Leaders have jobs to do—things to check off the list. And they need to do them in a way that doesn’t leave people behind or disengaged. While leaders shouldn’t be everyone’s best friend or let people off the hook for the things they’re accountable for, they do have to connect with the people they lead, who are social and relational beings. Leaders need to balance their drive to achieve with their concern for the people around them. Navigating Task Focus::Relationship Focus is vital to success in general but increasing our effectiveness at it by honing our Both/And leadership capability also plays a crucial role when leading in complexity. It’s another two-for-one: leaders who balance the two see the payoff in everyday execution, not just in complex situations.
How Does it Help with Complexity?
In complex situations, our typical solutions and usual approaches likely won’t work, and the results of our actions aren’t as predictable or timely as we anticipate. Many leaders are tempted to simply try the task harder, “I will make it work,” in an effort to force the results because “it’s always worked before!” Complexity calls us to redefine our “task” as leaders. It’s not to drive results by trying things “harder”, but instead to set the direction and create the conditions for the team to maximize its potential to find its way there.
But team success in complex systems relies on healthy connections between the parts that ensure knowledge flow, feedback loops, and agile responses. This doesn’t happen in human systems without healthy relationships invested in the success of the whole. While we might muscle through complicated issues in a disjointed fashion, teams that lack trust, respect, and connection between their parts will struggle to get the results they want in complexity.
Because complex environments rely on both performance and trust, leaders increase their likelihood of success when they intentionally navigate the Task Focus::Relationship Focus polarity rather than favoring one side over the other.
Task Focus—Benefits and Overuses
Staying focused on the Task at hand and not being distracted by the never-ending list of things competing for their attention allows leaders to bring clarity, direction, and forward movement to the system. Keeping a clear eye on the work maintains focus, priorities, and progress. But when leaders are consistently more concerned about the task than the people they lead, employees can start to feel like cogs in the machine instead of valued contributors. Their connection wanes, creativity narrows, energy diminishes, and disengagement becomes inevitable.
Relationship Focus—Benefits and Overuses
But the answer to overemphasizing Tasks isn’t swinging entirely toward focusing on Relationships. While the connection, trust, commitment, and shared knowledge that come from focusing on the people we lead are essential to success, like any polarity, this too can be taken too far. If leaders lean too heavily into Relationships and neglect to focus on the Task, accountability softens, deadlines slip, favoritism and entitlement begin to emerge, and progress begins to fade.
Task focus needs the strength of relationships, and relationships need the clarity of shared goals. Leaders must hold both together to create results that are both effective and sustainable.
Creating the Conditions with Both/And Leadership
Complex environments are inherently loaded with distractions and it’s crucial to stay laser-focused with the end in mind and to continuously point people back to what matters most. Leaders create this condition by staying focused on the Task. But getting to “what matters most” as efficiently as possible in a complex situation will rely on relationships whose strength of connection enables fast knowledge transfer, open feedback, and mutual concern for all parts to succeed. None of which is possible if a leader neglects a focus on Relationships. When leaders hold both focus on Task and Relationship together through a Both/And mindset, they create environments where teams harness the power of their connection to productively move towards the goal together.
But for some, expanding their range in this polarity is easier said than done. It can help to first understand their natural preference for Task or Relationship and then find ways to lean more into the other pole without giving up the benefits of the pole they prefer. That’s what navigating polarities is about and allows leaders, in this instance, to achieve results and connection at the same time.
The Key Polarity Indicator makes these preferences visible and gives leaders a practical leadership development tool for navigating the Task Focus::Relationship Focus polarity with greater resilience and impact.
Ways to Create the Conditions with Task Focus::Relationship Focus
Here are three simple practices to help blend Task Focus and Relationship Focus to strengthen each other and create the conditions needed to thrive in complexity.
Strengthen the Network Connections
Success in a complex system relies on the strength of connections between the parts. In complexity, to achieve the task, focus on your network to keep communication open as possible. Make it a habit to reach out and connect—not just for the sake of the people, but to connect the information and learning needed across the system. Quick checks of “Here’s what I noticed this week about…”; “I’m wondering what you’re learning about…”; “What’s your current thinking on…?” While individual check ins are irreplaceable, if you have a larger team, do some auto check ins and have AI theme the responses to share widely. And be a connector—intentionally introduce or point out when the system would benefit from others being connected and cross-sharing.
Emphasize the Right Parts of Relationships
Solid relationships have many benefits. But be sure you utilize them for the right reasons in complexity and not simply because they are a nice thing to have. When focusing on connecting or building relationships, either yourself or as a team, point out what’s needed for success and why healthy relationships play a role. “We’ll have to clarify misalignments as quickly as possible in this part – how do we make sure nothing gets in the way of that?”; “Heading into this might rattle some nerves—how will we help each other operate as confidently as possible?”; “Which of the interdependencies we have with each other is most critical right now—how do we keep those healthy?” Yes, it’s important to have nice Relationships but connect it back to the Task to maximize their impact.
Trust Isn’t Just a People Thing
Trusting others on the team to contribute and deliver is a key condition teams need to succeed in complexity. But trust isn’t just a Relationship thing. Sure, it stems from the connections we have and knowing others will have our backs, but it also relies on following through on commitments and delivering your piece of the task at hand. Build trust and relationships that deliver the task by ensuring your team makes clear requests (easier than it sounds) and knows how to renegotiate their commitments in order to build trust needed to advance through a swirling situation.
The Task? Understand Your Relationship to the Polarity
We all have polarities that are easier to navigate than others. And most leaders seem to have one or two that need some attention. In those cases, building our Both/And capability starts with understanding our preference for one of the poles. Here are some thoughts if you have a clearer preference for one pole over the other.
Preference for Task Focus? You want to get it done, that’s great! But remember, in complex situations, the Task won’t be achieved without healthy connection and information sharing. Redefine your Task. Instead of “I need to get the team to achieve X” reframe it as “I need to ensure healthy connections, so the team achieves X”. Make that your task. Write it on a sticky. It’s not just about being nice, it’s strengthening connection for the sake of action.
Preference for Relationship Focus? Beware of drama and distractions. Complex situations can create swirls of emotion, and it’s inevitable people will bump and step on each other’s toes. Avoid the temptation of being the intermediary when people come to you to fix a relationship issue. Get good at asking the question, “What’s the conversation you need to have [for the good of the team; to move us towards success; to keep us on track, etc.]?” The first part is vital—make them tend to the Relationship for the good of the Task.
Read about the Key Leadership Polarities in the Complexity Series:
Posted In: Complexity Series