A symbiotic relationship between leaders and followers
Organizations are constantly faced with the need to transform in order to survive in today’s environment where change is perceived as relentless. The organizations that survive and remain viable are most likely to be those led by effective leaders. Winston and Patterson define a leader as any person who selects, trains, equips, and influences one or more followers to work toward the achievement of the organization’s mission and objectives. (2003). How do leaders create successful organizations? Kelley (2003) postulated that the effectiveness of a leader depends on the contribution of the followers, in other words, a leader is only as effective as the followers allow. While much work and research has been carried out to highlight the importance of leadership in the organization, there seems to be insufficient research regarding the remarkable contribution of followers to the organization. Kelley in her book, “The Power of Tracking” states that few people have studied tracking; instead, the focus has always been on leadership. If leaders are to create successful organizations, they must recognize that followers are the organization’s most essential resource and that only by understanding the needs of their followers can organizational success be achieved. How can leaders channel their focus on followers to maximize organizational success?
Leadership theories continue to evolve even as leaders continue on their quest to achieve and sustain organizational success. The focus of organizational success has resided for decades in the leaders. Kelley points out that, over the years, the term follower has been considered inferior to organizational success. That stigma created a false hierarchical representation that allowed the position of leaders to be more worthy of consideration. Therefore, leaders were seen as the means to the end of organizational success. Current research by scholars such as Chaleff and Kelley has challenged this view by emphasizing that unless leaders are backed by strong followers, organizational success is not possible. Kotter justified these findings by reiterating that the complexity of the contemporary organization prevents it from being transformed by a single giant. He went on to state that leadership efforts must have the support of followers for success to be a possibility. Without the participation of followers, the implementation of organizational decisions will not be promising. Followers, according to Kelley, make up 80-90% of the organization. She went on to identify different types of followers: the conformists, the pragmatists, the passivists, or the exemplary. While psychoanalysts like Fromm see these styles as a partial result of one’s own personality; Kelley went on to explain that leaders who spend time analyzing each of their followers will realize that each following style is the result of unfulfilled expectations and mistrust, or a leader’s leadership style. Conformist followers can be defined as those followers who will not challenge the organization’s norm for fear of retaliation, but rather prefer to be “yes” men; Conformist followers cannot function optimally in a climate where change is the norm. According to Kelley, for organizations to be successful, leaders need followers who are willing to challenge the status quo and not just be “yes” men. Another type of followers are the pragmatists, these followers are created by unstable organizations. Kelley went on to say that leaders who promote the transactional relationship with followers encourage pragmatism, as these followers will choose to be obedient and subservient in order to keep their job. Leaders can also create passive followers. Passive followers are not given any sense of autonomy, so they feel comfortable being led. Then there are the exemplary followers, these followers are proactive and creative; they bring innovation to organizations and are willing to spend their talents for the good of the organization. By recognizing the variety of followers that operate within the organization; leaders are now empowered to create and maximize the potential of followers to create successful organizations. As?
Since the designated organization goes through different stages, at each stage of the organization the leaders should expect to find followers with different styles. When leaders can identify the style exhibited by followers, they can tailor their leadership style to efficiently and effectively help followers create and maintain successful organizations. Organizations that are in their initial stages, as Daft referred to as the entrepreneurial stage, this stage requires followers who are creative and innovative. Now it becomes the leader’s job to turn workers who are anything but exemplary into followers who are willing to explore their creativity. This stage of the organization requires leaders who are multifaceted in their leadership style. As the organization moves into the community stage, it requires leadership that is flexible enough to allow employees to explore the scope while also providing motivation and direction. Strong charismatic leadership becomes useful during this period (Daft, 2007). The final stage is the formalization and elaboration period, this period consists of continuous change and requires leaders who are good at enforcing rules and regulations but who at the same time recognize that followers should not be treated as an expendable resource. Leaders who ignore the less-than-ideal style of followers will continue to feed their dysfunction and encourage followers to exhibit less innovation. The end result is a failed or less than successful organization. One of the greatest applications of multistyle leadership can be found in one of the Pauline epistles. The Apostle Paul is revered today as one of the greatest leaders within the Christian community, when reading 1 Corinthians 9:19-22, he gave us a vivid example of how leaders must adjust their style to that of their followers in order to be able to create a successful organization. In each verse, Paul adapted his style as necessary so that his followers could maximize his potential, which eventually helped him achieve organizational success. Therefore, leaders must now employ a multiple leadership style model that should successfully combat each follower style for the good of the organization. Multiple leadership style takes more than one leadership style in making a decision, the leader is able to assess the situation and then strategically apply the style needed to influence the condition.
Contemporary organizations demand effective leadership to be successful. Successful leadership does not depend solely on the leaders, but rather represents the quality of the symbiotic relationship between leaders and followers. Ultimately, great leaders are products of great followers. Therefore, a key ingredient that should determine a leader’s style is that of her followers. One size does not fit all; therefore, it is important that leaders adapt their style to maximize the capabilities of their followers. This can be done effectively when leaders are fully aware of their followers’ style and can then adjust their approach accordingly. The multifaceted model is useful because it recognizes the different challenges at different stages within the organization; recognizes that leadership styles must be adjusted to each organizational stage; and finally recognizes that followers are the channels through which organizational successes are achieved, since such leaders must, in their quest to create successful organizations, adjust their styles accordingly.
References:
Chaleff, I. (2003). The Courageous Follower, Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc. San Francisco, CA.
Daft, RL, (2006). Organizational Theory and Design. (9th ed.). Thompson South-Western, Cincinnati, OH.
Kelley, R. (1992), The Power of Followership, Doubleday, New York, NY.
Kotter, J. (2006), Strategically Balancing Change, a Key Driver of Modern Management, 2006 vol. 11, no. 1.
Morgan, G. (2006). Images of Organization (Updated Ed.). wise Posts,
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Boerner, S., Eisenbeiss, A. & Griesser, D. (2006). Follower behavior and organizational performance: The impact of transformational leaders. Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies, 2006, vol. 13, no. 3.
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