CHAPTER 7 - FOLLOWERSHIP

1. CHAPTER 7 - FOLLOWERSHIP Damon Burton University of Idaho

2. What is followership?

3. WHAT IS FOLLOWERSHIP? • Followership – an important role involved in carrying out the responsibilities necessary to keep organizations functioning effectively. • Effective followersare capable of self- management and strive for excellence in exercising their duties, while setting an example for others and serving the needs of others or the organization. • For example, Dawn Marshall was the best cashier/bagger at Pathmark Supermarket.

4. ROLE OF FOLLOWERS • Without followers, there are no leaders. • The nature of leader-follower relationships involves reciprocity, or the mutual exchange of influence. • Effective followers have many of the same qualities as possessed by good leaders. • Both leaders and followers are proactive, so together they can achieve a shared vision. • Outstanding ships had followers who supported their leaders but took the initiative and raised concerns when needed.

5. What dimensions differentiate follower styles?

6. FOLLOWERSHIP STYLES • Kelley (1992) developed a theory of followership based on extensive interviews with leaders and followers. • The model has 2 dimensions • critical thinking and • active-passive behavior.

7. DIMENSIONS OF FOLLOWERSHIP • (1) Critical Thinking -- independent critical thinkers understand the effects of people’s behavior on achieving organizational goals. • Critical thinkers -- weigh the impact of decisions on the leader’s vision and offer constructive criticism and creativity. • (2) Active-Passive Behavior – Active followers participate fully in an organization, engages in behavior beyond job requirements, demonstrate a sense of ownership, and initiate problem-solving and decision-making.

8. KELLEY’S (1992) FOLLOWERSHIP STYLES

9. FOLLOWERSHIP STYLES (1)Alienated – passive, yet independent, critical thinkers who often experience obstacles and broken promises. • They are cynical and focus on deficiencies. (2) Conformist – participates actively but does not think critically. • They follow willingly but don’t consider the consequences in order to avoid conflict. • Rigid rules and authoritarian environments often are the result.

10. FOLLOWERSHIP STYLES (3)Pragmatic – has qualities of all 4 extremes, depending on which style fits the situation. They use the style that best benefit him and minimizes risk. • 25-35% of followers are pragmatic, play politics and avoid risks. • Government workers tend to be pragmatists. (4) Passive – are passive and uncritical. They display neither initiative nor a sense of responsibility. • When followers see initiative, creativity and responsibility are not rewarded, or even punished, they grow more passive.

11. FOLLOWERSHIP STYLES (5)Effective – has critical, independent thinking skills and is active in the organization. • They behave the same toward everyone and try not to avoid risk or conflict. • Effective followers have the courage to initiate change and put themselves at risk or in conflict in order to serve the best interests of the organization.

12. What are some necessary demands of effective followers?

13. EFFECTIVE FOLLOWER DEMANDS • courage to accept responsibility, • serve the needs of the organization, • challenge authority, • participate in change, and • leave the organization when necessary.

14. COURAGE TO ASSUME RESPONSIBILITY • Effective followers -- feel a sense of personal responsibility and ownership in the organization and its mission. • They initiate the opportunities through which they can achieve personal fulfillment, exercise their potential and provide the organization their best effort.

15. COURAGE TO SERVE • Effective followers – identifies the needs of the organization and actively seeks to serve those needs. • A follower can provide strength to leaders by supporting their decisions and by contributing to the organization in areas that complement the leader. • They serve others over themselves.

16. COURAGE TO CHALLENGE • Effective followers – don’t sacrifice their personal integrity or the good of the organization in order to maintain harmony. • A follower must take a stand if leaders’ actions or decisions contradict the best interests of the organization. • The Army teaches soldier that it is their duty to disobey illegal or immoral orders.

17. COURAGE TO PARTICIPATE IN TRANSFORMATION • Effective followers – view corporate change and transformation as a mutual experience shared by all members of the organization. • A follower must not be afraid to confront change and work to reshape the organization.

18. COURAGE TO LEAVE • Effective followers – realize that personal and organizational change create a situation when it is better to move on. • Maybe they need a new challenge. • If the leader or organization repeatedly is unwilling to make needed changes, a move may be necessary. • Perhaps leader-follower conflict cannot be resolved and the follower must leave (e.g., General Batiste stepping down over policies in Iraq).

19. What are the primary dimensions of Covey’s Maturity Continuum?

20. DEVELOPING PERSONAL POTENTIAL • Stephen Covey’s (1989) 7 Habits of Highly Effective People defines a habit as the intersection of knowledge, skill and desire. • The habits leading to personal effectiveness are arranged along a maturity continuum from dependence to independence to interdependence. • Independent followers have developed a sense of self-worth and self-reliance. • Interdependent followers work cooperatively with others, enriching their experience by developing interpersonal relationships

21. COVEY’S MATURITY CONTINUUM

22. DEPENDENCE TO INDEPENDENCE • Habit 1 – Be Proactive – taking initiative and being responsible. • having the ability to choose and acting with integrity. • Realizing that it is not what happens to you but how you respond that is important. • Habit 2 – Begin with the End in Mind – start with a clear image of your desired destination. • Know what is important so you can work systematically to fulfilling your dreams. • Clarify goals and plans and establish values for achieving them.

23. DEPENDENCE TO INDEPENDENCE • Habit 3 – Put First Things First – encourages people to gain control of time and events by relating them to their goals and by managing themselves. • Focus on preserving and enhancing relationships and on accomplishing results.

