In the world of management there are leaders and there are followers, each is important in their own way and is vital for a business to run effectively. Too many leaders or the opposite, too many followers can cause the structure to become weak and less effective. Five characteristics of effective followers are conscientiousness, agreeableness, intelligence, honesty and integrity, and team player.
The first characteristic that makes an effective follower is conscientiousness, that is one who pays attention to details, is systematic and efficient, and also one who is prepared. When a follower receives instructions from upper management they need to be able to pick out the details and be prepared to follow them. A follower who is systematic
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When a follower is not agreeable they are constantly fighting the leader or upper management all along the way. A follower who is agreeable knows that the leader is going to lead them in the right direction and goes along with it.
The third characteristic that makes an effective follower is intelligence. Intelligence is not only important in a leader but a follower as well. A follower must have enough intelligence to ask the right questions needed to get the job done and must have the intelligence to carry out the task completely and efficiently.
The fourth characteristic that makes an effective follower is honesty and integrity. It is very important for a follower to be honest and have the integrity to follower upper management in an honest and truthful manor. Sometimes leaders may be asked to cut corners or see someone else doing this, when this happens they need to make the right people aware of what they see going on around them.
The fifth characteristic that makes an effective follower is the ability to be a team player. If a follower is not capable of being a team player then they will be out to only advance themselves and not the business. A team player not only wants to help themselves but also the other members of the team whether they be followers as well or
Integrity and servant-leadership are a huge part of being a leader. A leader needs integrity because this is a huge part of being dependable and trustworthy. An example of integrity is when a leader says they are going to do something, then they actually follow through with what they said. A leader with integrity will be consistent in all of his/her actions. Their values and principles will match what their methods are. Being a servant-leader means that the leader does not see themselves as being too good to do the tasks they ask of their followers. A servant-leader will do the task even if it seems below them. An example of a leader is a nurse. A nurse is a leader to a certified nursing assistant (CNA). A nurse can be a servant-leader by bathing a patient and changing the bedding, even though this is usually the job of a CNA, this nurse did not see themselves as too good to do some "dirty" work. A leader is willing to help out and follow through. Both of these characteristics help the followers trust the leader. This also helps build a firm foundation for a good relationship between the leader and the followers.
The best characteristics for an effective leader are integrity, passion, patience, transparency, innovation, and a good listener (active listening). It is imperative that the leader possess these characteristics to provide competent/effective leadership. As noted earlier a leader influences (motivates) the team to
Lastly, the key to successful leadership is getting all of one’s followers on their side. In order to achieve this, leaders must gain all their followers trust. Bennis outlines four key elements to gain this trust. Primarily, constancy must be enforced. Leaders must stay the course. Second, congruity is essential. This is so the leaders can “walk the talk.” Third, reliability is needed so that leaders are present when it matters most. Lastly, leaders honor their commitments through integrity. All of these important, aspects gain the trust of their followers by their side.
Interpersonal acceptance is one of the most important characteristics that servant leaders have. It is the ability to experience the feelings of others and the ability to let go of things and not carry a grudge into other things.
According to Hackman and Johnson’s 2013 book, Leadership: A Communication Perspective, there are five unique characteristics that when displayed by individuals correlate directly to successful leadership. These traits outlined on page 74 and 75 of their book include: possessing high cognitive ability, an outgoing personality, a high degree of motivation and social intelligence, in addition to expertise and problem solving skills. While diverse in nature, each of these traits serves a particular and critical function in enabling an individual to gain control of followers, and guide them with a purposeful goal in mind.
Personality traits and characteristics have a profound effect on our ability to lead others. By recognizing our own strengths and weaknesses we become stronger, more effective leaders. Over time, researchers have discovered that there is a long list of specific traits that contribute to the leadership process and effective of the leaders, but six that are considered to be key traits: intelligence, confidence, charisma, determination, sociability, and integrity.
In order to be an effective leader it is central to be able to determine when to take on a leadership role or when a followership role is more appropriate. As in leadership, it is vital to be able to identify the strengths and weaknesses I possess within followership in order to reach group goals and objects. One strength I possess with followership is loyalty if there is a shared goal. I place the goal first rather than the leader but look to leader for guidance and advice on how to best achieve our purpose. This role in followership can attributed to understanding my purpose and practicing my
The third element is to identify with the leader so you are able to partner with them and share in the satisfaction of their success. Lastly, it is important for a follower to take on the leader’s vision and be as passionate about it as they are. This will ensure they have a clear understanding of priorities and objectives for the broad
There are certain characteristics that differentiate an excellent leader from someone that is in a leadership position. Mac Anderson explains that those characteristics are personal traits that an individual lives and leads by including integrity, being ethical, loyal, persistent, and faith that lead to personal success.
However, each of the behaviors can be used individually or collectively as different situations call for different behaviors (Whitener, 2007). Follower characteristics describe how an individual will interpret a leader's behavior during tasks, and task characteristics describe the type of task the follower is given (Whitener, 2007).... ... middle of paper ... ...
All in all a good follower is on the path to being a good leader, who understands how to work with people to bring out the best in them. Competence, self-motivated, intelligence, active listening are some of the same traits a good followers possesses just like a good leader. Moreover, leaders, regardless of their level, also need to at some point be a good
Another author that has investigated the followership topic but asserts a few qualifications between her work and others is Kellerman. She characterizes her work as more descriptive than prescriptive as she considers there must be such a variety of variables impacting the followers behaviors that it is hard to be instructive. According to Kellerman (2008), there are two conceivable definitions about followers: “Followers can be defined by their rank: They are subordinates who have less power, authority, and influence then do their superiors”. And “followers can also be defined by their behavior: they go along with what someone else wants and intends”. Kellerman (2008) uses rank and behavior as determinants to characterize followers, focusing
One of the most important components of leadership is the leader. A leader is responsible for his or her followers and the overall goal of the group or organization. Leaders are the people held accountable or everything that happens, good or bad. On the other hand, the second major component of leadership is the followers. Without followers, a leader would be worthless. Followers make up the backbone of a leader because they are the masses that get goals accomplished. A leader is just one person, but the number of followers is countless. In order to be an effective follower, there are a countless number of characteristics that allow a follower to be the best they can be. Five of these characteristics include a positive attitude, communication skills, being part of the process, being open to new ideas, and patience.
The concept of followership has existed for decades, but only in relatively recent times has the idea received more attention. The dictionary definition of the word “followership” is “the capacity or willingness to support a leader”. In his 1988 book, The Power of Followership, noted followership scholar Robert E. Kelly found this to be lacking.
Another aspect of leadership includes leadership traits such as being influential and inspirational. There also different contexts of leadership, e.g, leading oneself, leading other individuals, leading groups, leading organizations. Some traits that are often associated with being an effective leader include a measure of intelligence, high energy, self confidence, dominance, and a need for achievement. An effective, charismatic leader must lead by example. That leader must be able to know what is going on, the job or task that is being accomplished, and be able to lead the group into performing the task at hand successfully.