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Write a blog entry on task-facilitating and relationship-building roles. In your blog, reflect upon your understanding of how these roles enhance team performance.
- Consider how you generally relate as a team-member.
- Do you actively engage your team to accomplish its mission?
- Do you work to improve the team cohesion and collaboration?
Work in teams can be improved or worsened by the role that each team member plays. “Most teams face two main challenges: (1) accomplishing the task that has been assigned and (2) building unity and collaboration among team members” (Whetten & Cameron, 2016). The roles that individual team members play either help or prevent the accomplishment of these two objectives. Whetten and Cameron (2016) have indicated that there are two advantageous roles that have a great potential to enhance the performance of work teams: task-facilitator, and relationship builder.
Team members that are more focused on the task or objective of the team tend to play the task-facilitator role. A few of the most common task-facilitator roles are: direction giving, urging, process analyzing, and enforcing. “When you perform task-facilitating roles, you help the team work more efficiently and effectively in achieving its objectives” (Whetten & Cameron, 2016). Task-facilitators keep the team focused on progressing toward the desired objective. Without task-facilitators a team can struggle to work together on unified goals. The team may never be able to really collaborate. A task-facilitator acts like the captain of the basketball team, ensuring that no player is being overly selfish with the ball, that the team has a positive attitude, and that team members are working together to win the game.
Team members that are more focused on team cohesion and positive relationships are said to play a relationship-building role. Relationship-builders are needed in team work to ensure that team members feel good about each other and that the team maintains an environment free of unnecessary stress caused by interpersonal conflict. Some of the most common relationship-building roles include tension relieving, energizing, consensus building, and supporting (Whetten & Cameron, 2016). Relationship-building team members “assist the team in working more effectively together (Whetten & Cameron, 2016).
Although I believe that I typically play more of the role of task-facilitator, I regularly play both roles. In one of my leadership roles I frequently interact with a team that is responsible for executing the mission of the organization. Each team member is a leader of a group, so this team has a great potential to profoundly impact the organization as a whole. As I interact with team members collectively and individually I regularly remind them of the objectives of the organization and encourage them to set individual goals for their group that will accomplish the organizational objectives. I frequently act as a direction giver; the team looks to me as the leader, and so I have the opportunity to influence the work that is accomplished by ensuring that we are focused as a team on the objectives. I act as a cheerleader and encourager by providing positive feedback to team members as they work together to accomplish tasks and overcome challenges. I frequently find myself being a process analyzer and an enforcer; I attempt to ensure that we are doing our tasks in accordance with established policies and procedures, and in the most effective and efficient ways possible. I also act as a supporter, offering expressions of gratitude and praise for the work accomplished.
One study indicated that “The most productive, innovative teams were led by people who were both task- and relationship-oriented. What’s more, these leaders changed their style during the project” (Gratton & Erickson, 2007). The study suggested that the most effective team leaders act as task-facilitators near the beginning of the team’s formation to help clarify assignments, roles, and objectives. The leader than changes style and becomes more focused on relationship-building 
throughout the duration of the project, ensuring that team members are working well together and helping to smooth out stressful situations. It is important for me as a leader to continue to develop my abilities in both the task-facilitator and the relationship builder roles.
References
Gratton, L,. & Erickson, E. (2007). Eight ways to build collaborative teams. Harvard Business Review Online. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2007/11/eight-ways-to-build-collaborative-teams
Whetton, D. A. & Cameron, K. S. (2016). Developing management skills, 9th ed. Boston, MA: Pearson.
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