24. What is interdependence and why is it important?

25. EFFECTIVE INTERDEPENDENCE • Interdependence – caring, productive relationships with others , termed “public victories” by Covey. • Moving to effective interdependence involves open communication, effective teamwork and building positive relationships based on trust, caring and respect. • When followers move to interdependence, they step into a leadership role.

26. EFFECTIVE INTERDEPENDENCE • Habit 4 – Think Win-Win – organization cannot succeed without cooperation. Win-win is a frame-of-mind that seeks solutions that are mutually beneficial and satisfying. • Habit 5 – Seek First to Understand Then to Be Understood – the key to communicatin is to listen with the intent to understand rather than just thinking about what to say. • Followers must be nonjudgmental and be able to empathize with the other person’s situation. • Feeling understood promotes receptivity and enhances communication.

27. EFFECTIVE INTERDEPENDENCE • Habit 6 – Synergize – omaximal teamwork occurs when people with different viewpoints come together because the differences present new opportunities. • Habit 7 – Sharpen the Saw – is the process of using and continually renewing the physical, mental, spiritual and social aspects of your life to maintain a balanced life. • Followers must be nonjudgmental and be able to empathize with the other person’s situation. • Feeling understood promotes receptivity and enhances communication.

28. What are the primary sources of follower power?

29. SOURCES OF FOLLOWER POWER • Personal Sources – • knowledge, • expertise, • effort and • persuasion. • Position Sources – • location, • information and • access.

30. STRATEGIES FOR MANAGING UP • Effective followers -- transform the leader-follower relationship by striving to improve leaders rather than just criticizing them. • Followers develop a meaningful, task-related relationship with their bosses that enables them to add value to the organization, even if their ideas conflict with the boss’.

31. How can followers influence leaders?

32. WAYS TO INFLUENCE YOUR LEADER

33. WHAT FOLLOWERS WANT • Leaders have a duty to create a leader-follower relationship that engages the whole person rather than treat followers as passive sheep who should blindly follow orders and support the boss • Followers want leaders to be honest, forward-thinking, inspiring and competent. • Followers want colleagues to be honest, competent, dependable and cooperative. • The distinction between leadership and followership is primarily vision and inspiration.

34. McKINSEY & COMPANY FEEDBACK RESULTS • Managers asked what factors most contributed to corporate growth and development, reported “candid, insightful feedback” as one of the most important elements. • Most managers also indicated that their supervisors did not do a good job of providing such feedback.

35. USING FEEDBACK TO DEVELOP FOLLOWERS

36. How should leaders provide feedback to followers?

37. FEEDBACK TIPS • Cultivate emotional intelligence, particularly empathy for what followers are experiencing and feeling. • Make regular feedback a habit. • Use elements of storytelling. (i.e., provide an example) • Be generous with positive feedback. • Train followers to view feedback as an opportunity for development.

38. What is “self-management leadership” and why is it successful?

39. LEADING OTHERS TO LEAD THEMSELVES • Good leaders develop collaborative relationships with followers. • Self-Management Leadership – calls for leaders to share power and responsibility so anyone can become a leader. • Formal leaders become coaches and mentors, show trust in others, remove barriers to learning, offer encouragement and support, and provide constructive feedback. • Leaders develop followers by providing them with opportunities to gain new experience and understand. • They coach followers to think critically about their own performance and judge how well they are attaining their goals.

40. SELF-MANAGEMENT LEADERSHIP • Self-Management Leadership (SML) – focuses on providing followers with directed autonomy. • Empowerment, participative management and coaching are approaches that enhance intrinsic motivation. • All leaders can encourage followers to think independently and be willing to take risks, challenge unproductive or unethical norms and initiate organizational change. • West Point not only teaches rules, rigidity, structure and conformity, but they also instill character, creativity and flexibility, an interesting paradox of follower/leader skills.

41. What is a “community of followers?”

42. BUILDING A COMMUNITY OF FOLLOWERS • The interdependence of leaders and followers develops a sense of community. • Community – provides a spirit of connection that sustains effective relationships and commitment to team goals. • Community members accomplish shared goals because of trust and teamwork. • In a community, members are able to communicate openly, maintain their uniqueness and be committed to something larger than themselves. • Effective followers are the foundation of community development.

43. CHARACTERISTICS OF COMMUNITY • Inclusivity – everyone is welcome and feels a sense of belonging. Differing points-of-view are encouraged, and the focus is on the whole not the parts. • Positive Culture – shared norms and values develop and socialize newcomers into the culture. Adaptive values are encouraged too deal with change. • Conversation – Dialogue is a type of communication in which persons suspend their attachment to a particular viewpoint, allowing a deeper level of listening, synthesis and meaning to evolve for the community. • Conversation builds consensus and collaboration necessary for community.

44. CHARACTERISTICS OF COMMUNITY - 2 • Caring and Trust – Members care about each other. People are responsible for how their actions affect others, but they help others grow without trying to change or control them. Trust develops and ethical behavior is emphasized. • Shared Leadership – A spirit of equality develops, and everyone has an opportunity to make valued contributions.

45. COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE • Communities of Practice (COP) – are made up of individuals who are informally bound to one another through exposure to a similar set of problems and a common pursuit of solutions. • Similar to professional societies, people join them and stay in them “by choice,” because they believe that they have something to learn and something to contribute. • COPs are informal and voluntary, and followers are often in better position to establish COPs than leaders.

46. The End