Leadership Is a Much Studied

¶ … leadership is a much studied and respected concept in business, the essential component to progress in companies is the highly understudied and undervalued concept of "followership." Without motivated, informed, and committed followers, leaders sacrifice productivity and effort. A good leader must carefully consider how he or she incorporates the needs and contributions of the people who are his or her followers. The authors of the article A Fresh Look at Followership: A Model for Matching Followership and Leadership Styles make several concrete suggestions for leaders who want to maximize their followers' contributions. Among these suggestions are understanding the motivations and values of followers, considering effective vs. ineffective followers, and examining models that address the styles of leaders and followers.

Followership may be defined as the ability to effectively follow the directives and support the efforts of a leader to maximize a structured organization" (Bjugstad et al., 2006, p. 304). While leaders and leadership has been much touted, the success of a leader and an organization really does depend on the actions and attitudes of the organization's followers. Followers are essentially the workhorses of the organization. In recent years, workplace changes such as increased and easily available information, empowerment of workers, and distrust of leaders as a result of scandals like Enron have made the role of followers more important and interesting than ever. What, then, does a leader need to know about the motivations of his or her followers? "A follower's motivation is a function of environmental and internal factors. To increase follower motivation, a company needs to create a results-oriented environment with genuine concern for its followers and provide performance-related feedback" (Bjugstad et al., 2006, p. 306). The internal part of the equation is how valued and trusted the follower feels. The leader must understand this internal motivation of the followers in order to foster the greatest possible relationship for the good of the company. Communication is a valuable asset in such a case. "When a leader communicates trust and respect for followers' abilities to perform and achieve, the internal motivation of the followers takes over and drives them to succeed" (Bjugstad et al., 2006, p. 306). It certainly helps when a leader and follower have personalities that connect and value sets that match, but tapping into a motivation that already exists by communicating trust is the key for a strong leader.

What does a leader need to know about what makes an effective and an ineffective follower? A good leader must recognize four truths about effective followers. They manage themselves well, they show commitment to the organization, they continue to become more competent and focus, and they demonstrate courage, honesty, and credibility. A leader must understand that a strong follower may not always agree with him or her. In fact, it is a positive attribute of a good follower that he or she may speak up and disagree with the leader when the good of the organization is at stake. The effect on a leader is that the leader must learn to "respect followers who will speak up and share their points-of-view rather than withhold information" (Bjugstad et al., 2006, p. 308). Rather than following a leader blindly over a cliff, a good follower would point out the error of their way.

Leaders who want to strengthen their understanding and use of followers can benefit from understanding models of followership and leadership. The Kelley Model of Followership (1992) considers ways of thinking and acting to categorize followers into five groups. These groups are: alienated followers who are skeptical but capable; conformist followers who follow orders and say yes often; passive followers who need direction because they do not think for themselves; and exemplary followers who are essential because they are motivated and independent, but loyal and cooperative. A fifth group is the pragmatist type of follower who has qualities from the other four categories. (Bjugstad et al., 2006, pp. 309-310).

Another model that considers the roles of leadership and followership is the Hersey and Blanchard Situational Leadership Theory (1982). This theory addresses four types of leadership styles. They are: telling, which involves direct instruction and task-oriented leadership; selling, which involves guiding and coaching followers who are willing but unable to do the work; participating, which seeks to build confidence and motivation in followers; and delegating, which works when followers are so capable that tasks can be turned over to them with confidence (Bjugstad et al., 2006, pp. 311-312).

How does a leader use these two models to create the best organizational structure? An integrated model that involves characteristics of followers and styles of leaders is the key to meshing the behaviors of both groups for the optimal benefit. A leader who is dealing with alienated followers should try a participating style of leadership in order to bring the followers into the fold. Passive followers can be more productive if a leader uses a "selling" style and directs and encouragers the followers. "Conformist followers with their 'will do as told' attitude can be placed in the telling style quadrant, which characterizes a leadership style that focuses on providing specific instructions and closely monitoring performance" (Bjugstad et al., 2006, p. 313). Finally, followers who have "exemplary" characteristics can mesh well with a leader who is able to use a "delegating" style and simply hand over responsibility to the followers. "By meshing the styles of leaders and followers, organizations can maximize the strengths and minimize the weaknesses of leader-follower relationships" (Bjugstad et al., 2006, p. 314). A good leader might take into consideration specific behaviors that would optimize his or her relationship with followers and provide benefits for all concerned.