Task-Oriented Management Style

3. Leadership styles and team Productivity

Leadership styles vary from person to person depending on how they provide direction, implement plans, and motivate people. The leadership styles practiced by transformation leaders will affect the outcome. Two of the most common leadership styles are task-oriented and people-oriented (also known as relationship-oriented). Each of these styles has their pros and cons, and either one can be perfect for any given situation.

a. Task-Oriented Management Style

This management style is good for making sure that things get done in a manner that is both proficient and on time every time. These managers usually create clear, easy-to-follow work schedules with specific requirements and deadlines. They maintain

Managing Conflicts in Projects

Transformation leaders deal with many conflicts during a project life cycle. Knowing how to manage conflicts is an important skill for being a successful transformation leader. An awareness of the potential approaches to conflict resolution and the understanding of their consequences can provide project managers with an invaluable set of tools to create an optimal work environment. Team conflict is challenging for project leaders but it is not necessarily bad. Conflict can lead to new ideas and approaches and facilitate the surfacing of important issues between team members if it is managed well.

Conflict is "a situation of competition in which the parties are aware of the incompatibility of potential future positions and in which each party wishes to occupy a position which is incompatible with the wishes of the other". Conflict is viewed as a cycle(35). "As with any social process, there are causes in core process, which have results or effects. These effects feedback to effect the causes.” To understand conflict further, the situation must include elements of interdependence, emotions, perceptions, and behaviors. For example, conflict occurs between parties whose tasks are interdependent, who are angry with each other, who perceive the other party as being at fault, and whose actions cause a business

Common Sources of Conflict in a Project

The major sources of conflict among project teams are project goals not agreed upon, disagreement of the project's priorities and conflicting work schedules. Most organizations today run multiple projects and team members often find themselves serving on a variety of project teams and may report to a variety of project managers while reporting directly to functional managers. Complex reporting relationships make it difficult to share information.

Personality and interpersonal issues may also draw conflict, particularly in high technology environments, where cross-functional, self-directed teams with technical backgrounds must rely on work of others to get their own work done. The following are common reasons of project conflicts:

• Conflicting interests of stakeholders. A few stakeholders may not see any value in the project or may have conflicting political