Functional Leadership

Theory of Group Needs and Leadership Action

Roy Wallace

January 2011

Bill Clinton, Muhammad Ali, Tom Hanks, Bob Marley, Adolf Hitler, Nelson Mandela What do these people have in common? They are all powerful influencers, but are they necessarily good leaders? With some 10 years experience in a leadership setting, Ive spent countless hours, days, months and years under instruction and on the ground being exposed to a variety of leadership approaches and styles, both text book and others less orthodox. All of this has influenced my own development as a leader, and I recall situations where as a leader I have both triumphed in adversity, and also failed in frustration. Throughout my life, Ive had no greater personal and professional challenge than that of leadership. Your superiors look towards you as an instrument to fulfil their wishes and dreams. Taking their strategic intent and realising it through the development and execution of a carefully planned, rehearsed and methodical sequence of events. In contrast, your subordinates look towards you to make timely and accurate decisions, sometimes with limited information and without the luxury of space and time to conduct a thorough appreciation of the situation. They also look to you (their leader) to seek the fulfilment of their individual needs such as food, water, rest and shelter. It can at times, be extremely daunting for a leader to balance the satisfaction of both your superiors and subordinates needs. From personal experience, I recall situations where the successful completion of the task at hand has been at the cost of meeting the needs of the team. However after prolonged periods of sacrificing their needs, there are potentially lasting and profound impacts on the effectiveness of the team and morale. Likewise, other situations have deemed the needs of the team, higher priority over the need to complete the task. Over the years, Ive witnessed even some of the most effective and experienced leaders struggle under stressful and arduous conditions with this prioritisation of needs, including myself. The leader must be effective in managing the balance of needs, but how? The Functional Approach to Leadership (Hackman & Walton, 1986) is not a new concept nor an emerging method or approach. It is based on the theory of group needs.

Theory of Group Needs

The effectiveness and efficiency of a team is based heavily on the satisfaction of the needs of its members. Depending upon the situation and external conditions, these needs will vary. Regardless, these needs will fall into three key areas. 1. Task Needs - the needs directly related to the task at hand; 2. Team Needs - the needs related to the formation and interaction of the team; and 3. Individual Needs - the basic human needs of the individual group members. Each of these three areas is quite distinct, although very closely interrelated. There is a constant tension and often conflict between each of these areas, that requires careful balancing and management by the leader. Any action to satisfy the needs in one area will impact on the other two areas.

Figure 1 - Theory of Group Needs

Task Needs
Task needs are those needs related specifically to the task at hand. They are principally concerned with the methods and means of achieving the desired team results and outcomes or objective. The leader is required to manage the task by conducting adequate planning, initiation and organisation activities, directing and managing execution (including delegation), conducting assurance checks and reviewing the results. As required, the leader should be adjusting course and revising pre-existing plans and approaches. The leader should also be mindful at all times of the alignment of the task activities and results with that of the team or organisational vision. The successful achievement of the task/s should contribute directly towards the realisation of this vision. 3

Figure 2 - Task Needs

Team Needs
In order for the team to be successful and achieve good positive outcomes, the leader must establish and maintain a highly competent and cohesive team. To achieve this, the leader is required to foster and encourage a high level of trust and self belief amongst the team. The leader should also be proactively informing and organising the team, ensuring standards are maintained and creating high morale. These activities should contribute towards the team developing strong values of honesty, mutual respect for one another, and integrity. Having said this, the most important aspect for the leader, is demonstrating and practicing these values through personal example.

Figure 3 - Team Needs

Individual Needs
A team is a collective group of individuals regardless of how, where or why the team has been formed. Each individual brings their own values, capabilities and aspirations to the team. They seek acceptance by their peers, recognition and selffulfilment. The leader must know each individuals strengths, weaknesses, aspirations, problems and needs. Each of these areas should be addressed by the leader with genuine concern and sincerity. Using this knowledge of the individual, the leader should provide achievable challenges; this creates a sense of achievement for the individual. The leader should allocate tasks and responsibilities whereby the individual has an opportunity to perform utilising their training and pre-existing skill sets an opportunity for the individual to demonstrate competency and build selfconfidence. Likewise, the leader should also allocate tasks and responsibilities to provide the individual with opportunities to overcome their weaknesses. A good leader supports their team members as individuals and motivates them to contribute to the team to the best of their potential. They make themselves available, approachable, deal with personal problems with sincerity and offer encouragement. Having said this, isnt the leader an individual with needs of his or her own? Each leader should recognise their own strengths, weaknesses, limitations and prejudices. At times, a leader may find it necessary to sacrifice their own personal needs to those of the team. Therefore, a critical prerequisite to being a good leader is to develop sound self-awareness and understanding. A leader is highly unlikely to obtain the confidence, respect and loyalty of their team if they do not recognise, demonstrate and provide for the needs of the individuals.

