Leadership and the Task-Oriented Trades

 

 

The Leadership Series

 

 

NOTE: This article is part 3 of a series on Leadership here at The Wealthy Ironworker

1. Leadership, Management, and The Skilled Trades
2. The 4 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader
3. Leadership and The Task-Oriented Trades
4. Situational Leadership and the Skilled Trades
5. Leadership and The Art of Intentionality
   1. Skills Developed From The Art of Intentionality
6. Leadership and Emotional Intelligence
   1. Skills Developed From Emotional Intelligence
7. Leadership and Humility
   1. Skills Developed From Humility
8. Leadership and Listening to Understand and Not to Respond
   1. Skills Developed From Listening to Understand and Not to Respond
9. Skills Developed Overall in the Leadership Process

 

 

I have long thought we’ve overemphasized management while shunning leadership, and I believe it’s primarily because people are messy. If I can instill a process people must adhere to, then I can, to a degree, remove the human element and manage things. If I can’t, then you must lead people. But people and life are messy, and that takes the human element (and extra liability from a Human Resources perspective) to an exponential level.

And after all these years, what do we see? Leadership seems to have wide adoption in more white-collar environments, but flounder in the field (skilled trades/blue-collar). I suspect it has a lot to do with the difficulty of the trades as well as the people who are in them.

Mark Breslin from Breslin Strategies knows this, too: I ran into him earlier this year (February 2024), talked a bit about this very thing, and read his book – The Five Minute Foreman – which I think is a fantastic resource for the trades. If I had a magic wand I’d incorporate it into every foreman training class that’s put on.

Let me tell you now: his premise and that book are a GREAT resource for those seeking to better themselves in the trades.

 

Related: Read The Five Minute Foreman – Book Review

 

You see, I have this theory that I’d like to explore: those in the trades are not the same as those in an office, their goals and views are not the same, nor are the leadership theories and approaches that should be used. In short, those in the trades respond to a different style of leadership, and we should explore that in greater detail.

Therefore, because there are multiple variables to consider that distinguish office from field and white collar from blue, I believe leadership dealing with the task-oriented trades is different. This is the working hypothesis we will operate from and expand on in this and the remaining articles.

 

Where It All Began

 

Let’s go back to where it all started

 

I first started to mull this over when I took a class in a Master’s Leadership Program some time back. I was the only person with a background in the trades, while EVERYONE ELSE was from either white collar or nonprofit. The trades are far more task-oriented than those outside understand – and then there are those who are actually in the trades themselves. If you have been around any of us, you intuitively understand. Someone in the leadership consulting space – which almost exclusively works with white-collar individuals – recently told me the first time he interacted with Ironworkers, he was taken aback. He knew they were different from those he was used to coaching and told his colleagues as much, too – that’s just how different people in the trades are.

By week 3 of that class, I had an awakening because of the difference of opinion. We were given a case study to read, think about, and provide feedback based on our decisions and perspectives. Rather than trying to put it into my own words, I thought it best to let the actual scenario (case study) do the talking.

What follows, then, is the actual case study for you to read, contemplate, and come to your own conclusion.

 

“Case 7.1: His Team Gets the Best Assignments

Carly Peters directs the creative department of the advertising agency of Mills, Smith, & Peters. The agency has about 100 employees, 20 of whom work for Carly in the creative department. Typically, the agency maintains 10 major accounts and a number of smaller accounts. It has a reputation for being one of the best advertising and public relations agencies in the country. In the creative department, there are four major account teams. Each is led by an associate creative director, who reports directly to Carly. In addition, each team has a copywriter, an art director, and a production artist. These four account teams are headed by Jack, Terri, Julie, and Sarah. Jack and his team get along really well with Carly, and they have done excellent work for their clients at the agency. Of all the teams, Jack’s team is the most creative and talented and the most willing to go the extra mile for Carly. As a result, when Carly has to showcase accounts to upper management, she often uses the work of Jack’s team. Jack and his team members are comfortable confiding in Carly and she in them. Carly is not afraid to allocate extra resources to Jack’s team or to give them free rein on their accounts because they always come through for her. Terri’s team also performs well for the agency, but Terri is unhappy with how Carly treats her team. She feels that Carly is not fair because she favors Jack’s team. For example, Terri’s team was counseled out of pursuing an ad campaign because the campaign was too risky, whereas Jack’s group was praised for developing a very provocative campaign. Terri feels that Jack’s team is Carly’s pet: His team gets the best assignments, accounts, and budgets. Terri finds it hard to hold back the animosity she feels toward Carly. Like Terri, Julie is concerned that her team is not in the inner circle, close to Carly. She has noticed repeatedly that Carly favors the other teams. For example, whenever additional people are assigned to team projects, it is always the other teams who get the best writers and art directors. Julie is mystified as to why Carly doesn’t notice her team or try to help it with its work. She feels Carly undervalues her team because Julie knows the quality of her team’s work is indisputable. Although Sarah agrees with some of Terri’s and Julie’s observations about Carly, she does not feel any antagonism about Carly’s leadership. Sarah has worked for the agency for nearly 10 years, and nothing seems to bother her. Her account teams have never been earthshaking, but they have never been problematic either. Sarah views her team and its work more as a nuts-and-bolts operation in which the team is given an assignment and carries it out. Being in Carly’s inner circle would entail putting in extra time in the evening or on weekends and would create more headaches for Sarah. Therefore, Sarah is happy with her role as it is, and she has little interest in trying to change the way the department works.”

