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Four Important Task Leadership Roles in a Group Business Setting

written by: J. Smith•edited by: Ginny Edwards•updated: 11/6/2010

Task leadership is a very important skill for a group leader in the business world. By understanding these roles, you can improve your team's productivity.

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    task leadership In the business world, working with and leading a group of other people in making decisions is a very important skill to have. Task leadership is an element of the team communication process that focuses on completing an overall goal for the company. A good group task leader should have four major roles throughout the discussion process. By being familiar with these various jobs, you will become an effective team director.

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    Opening Discussions

    A vital role of a person assuming a head role in task leadership is opening the discussion and starting the group off on the right train of thought. For the most part, groups that are assigned to complete a task focus on creating ideas that can potentially benefit the company. Before the group even attempts to generate ideas, it is essential that everyone understands the current situation at hand. Starting the discussion prematurely can lead to faulty solutions that can hinder the performance of not only the group, but the company as a whole. In addition, the group’s leader needs to keep the other members of the team focused on the issue. Simple things such as starting the meeting up or telling group members to continue brainstorming focus the group and keep them on task.

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    Reviewing Ideas

    Another key role of task leadership is the ability to keep track of and review the ideas the group has generated. If your team is working on solving a complex problem, the discussion can often get confusing and off track. Being able to identify moments when the team needs a recap and properly summarizing the details are helpful skills for the group’s leader. Furthermore, it offers the potential for debate amongst other group members because it allows them to reflect and analyze the situation better.

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    Organizing Group Thoughts

    In the business world, members of groups tend to have different ideas and come from different backgrounds. Because of this, each member’s approach to solving the problem can differ, leading to chaos during a discussion. It is the task leader’s job to recognize ideas that appear similar, but may differ due to the way they are expressed, and connect them so everyone can understand them. Without having everyone in the group on the same page, the discussion can take additional time and produce unsatisfactory results.

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    Expanding Thoughts

    Oftentimes in a group setting, shyer people tend to remain quiet and have their thoughts and ideas overlooked. If a suggestion is made, the leader of the group should attempt to expand on the idea and encourage others to share their opinions. In addition, asking questions to the person who made the suggestion can help clear up any additional details and give everyone a better understanding of the plan. Without expanding upon these ideas they could be lost, even if it is the perfect solution for the situation at hand.

    Image Credit: renjith krishnan /

Group Decisions in Business

Working as a team is an essential part of the business world. Learn new ideas and prevent common problems by reviewing the information presented in these articles.
  1. Four Ways to Make Group Business Decisions
  2. Five Potential Problems of Team Decision Making in Business
  3. Four Important Task Leadership Roles in a Group Business Setting
  4. The Four Key Process Leadership Tasks in Business Group Communication
  5. The Five Power Bases of Leadership in Business Management