Followership Theory

10. Describe the distributed approach to leadership.

Changing from a traditional “topdown” model of leadership to a more shared model of leadership across the organization. In contrast to the limitations of formal leadership theory, only one leader in an exclusively top-down process between the leader and the group, the distributed approach is decentralized; through shared power and responsibility, without formal leadership, it seeks to discover a means for increased production and effectiveness. The notion is that leadership can be distributed across a number of individuals rather than being focused in a single leader and that there can be multiple leaders within an organization (Van Wart, 2015). Moreover, participation and information sharing

Depending on their ability to influence their colleagues, informal leaders can be participants, activists or diehards. Followership Theory emphasizes the engagement of a group of members who lacks formal power but collectively have the ability to gather together substantial support of good leaders as well as substantial opposition to poor or bad leaders. Similar to the situational leadership theory, assuming that ideal conditions exist, Superleadership Theory blends supportive, participative and delegative approaches into one universal style that emphasizes voluntary follower development, empowerment, follower satisfaction, and production efficiency. Substitutes for Leadership Theory asserts that in the absence of leaders, there are conditions when the leadership process can improve; therefore, less leadership can be the answer to most leadership issues. It is suggested that those leadership responsibilities be distributed between individuals, teams and networks (Van Wart, 2015). Effective superleadership fosters

Similarly, Hersey and Blanchard’s Situational leadership identifies four main leadership styles. Telling; Selling; Participating and Delegating. Their approach asserts that successful leaders should blend or alter their leadership styles based on the contextual factors that influence the leadership process; the characteristics of the followers, the type of organization, the nature of the work of unit and the external environment. By comparison of two or more situations, situational leadership attempts to discover the extent to which the type of organization, level of management and culture of the organization influence the leadership process. Moreover, it identifies aspects of the situations that moderate the relationship between the leader’s traits, skills, and behavior to the effectiveness of their