Leaders And Followers Relationship

There are many qualities that come to mind when a person thinks of a good leader. It may not be an actual person that is pictured when term “leader” comes in casual conversation, but instead just a series of characteristics or experiences that might make a person fit to be in charge. Or rather instead there are some that see themselves when they think of authority and power, still even those that imagine what they could become if given the proper training. The emphasis society places on leadership is undoubtedly instilled within the minds of every child from a young age that are urged that having a sense of leadership is the only way to be successful. Despite this, only few are really fit for a position where

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

Leadership is, and always has been, a vital aspect of social and economic constructs. It is essential to the survival of societies, industries, organizations, and virtually any group of individuals that come together for a common purpose. However, leadership is difficult to define in a single, definitive sense. As such, theories of leadership, what constitutes a great leader, and how leaders are made have evolved constantly throughout history, and still continue to change today in hopes of improving upon our understanding of leadership, its importance, and how it can be most effective in modern organizational cultures.

Leadership will certainly run into challenges if they are not aligned with a company core values and hold employees to that standard as well. Leading team is all about growth in the organization including professional growth with all employees. Any leader of an organization should be a servant leader and ensure that all employees are treated fairly and know they are important to the organization. Jim Blanchard, Jr. the leader of Synovus stated “Our culture is rooted in the notion that people are valuable and they are entitled dignity, respect and appreciation” (Hess & Cameron, 2006).

"Leaders are people who are able to express themselves fully…they know who they are, what their strengths and weaknesses are, and how to fully deploy their strengths and compensate for their weaknesses. They also know what they want, why they want it, and how to communicate what they want to others in order to gain their cooperation and support. Finally they know how to achieve their goals" (Ingram, 2004).

The achievements of an organization are extremely important to the community it serves. Organizations have leaders and followers who form teams within to accomplish goals and achieve success. The understanding of the leader and follower relationship is foundational in balancing the collaboration and cohesiveness alliance in fulfilling the mission, vision and values of the organization.

Throughout time the question of “ Are leaders born or made?” continues to be debated. This question has been part of several myths that try to explain what makes a person a leader. According to the trait approach theory, it sets a benchmark for what certain traits an individual must possess in order to make them a leader. Before leadership traits were considered innate. However, as time has progressed research has indicated that situations differentiate leaders from non-leaders. Therefore, an individual does not possess certain traits, rather it is the relationship between the person and its society that make him/her leader. All leaders must have a set of skills that help them lead subordinates to reach an overall vision. A vision must originate from both the leader and its followers, and it is the leader's job to articulate the vision. Furthermore, leaders demonstrate the capacity to lead their followers and

The concept of followership is crucial to the leadership process today. In the past, followers were not viewed as important whatsoever. They were viewed as puppets that had no potential to make a change. In the new paradigm, followers are just as important as leaders. There are several behavioral styles of followers: alienated, conformist, pragmatists, passive, and effective.

Anita Satterlee makes an obvious, but profound observation stating, “A leader cannot lead without followers (Satterlee, pg. 6, 2013).” Essentially, a leader without subordinates who are engaged can not lead properly. While this concept is easy to comprehend, what is most intriguing is Satterlee’s claim that “by mastering the role of followership, a subordinate prepares for the role of leadership (Satterlee, pg. 7, 2013).” Instead of viewing leaders as being static, it is important to view the process of leadership as more

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

1. When discussing leadership and followership, there is often a split in personal opinion when it comes to which one is more important. Leadership and followership both offer unique benefits in their own right and have supporting factors, which give them the perceived appearance of being more important. The focus for this paper will be to advocate the importance of followership over that of leadership. This will be accomplished by addressing the pros of followership to include some core skills of followership and the effects followership has on the development of a leader. The expectation of an officer however, places a high amount of emphasis on leadership more so than that of followership. Given this perceived importance of leadership as an officer, an effective leadership style will be explained and how officers develop this particular leadership style. While leadership has a distinct presence within the professional work environment, followership is considered the underlying backbone in developing an effective high performing team.

According to my reading of the book Peter G. Northouse(p120-121). Yes, A leaders should set boundaries between there followers. Leaders and followers must work together and have trust with each other. Setting boundaries only separate who is leader and who is the followers, these boundaries does not make you greater a responsibility. “Being a leader shows great styles that interacts with characteristics of followers and the work setting to affect the motivation of followers.”

Leadership has become overly romanticized by popular culture, leaving little research and attention to followership (Meindl). This focus on leadership has left a deficit in the development of

The word ‘leadership’ often times triggers a preconceived image of an ideal leader—typically accompanied by the aura that the effective leader should be at the top of the hierarchy, ready to produce the solutions to complex problems. However, this is not true of leadership, given that effective leadership is not achieved by position but rather through style and situational awareness. Examining leadership requires the consideration of the catalysts for different types of leaders. Popular leader development theories tend to focus on the natural servitude of the leader, his or her capability to manage, and leader behavior.

To have great leadership, there needs to be a leader-follower relationship. The relationship can’t be effective without inspiration, involvement, and support from both participants. To develop this alliance, the leader must give extra effort to reach out to followers. The only way a leader can be successful is if the follower trusts the leader. The most important characteristic of a leader is to set a good example for their followers.