Followership Research Paper

“Developing excellent communication skills is absolutely essential to effective leadership. The leader must be able to share knowledge and ideas to transmit a sense of urgency and enthusiasm to others. If a leader can't get a message across clearly and motivate others to act on it, then having a message doesn't even matter."

In followership there needs to be a leader that inspires and bonds followers together as a unit moving in one direction. Today’s leader has to be more than someone that was placed in a position of authority, a person with a title and a higher salary level. A real leader is found when the behaviors and attitudes of their

To me “Leadership means leading people for positive outcomes”. An effective leader may have many aspects but the relationship that exists between a leader and their followers is one of the most important aspects of leadership which can determine the success quotient in any organization.

Followership can be defined as the willingness to follow a leader, to work effectively as a team member, and exhibit loyalty to the leaders. Cadets exhibiting followership should not be afraid to ask for help from their leaders in order to improve themselves. When a follower feels the need to voice differences of opinions, it should be done so respectively.

Kellerman, B. (2008). Followership How followers are creating change and changing leaders. Boston, Massachusetts: Harvard Business Press

Lastly, and very important, the skill to communicate efficiently in order to achieve the projected goals (Weiss and Tappen, 2015 p.4). If leaders have the first two skills mentioned above and lack effective communication skill, such leaders would not be able to express themselves well about their anticipated plans to their target population, and this can cause flaws that will affect their leadership.

A well-researched knowledge-base is a necessity. Organization is also key to being a leader. A leader must plan thoroughly to properly direct the group. Even though careful planning is crucial, a leader must remain flexible when problems arise. Remaining humble is also important. Once a leader raises her/himself above the group, s/he will lose respect and will be seen as a ruler - and not a leader. A leader must see eye-to-eye with the group to retain an effective role. To manage the needs of the group, a leader must be trusting enough to allow others to help. If a leader makes all the decisions without the group’s input, or does not allow the group an active role, the group will no longer agree with the leader and will not feel valued. The leader’s effectiveness and respect form the group will the drop. The group must also trust the leader to make wise decisions. Despite the fact that these qualities are mostly seen when leading a cause, they can be extended to other roles of leadership.

Effective followership is an essential component of effective leadership in that, without good followers, the leader’s work is difficult and cumbersome. The role of the follower is many times understated. As illustrated by Kelley (1998), “effective followers are thinkers; energetic and assertive, self-starters, independent problem solvers, and carry out their tasks with these characteristics (p. 143). Effective followers also are characterized by their ability to perform tasks with little supervision, their intelligence, and ability to think for themselves. We are all followers, even those who consider themselves leaders; so to encourage this effectiveness in others; we must be role models for those under us, so that they may also be effective at following. Chaleff (2009) observed that “all important social accomplishments require complex

Followers help leaders manifest their vision. Successful followers (supporters or team members) come in a wide variety of personal characteristics. There are people who may be good followers who do not make good leaders or even want to be leaders, but there are no good leaders who are not good followers. A good leader was once a follower. Without followers there is no leadership in any organization. Leaders can develop effective followers as followers develop effective leaders. The performance of followers and leaders of an organization are variables that depend on one another. Both roles are proactive together they can

The current context of work, leadership, and followership is positioned in progressively multifaceted, uncertain, and dynamic business backgrounds with multiple realities founded upon various values, priorities, and requirements. The actual encounters demanded by globalization, amplified competition, far-reaching sociocultural and technological growths, and the acceleration of changes that are conveying new intricacies for organizations (Küpers, 2007).

As a good follower, I need to accept responsibility and I need to be aware of the tasks that I have to take on. I have to readily support my leader at all times and I should be able to voice my opinions to my leader in a very supportive way. Leaders can only lead an organization successfully if they have personalities that appeal to their followers. The individual reflection and big five

The study in to the area of followership has been overshadowed by leadership for many years, and continues to lack in research studies to examine this important topic. American culture may be partly responsible for “follower” having a negative connotation. Sayings like “always a leader, never a follower” help to reinforce this idea. Leaders are looked upon as an elite class, while followers are viewed as people who did not achieve.

Strong leadership is critical to an organizations success. Leaders need to be honest, trustworthy, respected, and good communicators (Montana & Mitchell, 2005, p. 83). Effective communication is necessary to eliminate confusion. Think how the receiver will interpret the message that you are saying or writing. Effective communication can only occur when the receiver of the message understands what the sender is intending to say.

The importance placed on the follower’s opinions and capabilities acknowledges the value of his or her contribution by leadership. It motivates people to do their best and achieve the necessary goal(s). This empowerment by leadership therefore promotes a beneficial message between leaders and followers allowing for future communication when difficult circumstances might arise.

Communication would fall under the good listener category of being a leader. Communication is a key component to being a good listener because if you don’t communicate to whomever you are speaking with then some things might get lost in the process. The leader of a team will have to listen to their boss then relay the message to his or her team, and that’s where paraphrasing takes a good part in communication and listening skills. A good leader is always communicating with other leaders and trying to find out other good ideas they can use to improve some of their techniques.