Task World and Human World in Business: Insights from William Dyer

Task World, Human World

I once got called in at the last minute to co-facilitate a meeting. The consultant who set up the meeting told me what little he knew. This was the first time his client’s leadership team was meeting in person. They had worked together virtually for the last six months or so. They wanted to get together to do a little light strategic planning and agree on their initiatives and goals for the coming year. Easy peasy.

Within about an hour of starting the meeting, it had devolved into a screaming match. These team members were literally shouting at each other across the room. 

What happened? 

The work of William Dyer and his "Task World" and the "Human World" can help explain what went wrong. 

The Task World is the world of email inboxes, to do lists, calendars and schedules, org charts, PowerPoints, forms to fill out, and boxes to check. It’s the Business We’re In. It’s where productivity and production happen. It’s the world of tactical actions, operational plans, and strategic goals. It’s completing tasks and meeting deadlines. This world is all about efficiency and organization. Keep the machine of business and all its parts well oiled and running smoothly. Continuous improvement. Functions and features. Productions and products. Package deliveries and service delivery. Efficiency and efficacy. Inputs and outputs.

By contrast, the Human World is the world of relationships, of interpersonal connectedness, of building trust and understanding among people, and of emotional intelligence. This world is about recognizing that employees, clients, and stakeholders are more than just contributors and cogs in the machine: they are individuals with unique needs and feelings. 

I like to think of the Human World as sort of like “the Upside Down” from Stranger Things, or “the Mirror Dimension” from Doctor Strange. It’s an alternate reality, another dimension that exists alongside and invisible from the reality of the Task World. We might think we’re having a Task World meeting to agree on strategic initiatives, and then BAM! We find ourselves sucked into the Human World.

That’s not to say the Human World should be avoided. Far from it. It’s when we ignore and neglect the Human World that it shows up to bite us in our assumptions. 

Because it’s actually in the Human World where real communication happens. The Task World might be where email happens, but the Human World is where real understanding happens. At Lizard Brain we can help your organization find the perfect balance. Contact us today.