The above case study is from Leadership: Theory and Practice by Peter G. Northouse, which you can find here.

 

A Skilled Trades Evaluation

 

Let’s evaluate this from the skilled trades perspective, shall we?

 

Given that I am more of a task-oriented person, in a task-oriented career field, I would have acted in much the same way as Carly. She has a go-to that always goes above and beyond. And when the heat is on in the trades, you must get things done. There is little interest in seeing how others are affected by the leadership style you employ (IF you even actively consider leadership – which, many do not). And, when deadlines are not met, things don’t get done, or it’s all just hitting the fan – it’s YOU – the foreman, General Foreman, or Superintendent they come to. No one is going to ask the apprentice or journeyman – they will ask the one(s) in charge. What’s more – and perhaps even more illustrative – is that the overwhelming majority of those in the trades view their work JUST LIKE SARAH: Nuts and bolts; they have a job, and they need to carry it out.

On the face of it, this should be fairly straightforward. After all, this only makes sense. And if you’re thinking that, you’d be right.

Where things took an interesting turn was where there was some gray in the situation – and what is the responsibility of those in charge.

For example, I thought that if Terri and Julie had problems with the leadership style Carly used, maybe they should approach her – something I do not know if they did or not. Did either of them express a willingness to go above and beyond every time the pressure was on, like Jack and his team? Moreover, I was also intrigued (and a bit perplexed, if I’m honest) at just how many (everyone but me) thought it was solely the leader’s responsibility to drag out of each person their potential. It was clear to me they were heavily relational in their leadership approach.

Again, there’s nothing wrong with being more relationally focused – but, for my part, I believe the trades are much more task-oriented than many are willing to admit for numerous reasons.

 

Relationally vs Task-Oriented Leadership

 

Yea – it’s like that sometimes

 

Distilled down, relationally-based leadership has a primary focus on the relational aspect of the process/interaction. Master Class defines it this way: “Relationship–oriented leadership styles focus on team members’ interpersonal dynamics, well-being, and job satisfaction.”

Pretty straightforward, really.

In comparison, task-oriented leadership has a primary focus on the task(s) at hand. I’ll let Master Class define Task-Oriented Leadership, as well: “Task-oriented leadership is a type of leadership style in which the efficient accomplishing of tasks and business goals is the primary objective.”

They don’t prioritize one over the other, here; merely a different focus for a different time.

What I REALLY think is that several decades ago, the workforce (in general) was heavily focused on tasks – then heavily swung like a pendulum into a relational focus – which is where we primarily are now.

We could speculate as to why the workforce has shifted from tasks to relational – people are tired of being downtrodden, generational differences, and the introduction of women into the workforce is a significant factor (women are more people/relational focused whereas men are primarily more interested in things/tasks), but overall, it depicts a need for some balance based on several factors.

For me – personally and professionally – I think it’s time to find the center.

 

It’s time for the pendulum to settle closer to the center

 

Now, perhaps you are thinking the above choices are too dichotomous – or too far apart on the leadership spectrum. Maybe you believe people rarely are on the extreme; instead, a lot live closer to the middle – kind of like politics.

And I’d agree with you.

So, to that end, there needs to be some clarification on a point or two here. First, a lot (certainly those who disagreed with me in the above case study) of others LED with a relationally oriented perspective, whereas I LED with a task-oriented position. Second, this highlights not just a personal difference, either; rather, I suggest it’s also fundamentally professional. Let me unpack it a bit and see if I can explain it.

At the core of this are two major distinctions: (1) the environment and (2) those in it are different between white-collar/office and blue-collar/field.

Recall earlier where I wrote people thought it was the leader’s responsibility to draw out of those around them their innate potential. To what end? To what degree? What does that look like – and is it the same for office and field – white-collar and blue?

