Relationship-oriented leadership, which some people know as people-oriented leadership, aims at supporting and incentivizing teams or work groups and the relationship between them. A healthy work environment, team cohesion, and individual and team contentment are the main priorities of relationship-oriented leaders. Efficient relationship-oriented leadership supports teamwork and strong interactions and tries to make a collaborative environment and constructive relationships.   

Six benefits of relationship-oriented leadership

Strong group performance and great retention rates due to employees’ effective workplace experiences can lead to creative ideas, which are the pleasant outcomes of relationship-oriented leadership. Relationship-oriented leadership can have amazing effects on team members. Some of the most significant and remarkable benefits of relationship-oriented leadership are mentioned below.

The contentment of the employees

Since relationship-oriented leadership is focused on getting employees involved innovatively in the work environment, it can result in the satisfaction of the employees. Apart from engagement, it also puts considerable emphasis on the well-being of employees, which is also beneficial for their work experience. This is the most significant benefit of this type of leadership since the employees’ satisfaction can increase the quality and quantity of the work.   

High retention

One of the purposes of relationship-oriented leadership is to promote workplace culture. There is a direct relationship between workplace culture and employee retention rates, so the more positive the workplace culture, the higher the employee retention rates. Concentration and motivation are the two leading constituent parts of retention rates. The leaders of a company must try to keep employees motivated and focused in order to boost retention rates.  

Innovation and creativity

It is highly necessary to let employees engage in decision-making processes since it can stimulate their innovation and creativity, which can be very helpful for a company. Since most employees do not know their abilities and potential and are so involved in their daily work, they cannot concentrate on their innate capabilities. Thus employers shall invest in fostering their employees’ inborn abilities, such as innovation, in making better decisions.   

Trust, fidelity, devotion, and team climate

Features such as empathy, support, and encouragement between leaders and employees can lay the foundations of unbreakable and solid trust and simultaneously strong allegiance and commitment. These factors can help members realise a great purpose and promote teamwork spirit and workplace atmosphere. Then members are inclined to take another step further and have each others’ back.    

Listening and understanding

Relationship-oriented leaders listen carefully and wholeheartedly to their employees in order to get the necessary information and create a sense of interaction. This is very similar to democratic leadership, which puts great stress on expressing opinions and ideas. If the leaders take time to listen to their employees and communicate with them, their employees receive genuine respect and worthiness, and they will be much more willing to work sincerely and meticulously in order to help the team.

Supportive attitude toward group members

One of the secondary benefits of engagement and participation is to boost the supportive attitude among team members. When leaders improve the supportive attitude between members, they care about each other’s problems and aim for the best possible results for the whole team. The relationship-oriented leaders are also aware of the gifts of their employees and can guide them to become better personnel and persons in the long run.

Relationship-Oriented Leadership vs. Task-Oriented Leadership

Relationship-oriented and task-oriented leaders make use of various strategies and management styles so as to accomplish their tasks and achieve their desired results. These strategies and management styles are different in terms of skills, purposes, and decision-making processes. In order to determine which organizational behavior is better for your company, you can use a questionnaire to change the style of leadership periodically to evaluate the impacts of task-oriented and relationship-oriented leadership behaviors. Sooner or later, you’ll notice that one of these approaches can result in better performance and great satisfaction.

Purposes

The main goals of task-oriented leadership are task facilitation, structure, and accomplishing desired outcomes. This kind of leadership tries and focuses on the factors that the system can guide to create more self-efficacy for your team. Relationship-oriented leadership’s main goals are the well-being, innovation, motivation, growth, and satisfaction of the team members, which are necessary to guarantee the success and stability of a company.  

Decision-making

In task-oriented leadership, the leaders and managers typically make significant decisions, and the employees cannot interfere with the decision-making process. The task-oriented leadership plays an important role in improving systems, establishing clear deadlines, and providing team members with clear instructions and processes in order to boost project performance and effectiveness. Relationship-oriented leaders can appreciate the role of employees in decision-making processes and make use of their positive and effective opinions.   

Skills

Task-oriented leaders offer clear instructions and directions and monitor systems to assist employees in achieving the company’s objectives. Relationship-oriented leaders make use of one’s ability to employ creative and versatile employees who can interact constructively, work collectively, and find innovative solutions. These leaders are very flexible in different aspects of work.   

Conclusion

It is taken for granted that efficient leadership style is highly important in the work environment. If the leadership is not efficient, problems such as weak productivity, low incentive, and lack of innovation can take place. In the present job market, employees have access to many job opportunities. If employees are not pleased with their current job, it is very likely they will leave their job and seek their chances elsewhere. So, it is necessary for leaders to create a pleasant and agreeable workplace. The tips provided above will help employers implement a relationship-oriented system where everybody receives enough attention and feels connected.