Leadership As A Leader 's Followers

The difference between followership and leadership is a comparison usually overlooked by students, professors, and even to most persons in leadership positions. To fully understand the difference we must look at the definitions and break them down. We clearly define leadership as an act of establishing a clear vision which is often called a vision statement in organizations. In leadership we must also be able to provide the information, knowledge, and methods to help followers understand the vision as well as balance the conflicting interests of all members of the team. Often, we see leadership as an example of what we need to be. However, followers and followership is needed for a leader to exist. Followership is defined as the willingness to follow a leader. Followers tend to follow a leader that is able to

In the preface of Followership, the author Tom Atchison, states the reason there has to be a dynamic followership and Leadership role it 's not that there 's a lack of effective leadership in healthcare, it’s that the current, worsening, issues are the moral and the staffing shortages of followers which result in a toxic work environment and the challenges on how followers overcome that while being a productive team.

Effective leaders interact with their followers in a positive manner to learn about them on a personal and professional level (Colorado State University – Global Campus, 2016). The United States Coast Guard (USCG) refers to this type of communication as deck plate leadership. Deck plate leadership blends an interest in junior personnel’s professional development and well-being (Smith, 2010). Often, before one becomes an effective leader they participate in a follower role. The level of follower engagement may be a precursor to the type of leader they later will become. Lieutenant Commander (LCDR) C. MacInnes is the Executive Officer (XO) of Enlisted Personnel working directly for the commanding officer (CO) at the USCG Academy in New London, Connecticut (http://www.uscga.edu). LCDR MacInnes oversees several divisions at the Academy, meaning he has numerous direct reports. He is an example of a person in a leadership and followership role.

A leader alone cannot accomplish a goal or vision by oneself. There is a built in assumption in our society that everybody should strive to be a leader. That’s where the fame and fortune are—with the leaders. “You can get a PhD in organizational leadership, but you can’t even get a bachelor’s in followership.” (Mercer) Why should an organization focus on followership as much as leadership?

In Module 6, Leadership and Followership, I found developing leadership power to be the most important concept. According to the Noncommissioned Officer Academy Distance Learning Course (NCOA DLC), Set B, Volume 1, “Your primary responsibility is influencing people under your care to accomplish the mission and leadership power is one of the most powerful tools you have for influencing others.” There are two types of leadership power, position power and personal power, understanding what they are and how to manage them will result in a more effective leader. NCOA DLC, Set B, Volume 1 states, “Position Power provides you with the authority to make decisions and requests based on your position within the organization” and “Personal Power is the extent to which followers’ respect, feel good about, are committed to their leader; and see their own goals being satisfied by the goals of their leader.” Knowing how to balance the two and find a common ground will help me develop into a well-rounded leader.

When societal leaders are envisioned a faction of elites often comes to mind. These identifiable individuals embody desirable leadership characteristics. Resourcefulness, charisma, strength, tolerance, compassion, honesty, and determination are just a few of the personal facets ascribed to these leaders. However, this oversimplification of perfection is a narrative created by followers and it ignores some vital details. The leaders held above all others are simply human, and they too are flawed. The ignorance of this fact leads to blind faith which is dangerous. The leaders we look to for guidance should be ordinary people, rather than conventional figures whose established significance often overshadows their true character.

big picture of the organization and how the leader plans to move the unit forward. Effective

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.

Without followers there are no leaders and to be able to lead and be successful, leaders need followers. Leaders have different behavior, traits, experience and skills and are consistently assessing their followers and the current situation in order to practice an appropriate leadership style for best outcomes. Leaders use their best judgment to approach a situation and use the best action for each situation. These are examples of the leadership formula that prove its validity:

Leadership, followership, and management are all characteristics that should be found amongst all organization. These attributes can take place at any level in the workplace, including the bottom line. Leadership and management are two terms that are often confused, but they are both unique in their own ways. Followership is often overlooked in the workplace, but it is crucial to producing an effective product or service.

There have been many observations regarding the characteristics of a leader, but followership has received less attention. Treister and Schultz (1997) “suggests that a "follower is someone who accepts guidance and, on receiving it, takes the appropriate action." Treister et al (1997) also state followership is “considered a passive or submissive role of lesser importance than leadership. However, the effectiveness of leaders to a large measure depends on the qualities of their followers.” Treister et al (1997) go on to say “good leadership enhances followers, just as good followership enhances leaders." So followers are just as important as leaders are to a leader/follower relationship.

The assignment in this course that I felt was most helpful was the week two assignment that talked about the relationship between leaders and their followers. I found out through my research how important the two go together, you can not have one with out the other. I realize now that if I want to be a great leader I need to focus on being a follower and learning what it takes to be a leader. I know in my current job I will try to learn as much as I can from my supervisors to prepare my self for my future.

Quote from Jerry Rice “Today I will do what others won’t, so tomorrow I can accomplish what others can’t”. Leadership is not a title; it is not a trade, or some sort of hierarchy. Positive leadership is really something more. For leadership to exist, the leader has to have influence to lead oneself, and to lead others. Leadership at its core is a process of influence, meaning the influence must be transactional. The leader must affect the follower by setting goals, and the follower must affect the leader by setting goals. As the leader and the follower come together in a common understanding, and with a common sense of purpose, only then can they begin to move together to accomplish a common goal.

Riggio, R., Chaleff, I., & Lipman-Blumen, J. (Eds) (2008). The Art of Followership How Great Followers Create Great Leaders and Organizations. San Francisco, California: Jossey-Bass.

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.