Figure 4 - Individual Needs

Balancing Needs
The three key need areas are in a state of constant tension. Therefore, the leader should be mindful at all times of the needs within the team and how they change over time. The leader is required to establish an order of priority while remaining agile, in order to adapt to the changing situation. With these key need areas in a constant state of conflict, sometimes the needs of one area may be higher priority than the others. The leader must be adept in recognising and managing this shift in priority. For example, when task needs are highest priority, the leader must concentrate on the achievement of the task at the expense of the team and individual needs, and vise-versa. A good leader will use periods of low activity to focus on the individual and team needs to replenish depleted stocks or prepare the team for the effort that lies ahead. Likewise, a good leader will also seize the opportunity to attend to his or her own personal needs after long periods of task priority. Regardless of the situation or circumstances, the leader should avoid sacrificing the long-term interests of the team and individuals for a short-term gain meeting the task needs. This can have a crippling and profound impact on the ability for the team to be successful and work effectively together in the future. This delicate balancing act requires sound judgement on the part of the leader, but how?

Situational Awareness
A leader is called upon to exercise his or her judgement in determining the priority of needs within the group and how best to meet these. In determining the appropriate course of action the functional approach to leadership proposes consideration of three key factors (the leader, the team and the situation) in determining the most appropriate course of action.

The Leader
Every leader is an individual and will possess different qualities, strengths and weaknesses. Therefore, the inherit competencies, capabilities and personality of the leader with have a direct impact on how leadership is applied, including: Conceptual skills; Diagnostic skills; Knowledge and experience; and Interpersonal skills.

A good leader is able to vary his or her style as the situations demands it. Having said this, the leaders individual personality and unique attributes quite often will be an irrepressible influence in defining their approach to leadership.

The Team
Upon appointment, a good leader will quickly and concisely develop a detailed understanding of the team, including: Competencies and capabilities; Group dynamics; and Morale.

The Situation
The leader must understand and analyse the context and environment in which the team is required to perform as these may at times influence the prioritisation of needs. The leader should consider the following when analysing the working situation: Task difficulty; Risk; Available time and deadlines; and Working conditions.

Leadership Action
Following consideration of the working situation the leader will now understand the needs, their priority and the actions to be taken. A good leader is able to conduct this analysis in any working situation quickly and effectively, and react accordingly. In determining the actions to be taken by the leader, the functional approach to leadership suggests that a leader should consider the following: 1. Identify: Define what must be achieved; Develop a workable plan; Inform the team and seek their endorsement of the plan; and Establish any controls or standards with the team. 2. Control: Monitor and maintain the team controls and standards; Maintain alignment to the overall strategy; Provide feedback and encouragement to the team; and Encourage a positive team spirit. 3. Direct: Allocate tasks and responsibilities to team members; 7

 Ensure the actions taken contribute to achieving the overall objective; and Evaluate performance with established controls and standards. 4. Satisfy: Provide positive reinforcement and encouragement to the team and individuals; and Proactively resolve disagreements in an open and transparent manner, monitor the build-up of any tension and negative thoughts. Depending upon the task at hand and the given working situation, each leader will need to determine the appropriate course of action to be taken. Therefore, suffice to say that Functional Leadership is not so much concerned with who is leading but more importantly how the leadership is being applied. The demand on the leaders skills and experience will be far greater with more complex tasks in difficult working conditions.

Conclusion
The functional approach to leadership is based on the theory of group needs. This theory suggests the leader is required to reconcile the needs of the individual with the needs of the task and the group. There is always constant tension and conflict between the three need areas, therefore the leader is required to exercise his or her judgement in prioritising these needs and determining the appropriate course of action to be taken. In determining the appropriate course of action, the Functional Approach to Leadership suggests careful analysis of the working situation considering the leader, the team and situation can provide a means of determining this. Regardless of the task and working situation, the skills and experience, ability and personality of the leader will influence how leadership is applied.

Based on: Hackman & Walton (1986). Leading groups in organizations. San Francisco: JosseyBass. Hackman (2002). Leading teams: Setting the stage for great performances. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.

Copyright Roy Wallace 2011 All rights reserved.

About the Author

Roy Wallace is an accomplished management consultant with a multifaceted background of experience in managing and assisting with the delivery of key strategic projects for some of the worlds leading organisations and has 10-years experience in security risk management across defence and intelligence industries. Roy also founded and is currently the Director of a prominent not-for-profit charity Blue Sky Project. To find out more or contact the author visit: http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=8615217