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Styles and skills in management
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Being a follower means having very little control of work and having to follow order from a person in a management position, it may not sound like the best idea ever, however sometimes there is not much of a choice. At some point in any person 's life, they must follow whoever is in a position of management. It is very important to know how to be an effective follower. There are several different characteristics make up a good an effective follower, such as awareness, diplomacy, courage, collaboration and critical thinking. Should any normal worker become an effective follower, they will succeed and move up in their respective organization.
Being aware of situations and the people around you can take a worker from just being a follower to being an effective follower. As a
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In the work place there will always be someone whom you will not get along with. It is very important for an effective follower to deal with these people while still remaining an effective worker; "Good followers learn how to get along with those who have differences while not ignoring those differences" (Moran, 2014). For example, if a coworker has different beliefs than you, it is important to be able to respect those beliefs enough to avoid any altercation that would diminish the productivity of both workers. Another example would be to play peacemaker during co-worker fights and arguments, normal workers would either get involved in the argument or completely avoid it all together, however an effective follower would deal with it differently. An effective follower would not take a side and do anything possible to break it up and have co-workers return to their job. Having the skills to deal with all types of managers also makes an effective follower, it is very important to remain neutral and to not let the attitude of a manager change the way you
There have been countless books, lectures, and and trainings, and retreats constructed around the idea of cultivating leadership in an individual. However, cultivating individuals’ ability to follow great leadership has received far less attention. Who are these people leading if each person within an organization is being trained to be a leader? The word follower has negative connotations, evoking the images of a weak, uncreative, milquetoast personality. However, Jimmy Collins, in his book, “Creative Followership: In the Shadow of Greatness”, suggests that the ability to be led brings as much creativity, consciousness, and indeed leadership to an organization or team as the leader himself. Great followership is a reflection of great leadership. In this, the follower is just as important as the leader in the relationship. Many great leaders have asserted that a leader with even a modicum of understanding of what drives their subordinates can take their organization to previously undreamt-of heights in creativity and productivity. Collins does not disabuse us of this notion, he does however add that the follower is indispensable agent in this interplay between leader and follower.
There will always be people to deal with in a positive or negative way. Deciding who to deal with those situations can be the hard part. Clifton says, “It took courage to set my own path, to remain friendly and not captive to the ideas of others.” This is a good example of one of the challenges of dealing with your peers. Deciding to be a leader or a follower is a hard. In Clifton’s situation, he chose to pave his own way based off the morals and values of someone who inspired him. In most situations, these days’ peer pressure is hard to say no to. Image is everything to most people and others will pray on your pride to get you to do what they do or what society deems acceptable. As a human resource, Manager one must be able to learn how to be able to distinguish from the right way or the wrong way. It is one thing to be a manager but it is a whole other to become a
The second question was why people follow their leaders? As far as understand from the lectures followers are an important part of the leadership process and all leaders are sometimes followers as well. For instance, if I carry a chain and
It seems self-evident that one cannot be a leader unless he or she has followers; put differently, one cannot hold a leadership role unless others are prepared to hold followership roles. These roles are more or less symbiotic - done effectively, each role can support and benefit the other. Nevertheless, the term “follower” has acquired a negative connotation, and leadership is generally considered to be the pinnacle to which we should all strive in our working lives, if not our personal lives as well. However, thanks to the work of authors such as Robert E. Kinney, who introduced the concept of followership, the characteristics, roles and paths of followers now receive increased attention. Kinney’s groundbreaking article, “In Praise of Followers”, appears along with the work of other authors on followership in The Leaders Companion.
