Leadership and Followership

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.

It takes a lot to be a leader. It takes experience, communication, positivity, passion, and much more to be an effective leader. Communication, positivity, and passion are the three most important characteristics to me. I represent all three of these with great pride. I communicate effectively whether it be in the classroom, on

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 good leader possess important characteristic traits that separates him from followers. Such as staying focus. Being a leader you cannot major in minor things. You have to think beyond what is expected. You have to show a vast amount of confidence and also integrity. One trait that makes a leader stand out from the crowd is the ability to lead by example. A leader instill confidence and have a clear vision on life. As a women leader, I feel that it is important to not only tell people that you are a leader but also be able to show them and interact with them with swag. When she walk into a building with grace and a light that shine bright. However, a true leader stands out at these things mentioned, making all the difference in driving to be successful.

Leadership is the ability to inspire and focus members on a common goal, whether short term or long term and have the same vision. Leadership is more than telling or ordering, but having members believe and want to follow the same path as you. It’s a commitment to your people built on trust and respect. Many leaders shaped my personal leadership philosophy, to include several negative and positive experiences. Negative experiences from poor leaders and lessons learned on my part have uniquely shaped this vision. Difficult to be a good follower when your leader lacks competency, integrity, and your trust. If a leader takes credit for work other than their own, or forces and ideology onto others, but does not follow it themselves; these negative influences damage the trust and respect required by all leaders. However, positive experiences can also have a career lasting impact. A leader who inspires through personal actions and convictions can change how an entire unit operates without ever saying a word.

A leader 's characteristics can identified as how the leader can direct, motivate, guide and manage groups of people. Leaders can inspire for change and transformation. This may motivate others to achieve, establish and initiate. How each person leads, there are vast differences. Fortunately there are multiple of frameworks that better identify and understand these distinctive leadership styles.

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

The role of the leader is pivotal when aligning the desired model with the followers’ will to change. Huber (2010) states that a good leader must possess the following attributes: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness,

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

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.

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

So, first and foremost quality of a leader is not only to see at high things but also make the people see and strive for the same thing. For this purpose, they have to monitor even minor things by making people feel valued and inspired. A good

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.

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.