennis every day.” To this day my mom tears up when she tells this story. I suppose she does because that’s where mom first learned to pray the way she does, regularly, every day, for my dad, his ministry, and our family.

When I attended Asbury College, I had the privilege of meeting Dennis and Elsie Kinlaw. I found the same warmth and glow that must have attracted a young seminary student and his wife. On one particular occasion, my best friend and I went to see the Kinlaws at their home just before Christmas break. With a stately and genuine grace, Mrs. Kinlaw greeted us, welcomed us in, and invited us to sit on the couch. Before long, the tea kettle whistled, the coffee table was set with fine china, and homemade sugar cookies were brought to us. “Dennis is meeting with someone, but I’ll tell him you’re here.”

At those visits, Dr. Kinlaw would eventually ask, “What are you reading these days?” I needed an answer, so I began to read more, and with more discrimination. When I had an answer, Dr. Kinlaw would ask more and deeper questions, challenging me to go further. After college, our discussions became somewhat more frequent when I worked at the Francis Asbury Society, the organization Dr. Kinlaw founded in the 1980s. When I went to tell him about the opportunity at IRD and ask his advice, he encouraged me, like a mother scooting a young chick out of the nest: “I think you should go. It’s a good opportunity and you’ll gain experience that will be helpful for the future.”

In the ten years I have been with IRD since that conversation with Dr. Kinlaw, I have found his advice to be good and true. While my Asbury education had equipped me, it was time to experience things not to be found in Wilmore, Kentucky. Since then, I’ve had the privilege to work with Diane Knippers (an Asbury College graduate when Dr. Kinlaw was college president), meet with and learn from some incredible intellects (like Robert George, Michael Novak, Tom Oden, and others), and work with extraordinary colleagues. Yes, Dr. Kinlaw, we do stand on the shoulders of others—those who come before us. Thank you for allowing me to stand on yours!

Leadership v. Management

Before coming to Virginia Tech, I was employed for twelve years at a Washington, DC-based think tank, the Institute on Religion and Democracy. During my tenure at the IRD, I worked on the business operations of the organization. Others performed programmatic functions. I supported their work. My time was spent organizing fundraising mailings, processing payroll, maintaining the database, keeping personnel records, producing the annual budget and the like. As a small watch-dog organization, on occasion, I would attend events and report on what I found.

Despite my less visible role, I nonetheless considered myself a leader. Each president for whom I worked praised my efforts. I received increasing responsibility, rising from Administrative Director, to Director of Operations and Development, and eventually Vice President for Operations. At the peak of a two-year expansion, I supervised the largest segment of the staff, supervising five of IRD’s sixteen employees.

But greater responsibility, promotion, and pay raises do not necessarily indicate one’s position of leadership. Recently, I have come to better understand the difference between leadership and management. Upon reflection, my work at IRD can largely be described as managerial. Perhaps others can benefit from my experience and this reflection upon the difference between the two.

Professor and author Peter Northouse defines leadership as "a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal." He finds that leadership and management have overlapping and similar characteristics, such as working with people or goal accomplishment.

But there is a significant difference. John Kotter describes it this way in A force for Change: How Leadership differs from Management:

Some have said that leadership is eighty percent perspiration and twenty percent inspiration. The actual ratio may differ depending on any given situation. Managers can be effective leaders, but not all effective managers are leaders. It’s the inspiration that marks the difference.

The Very Beginning

This is my first blog entry, the fulfillment of a requirement for a course entitled "Theoretical Foundation of Leadership" that I am taking at Virginia Tech, where I am a PhD student in the Higher Education program. Periodically, I will post blogs incorporating some personal reflections on leadership. You might also find other musings and thoughts, reviews of journal articles, and articles that appeared in other publications.