It has been stated how the transformational effect of charismatic leaders lead to increased follower motivation (Humphreys, 2009). Due to the various attributes that transformational leaders have, such as charisma and understanding, they are likely to motivate others to follow after the examples that they may display. There is also Effective followership. Effective followership prepares a person to be an Effective leader since being a follower is considered as a prerequisite to leading. According to Humphreys (2009), organizations are comprised of groups of followers and leaders, who are listening and taking direction from one
Once they have such trust from the people surrounding them, not only does it show that they care, but at the same time it shows that he or she are can be compassionate about them. They’re showing the people that they’re not too busy focusing on themselves being leaders but rather showing that they can be trustworthy. The people (the “followers”) will see that the leader cares for them, because they take time to recognize them (for instance their strengths and weaknesses) and acknowledge whichever their concerns may be, and by doing so, that’ll help the people understand that their not just working with an overbearing person but rather realize that they’re working with a trustworthy and compassionate “friend,” the one who will have them in mind when making important decisions. All of this will lead the people to do their jobs efficiently and bring out the best in them as
Giving sufficient training chances to your staff and communicating your trust in their work tells them that you are invested in them. Strong managers/supervisors dodge the desire to perform all aspects of an undertaking themselves, however permit workers to decide, organize undertakings and plan tasks and projects. Leaders who are focused on their groups attempt to guarantee that all representatives are dealt with similarly and that special treatment is not given to a specific worker or
Ivey Business Journal. (n.d.). Followership: the other side of leadership. Retrieved January 14, 2014 from http:iveybusinessjournal.com/topics/leadership/leadership/followership-the-other-side-of-leadership#.UtbFeaFMHIU
According to Sherman (2012), followers greatly contribute to the success of their leaders, and one must give their participation, support, acceptance of the challenge, open communication, trust and give their feedbacks. Behind every successful leader is a motivated and responsible follower.
As defined by Kellerman (2008), there are five types of followers: bystanders, isolates, participants, activists, and diehards. At any given point, an organization can include members who fall into some or all of these categories. The isolates care very little for their leaders and the organization and generally just want to get the job done and do not respond well to leadership. In fact, isolates resent the idea of leadership. Bystanders on the other hand, are those followers who follow passively, observing from the side, rarely getting involved. They do not resent leadership as the isolates do, but offer very little support to the leaders. Participants care about the group/organization and generally want to make an impact, if they feel that the leader will support them. On the other hand, activists have strong beliefs about the organization and their leaders. If they agree with their leaders, they follow them almost blindly, but if they do not, they work to get rid of their leaders. Those employees with the highest level of engagement within an organization are diehards. If they agree with the path their leaders is taking them down is the right direction, they will follow. However, if they think their leader is destructive, “imposing goals on constituents without their agreement of regard for their long-term welfare” (Padilla et al., 2007, pg.177), then these followers
Finally, leadership results in the followers’ behavior, that is purposeful and goal-directed which must be in some organized setting (Leadership Theories and Studies, 2009). Some people believe leadership and management are one in the same; however, this
Followership is an important concept for leaders to understand because without a solid base of followers, a leader is nothing. Followers are people who support and obey the wishes of a leader. Even if an organization has the greatest leader in the history of leaders, the organization can still fail without the development of its members. Followers are the individuals who make the organization function. Identifying and improving their skills will help bolster the organization. The continuing push for efficiency in all aspects of business is another valuable aspect of the importance of followership (Kelley). When people work together more efficiently, it saves time and m...
This essay will portray qualities and characteristics of leadership that promote organisations to be person centred. Leadership has been described as a process that is exercised over others. It can be seen as a process of influence. It is more than an external process. Leadership is the ability to motivate people and mobilize resources to accomplish a common goal. The qualities and characteristics that I will identify are communication, honesty, listening, empathy, healing, commitment to the growth of people and building community. I will discuss how effective leadership can improve the performance of human service organisations by drawing on these characteristics and qualities.
Maxwell, (2013) explains how the first level of leadership is positional. Followers, who view leaders at this level are motivated by compliance measures, rather than inspiration or desire. The mindset of the follower is that, their job to do what is directed of them, so they obey. Fear and coercion are often motivators for followers at level one. Maxwell, (2013) further explains that, at this level, leaders receive the least amount of the follower’s energy, effort, and mind.
By allowing for employees to be increasingly engaged in workplace activities, they are then given the opportunity to develop new skills. Most leaders also encourage for employees to participate in team building activities so that any employee would be more comfortable and have stronger chemistry when working with other members of their respective departments, and with other employees in the company as a whole. Leaders are capable of motivating their subordinates through a series of actions, such as words of encouragement, acts of appreciation, and allowing for employee involvement in key decision making processes in the company. For instance, leaders who appreciate, constantly encourage and assist in the improvement of the tasks performed by their subordinates will be able to build a strong and healthy employer-employee relationship. This good relationship instils the traits of confidence in employees and motivates them to enhance their performance. Excellent leaders commonly try to develop a dialogue or establish open communication with their subordinates. Employees who are well