Leader-Follower Relationship Essay

In the changing business environment, leaders of all organisations may face unprecedented uncertainty, especially the technology advancement and changes among the employees. To survive and succeed, leaders should have some necessary attributes. Meanwhile, some changes for leadership skills have to be made to confront the challenges.

Regarding leadership or good leader, some of his opinions are similar and some of his opinions are different to opinion that the author in the text book argue. In this textbook, the authors define leadership as the process to affect other people for achieving an organization’s goals. It is similar to interviewee argument. Yet, interviewee emphasized the power in leadership. He states that it is very important to use the power fairly and ethically. He also argues that leaders need a strong relationship with lots of excellent in-group members for forming the power. It is in line with Leader-Member Exchange Theory (LMX) that assumes leadership is formed through transacting mutual interests between leaders and followers.

Every group, team, or organization has a leader. That leader has to have certain qualities to be well respected and followed by his or her following. Not only does the leader have qualities and responsibilities to maintain but also the group’s members. Both the leader and individuals in the group must have respect, fear, and honesty among each other to be a productive group.

Every leader has their own idea of what effectiveness looks like (Jones, 2015). For this study, authentic leadership will be the focus, as defined by Avolio, Gardner and Walumbwa (2004) an individual acting according to their values and convictions, building credibility and the respect and trust of those that follow. Authenticity is a choice that individuals must choose to embrace instead of a character trait that comes from within (Murphy, 2012). Outcomes of authentic leadership remain limitedly researched both theoretically and empirically (Miniotaite & Buciuniene, 2013). Authentic leadership lacks empirical evidence between the leader’s perception and the follower’s perception (Peus, Wesche, Streicher, Braun, & Frey, 2012). Wang, Sui, Luthans,

Adam and Phillip had a good leader-member exchange (LMX) relationship. It appeared that Phillip had established an in-group exchange relationship with his employees, which resulted in them having similar characteristics, one of which was a dedication to customer satisfaction. The benefits of having a good LMX relationship for the follower include more interesting assignments, greater authority, and tangible rewards such as pay increases. For the leader, benefits include increased effort and initiative of followers to carry out assignments and tasks successfully (Daft, 2015, pg. 54).

Leaders are the central figures in a team, and they are attributed to the largest share of blame or praise depending on the performance. New leaders in an organization are faced with many challenges on how to start making an impact and successfully lead the subordinates on the set mission. According to Kangas (2013), the key element for a new leader is to establish interpersonal links and relationships that are necessary for learning about the organization. The success of the leader and the organization as a team depends on the quality of interpersonal relationships that develop to help the leader in implementing their mission. Additionally, the influence of leaders over their followers is largely founded on the interpersonal relationship as members of a team (Kangas, 2013). Another major source of challenge for leaders in organizations is the implementation of changes that affect the existing relationships and roles in major operations. BBBSA demonstrates the challenges that can arise for new leaders in organizations in implementing changes and the effectiveness of the Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) theory in addressing leadership issues.

The Reciprocal Approach to leadership can be described as a relational, shared process with an emphasis on follower participation in the leadership. (Komives,

The role of the follower and the quality of the relationship itself are informally negotiated between followers and their leaders over time (Gils, Quaquebeke, & Knippenberg, 2009). Based on the LMX theory, leaders build a special relationship with an inner circle, or “in-group”, of followers, who often get high levels of responsibility and access to resources. The in-group members work harder and are more committed to task objectives. They are also expected to be totally committed and loyal to their leader. Conversely, other followers fall in the “out-group" and are given low levels of choice or influence. Aggression, sarcasm and a self-centered view are qualities seen in the out-group. The quality of the LMX relationship varies and is better when the challenge of the job is extremely high or extremely low (Graen et al., 1982).

In looking at the characteristics a leader posses, knlowedgable, charismatic, articulate or heroisim; it is the devotion of a follower that determinses wether or not you are a leader, (Bennis, 2007). Leaders and followers have a co- dependent relationship; one cannot exsist without the other. Known as a dyadic relationship, the ability to recognize the level of power a leader has over an individual can possibliy origninate from the level of dependency the follower demonstrates (Martinez, Kane, Ferris, & Brooks, 2012). The level of dependency from a follower can provide the illusion to an individual to be revered as a leader. The expectation that a position exsudes power is a myth that propels the leader and follower dyad; when working under a leader the follower possibly assumes their role without question due to the enforcement of a hierchey structure. Willing followers tend to demonstrate a desire to serve, are in touch with their emotions, aware of their responsibilities, and seek to serve who they have deemed their leader (Northouse, 2013). Determine the plausible future of a leader; followers look for the following results from a leader, knowledge, task orientation, structure, and motivation (Northouse

In today’s competitive world, leadership skills are crucial for both personal and professional development. Leadership is an important function of management which helps an individual or a business to maximize efficiency and to achieve goals. Leadership has different meanings to various authors.Most commonly, leadership is defined as influence, that is, the art of influencing people so that they will strive willingly and enthusiastically toward the achievement of group goals. (Koontz). Leadership is the process of influencing the activities of either formal or informal group in the task of goal setting and goal achievement. A leader is one whose magnetic personality innervates people for some cause. Not by words, but by their actions is

Leadership is a process of influencing activities of a particular group of people with the aim of attaining certain stipulated goals. In defining leadership there is need to consider a particular group, the common goals and the duties that are allocated to specific members of the group depending on their abilities (Fiedler 1976). Leadership therefore cannot successfully occur unless members of the group are given different considerations in terms of personality, traits and responsibilities. In considering leadership, it is important to look at the leader, the group or organization they are leading, the members as individuals and the situation; these are

There are many benefits to a high-quality leader-member exchange relationship and can be cultivated in many ways. A LMX relationship needs proactive followers in order to be of high-quality. A proactive follower is someone who strives to be better by learning new skills, making the correct choices, and being well-balanced.

According to the leader-member exchange theory the relationship between leader and the member develops over a period of time.

According to Uhl-Bein,Schermerhorn, & Osbourn (2014) describes two terms in the leadership process, leader member exchange and the social exchange. The leader member exchange term is a study of the bond between a person in a in a group such as a manager and between his teammates. This bond is important to study because it can determine if the group can be successful. For example, if the manager and his team have a great relationship, they would display trust, and develop a respect among each other creating an enriched relationship. An enriched relationship will result in better performance and commitment would be higher. A lack of bond in a relationship involves lack of respect and would lead to negative job attitudes. This will create a negative

In corporate America the term used to describe a person in a position of power is “Manager”. A leader can be a manager, but a manager is not necessarily a leader. Leaders motivate, challenge, and influence others to achieve goals. Great leaders have the necessary skills and attributes which allow them to connect with the team and organization. Being a leader is not the same as managing an organization. Leader’s posses the interpersonal skills needed to influence others to achieve a goal willingly. Leading is a major part of a manager’s job. Leaders do not need to be a manager to lead people, but managers must know how to lead as well as manage.