Relational Leadership and Leadership Goals

Q1. How might you distinguish or differentiate between Uhl-Bien’s RLT and the commonly held idea that leaders simply must foster good relationships with followers (such as the task vs. relationship dichotomy)? Thoughts?

One of the most common managerial techniques to improve motivation and morale is to create a more pleasant workplace through positive social exchanges. This might include on-site social occasions, team-building exercises, mentoring of less experienced but talented employees, or simply emphasizing a good attitude as a way to create a pleasant interpersonal dynamic in the workplace. According to Uhl-Bien’s (2006) Relational Leadership Theory (RLT), however, this is not enough. If the focus of leadership is upon the construction of relationships, a more active approach is needed to ensure that the interpersonal processes within the organization foster good social relationships: “relational self-identities…emanate from relationships with significant others” (Uhl-Bien, 2006, p.658). This is in stark contrast with simply encouraging leaders to be nicer to followers. Such kindness still originates from a position of personal power. A relationship-driven leadership paradigm acknowledges mutual dependence.

A relational view of the leader’s self acknowledges that there is no leadership without followership. Followership contains dimensions of leadership and vice versa. As social networks on a virtual level become increasingly important in terms of company marketing, it is equally important to understand how social networks are constructed on an organizational level in the real world, face-to-face. For example, do leaders solicit input from followers regarding decisions which will impact those followers?

Rather than focusing on the leader fostering qualities within him or herself such as kindness, a forward-thinking perspective, and gentle firmness, RLT turns the focus on the external relationships that are forged. The goal is not to achieve and complete specific tasks. Rather it is to build the relationships that facilitate the accomplishments of positive tasks, create free flows of organizational communication, and a positive, non-toxic atmosphere. Leadership is not based in the self, but rather in the social order. “In a relational perspective, self and other are not separable but coevolving in ways that need to be accounted for in leadership research” (Uhl-Bien, 2006, p.666).

Relational approaches also look beyond mentoring as a way to foster positive leadership approaches. Again, mentoring is a top-down approach. Relational organizational research involves using action research, exploring an insider/outside views of the organization (such as how customers versus the managers view the organization’s image and goals), and other forms of participatory research to determine organizational problems and set goals (Uhl-Bien, 2006). This open-ended, process-driven approach is critical, versus simply striving to create a good atmosphere to achieve predetermined goals.

Of course, a pleasant work environment is useful, and should be fostered within relational leadership, but it is not the end goal. Relational leadership is ethical (i.e.,, does not view organizational actors in a transactional fashion), is purpose-driven by values and a vision versus tasks, empowers others and focuses on sharing power, is inclusive to diverse views and personalities, and above all has a process orientation (“Relational Leadership,” n.d.). It is this final, process-oriented focus that most organizations fail to achieve, given that fostering good relationships is often only seen as a way of achieving goals, rather than critical to the networks that foster leadership themselves.