Leadership As A Key Building Block Towards Effective Leadership

I was engaged in a dynamic conversation with a colleague in reference to subpar productivity of a particular office in which we work alongside. We went down the list of what the support staff (follower) were not doing, areas that lacked proficiency, and how to possibly address it. All of a sudden, my colleague stated, “Leadership is everything!” What is Leadership? What is Followership? Leadership is defined as “a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal” (Northouse, p. 5, 2013). Followership “is the capacity or willingness to follow a leader” (Merriam-Webster, n.d.). Northouse (2013) makes it clear “that both leader and follower are involved together in the leadership process” (p. 6). Kouzes and Posner (2012) said, “Collaborating across offices to get the job done also facilitates innovation and experimentation” (p. 12). I would like to borrow there statement and interject that collaborating across global markets to get the job done has and continues to facilitate innovation and experimentation. This article will define globalization, global leadership, and explore the integral leader follower relationship from a Global perspective. Then it will address principles for competent development of global leaders. Finally, the article will offer guidance on leaders and followers from a Biblical standpoint.

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

The importance of effective leadership and its impact on improving student achievement are evident in today’s schools (Leithwood, Louis, Anderson, and Wahlstrom, 2004). While the school principal is traditionally thought to be the school leader, Glickman (1989) proposes that “the principal of successful schools is not the instructional leader but the educational leader who mobilizes the expertise, talent, and care of others” (p. 8). Lumpkin, Claxton, and Wilson (2014) contend that helping “each school fulfill its mission and energize and expand the professionalism and professional contributions of teachers, the expertise of all teachers, especially teacher leaders, is needed” (p. 59). Teachers directly impact student learning, and

The text book also talks about that we need to recognize the important of interactions among leaders, followers, and the situation, in order to better understand the process of leadership. Indeed, interviewee underlines the importance of situation as well as the relationship between leaders and followers, in leadership, and said that leaders need to observe and analysis the situation as well as understand followers’ attitudes 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.

Leadership is the ultimate form of service; it requires leaders to devote much of themselves to deal with the responsibilities that come with the title. They not only serve as normal members, but they must make important decisions with their followers’ interests

Leadership is something that comes natural for some and is a developed skill for others. If we take a look at the role of the leader, we look for certain traits in a person. For example, in grade school, there always seems to be clicks, large and small groups of people that cling together. When we examine these social sub-groups, we often find that there is always one person that leads the group. This person is usually the person that brings the group together. I remember being in social circles with people that I knew I would never be friends with. However, we may have one or two people in common, thus we remain friends. Overtime, we

The Merriam Webster dictionary defines followership as “the capacity or willingness to follow a leader”. Over the last several years, there’s been a huge interest in leadership. However, former HP Executive Vice President, Vyomesh Joshi, shared that the key to being a great leader is not about leadership but instead the real attribute is

It seems self-evident that one cannot be a leader unless he or she has followers; put differently, one cannot hold a leadership role unless others are prepared to hold followership roles. These roles are more or less symbiotic - done effectively, each role can support and benefit the other. Nevertheless, the term “follower” has acquired a negative connotation, and leadership is generally considered to be the pinnacle to which we should all strive in our working lives, if not our personal lives as well. However, thanks to the work of authors such as Robert E. Kinney, who introduced the concept of followership, the characteristics, roles and paths of followers now receive increased attention. Kinney’s groundbreaking article, “In Praise of

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 role of the “Leader” I believe sometimes relates to the individual to delegate the set goals or mission to the followers and believe the “Followers” have the belief and confidence in the “Leader” in how he/she has decided to execute the set goals and missions. Therefore the leader has to demand structure and organise how the followers must or should complete the task laid out to attain the success or victory of the mission. From a scientific perspective the only measurement tool here is the success or victory of the mission, regardless of ethics or principles, step by step quantifiable measurement, morals and wider impacts. Also the question into, is the “Leader” acting in the best of everyone’s interest, is there compassion and total unbiased approach and is there room for the “Follower” to openly call into question the methods employed and approach; ultimately is the leader able to take on-board concerns and alternative views to change/alter the course /route in delivering the success needed. Some of the definitions of the “Leader” I have observed reads; A leader has a vision. Leaders see a problem that needs to be fixed or a goal that needs to be achieved. It may be something that no one else sees or simply something that no one else wants to tackle. Whatever it is, it is the focus of the leader's attention and they attack it with a single-minded determination. From a scientific background and

The contents and assignment in this course has helped me understand the various theories of leadership and how different leadership styles can have a negative or positive effect on followers and organizations. The leadership theories helped me understand the concept of leadership better because it educates me on the different leadership options that are available. Leadership and followership is not based on specific characteristics. Leaders must draw from things and approaches to find the right style. A follower’s attitude determines the way a leader leads. According to Johnson (2011) “Being a good follower means ensuring your boss is supported, but only if he is making optimum decisions”.

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

There are always chances and possibilities to become a good leader regardless the odds against you, gender, age, race, education, previous experience, etc. This paper defines what leadership is and it explains the relationship between leadership and influence. It also highlights the importance of finding opportunities to develop skills and creating strong to become a good leader. It is also emphasized the power of influence that comes from motivating your team, to improve performance and satisfaction and that setting a clear goal is mandatory for good leadership. The conclusion summarizes all the topics under discussion.