 

A Skilled Trades Example

 

There is A LOT taking place on construction job sites daily

 

There is a job that has a very real deadline, with layers of complexity, and multiple different trades on top of one another, all vying for time and space to finish. Oh, and let’s not forget the various personalities those in the trades bring, too.

What type of leadership do you lead with – relational or task? How do you deal with those imposing and demanding deadlines? Working in the elements, extreme competition, and communication breakdowns? What about those individuals who are good at what they do, and that’s all they want to do (like Sarah from the case study example earlier)? What about those jobs that require a new level of skill or changing dynamic many are not accustomed to? How about those who care nothing for personal growth; they are just there on-site to do their work and go home? Is it your responsibility to draw out of them their full potential – whatever that may look like? Do you sacrifice time and quality for the personal development of those in the field? And if so, does it apply equally to everyone? How do you decide?

I could go on and on with more variables, but the stage is set. The trades, and all of the complexities that accompany them, provide a nuanced and unbelievably complex labyrinth for leaders to navigate through. And, with all of the above in mind, they have to get the work done. Talk about complexity.

Is it any wonder guys in the trades adopt a philosophy that since their neck is on the line, they’re doing things their way?

 

A Situational Approach

 

Finding a balance in the industry is extremely difficult and requires a situational approach

 

After 23 years in the game, I’ve seen quite a bit. Once I began to run work myself (that’s a foreman for those who may be reading and are not accustomed to our terms), I tried (and failed) at times to experiment with various approaches – still task-oriented, mind you, but situational in my approach. It has been my conclusion that it is NOT my job to draw out the potential of every single person on the job site – especially when so many simply want to go to work, perform their tasks, and go home – I have been put into the position to get the job done. For those who want more – the next generation of leaders – I sought to recognize them and looked for opportunities to train. I tried to find a balance between those jobs that required a specific way versus those where buy-in from others could happen. And for those who really liked one aspect or facet of the trade, I tried to find a balance to get the most done – for them and the overall job, if possible (think someone who JUST wants to weld).

This took intentionality on my part. (Hello, The Art of Intentionality, anyone?) I could have simply said, “This is how it’s going to be.” I could have treated everyone the same. I could have been very cookie-cutter in how I approached the mass of personalities, possibilities, and various demands the industry brings with each task. After all, I had plenty of examples, already. I’d seen so many decide to do just that, take the easy way, and decide not to burden themselves with all those variations.

But I didn’t. Instead, I took more on myself.

In short, I developed a situational leadership approach that was more task-oriented. Note that I didn’t say it was SOLEY task-oriented – merely more. Given all of the complexity the trades bring, I was convinced it was the best at the time.

I was convinced it was the best way when I was one person against everyone else in a class evaluating a case study.

And I’m still convinced it’s the best now. In fact, we explore this more in-depth in the next leadership article, “Situational Leadership and the Skilled Trades.”

 

The Reason For This Article

 

Why indeed

 

Getting down to the basics for a second, the reason I decided to write this post is to lay the groundwork for future articles. For the rest of 2024 (and probably 2025, to be honest), I will be focusing on a few key topics, and leadership is one of them (in accordance with my 2024 goals, and you can see where I set the 2024 goals for more info) – whatever direction it takes me, but felt it was prudent to outline how I view leadership, the lens through which I view it, and articulate some of the differences between those in the white/collar and blue-collar industries.

I can’t tell you why, but I feel in my bones the two have differences – and not just leadership approaches. I’m not confident this leadership series (where we start with Leadership, Management, and the Skilled Trades then  The 4 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader, and build from there) will fully explore them, either. From personal experiences and observations, however, I’m convinced there’s enough of a difference to warrant significant leadership exploration.

In time, then, The Leadership Series here at The Wealthy Ironworker will likely find itself in possession of a robust catalog of articles, research, case studies, and even personal examples/interviews and podcast episodes.

The go-to for Skilled Trades Leadership?

Perhaps.

In the meantime, I end this article much the same as it started: with a working outline – subject to change as we explore leadership here, at The Wealthy Ironworker.

 

 

NOTE: This article is part 3 of a series on Leadership here at The Wealthy Ironworker

1. Leadership, Management, and The Skilled Trades
2. The 4 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader
3. Leadership and The Task-Oriented Trades
4. Situational Leadership and the Skilled Trades
5. Leadership and The Art of Intentionality
   1. Skills Developed From The Art of Intentionality
6. Leadership and Emotional Intelligence
   1. Skills Developed From Emotional Intelligence
7. Leadership and Humility
   1. Skills Developed From Humility
8. Leadership and Listening to Understand and Not to Respond
   1. Skills Developed From Listening to Understand and Not to Respond
9. Skills Developed Overall in the Leadership Process