Leader-Follower Theory - Research Paper Example

 Leader-Follower Theory Introduction The conventional wisdom enshrined in the ancient theological texts, culture specific mythologies and fables and parables, amply testifies to the fact that a good leader may have to be a good follower at one time or other in one’s lifetime. If one goes by this premise, than it may be true that the one who follows may in a way be leading a group or a team. This goes against the prevalent belief system as per which, a leader is always a person who is in a discernible position to exercise influence over a group of followers so as to make them achieve a goal or an objective. Yet, common observation corroborates to the fact that the concept of leadership through influence is much vulnerable to being abused and misused. The popular notion of leadership complacently assumes that there is a group of willing followers who are meant to follow the leader. This concept of leadership is somewhat rigid and monolithic. Such an approach towards leadership trivializes the essential complexity and multifaceted nature of the very concept of leadership. This conventional, top down approach towards leadership is simply insufficient to solve the contemporary challenges and issues. The leader-follower theory is one viable and holistic substitute to the conventional, mono-cultural, and top down definition of leadership. Leader-Follower Theory Leadership Leadership stands to be an apt combination of personality and a set of practical skills that could be used to motivate people to achieve the envisioned goals. Simply speaking, leadership is the right blend of both values and goals. Leadership primarily involves influencing the followers to achieve such goals as are based on the shared aspirations, needs, values and beliefs of both the leader and the followers (Burns, 1978, p. 19). Followership As expected, organizations comprise of both leaders and followers. Like leaders, followers do affiliate to a set that is composed of individuals affiliated to varied styles of followership and distinct individual thinking attributes (Kelly, 1992, p. 97). Nobody will challenge the fact that leadership always exists in the context of the followership and as long as there are leaders, followers would continue to be there. So an essential part of the leadership is not only to teach the followers how to lead, but also to inspire them by example as to how to be good followers (Banutu-Gomez, 2004, p. 143). Leader-Follower Leader-follower is both a holistic and complex arrangement in which sometimes the leaders tend to assume the roles of the followers, whereas at other times, the followers tend to assume the leadership roles. The essential spirit behind this theory is that of two or more people working together. Such a theory of leadership is totally in contrast to the top down, bossy notion of leadership in which the leaders commands the followers to do as one says. Sadly, the top down conventional theories of leadership are still relied on by the organizations. The primary problem with such theories is that they envision leadership as a single position commanded by a single individual in an organization, and totally ignore the fine art of followership. The primary advantage of leader-follower approach is that it takes away the notion of subservience and subordination out of followership and extends many innovative and empowering opportunities to the followers, while allowing commensurate opportunities to the leader for growth. However, putting in place a working leader-follower model is easier said than done. For making a leader-follower model to be effective, both the leader and the followers need to continually refine and work on two things that are pragmatic and efficient communications styles and approaches and relationship building measures and initiatives (Heifetz & Laurie, 2001, p. 134). In case these aspects are not looked into or are absent, that directly puts to compromise the effectiveness and efficiency of leader-follower exchange and deteriorates the quality of management in the organization (Kellerman, 2007, p. 86). As per the ‘adaptive change’ perspective on leader-follower theory extended by Heifetz & Laurie, they tend to foresee the possibility of leader-follower change in an organizational scenario in terms of the radical scenarios and crucial situations that arise within the organizations in the course of their day to day functioning. As per the ‘adaptive change’ perspective on the leader-follower theory, the leader encourages the followers to face and come to terms with the unpalatable realities that arise in the course of functioning of an organization and become an essential part of the overall work environment (Heifetz & Laurie, 2001, p. 132). To put it in other words, the encouragement or coercion by the leader makes the followers contrive new strategies or ways to deal with and adjusting to such “adaptive challenges (Heifetz & Laurie, 2001, p. 132).” Hence, if interpreted in other way, the leader motivates and pushes the followers to display leadership in the face of emerging challenges and tough situations. As the decisions are made and steps are taken to solve the problems arising out of scenarios that are ever present in the organizations, the methods resorted to by the leaders and the followers to solve problems and take decisions assume an enhanced importance. The leaders need to have a helicopter vision of the overall organizational environment from which they nudge the followers, as followers take the initiative and try new methods and come out with innovative solutions to solve the emerging problems and challenges (Heifetz & Laurie, 2001, p. 132). This gives way to circumstances in which the demarcation between the leadership and followership roles gets somewhat blurred, and the leaders sometimes appear as followers because of their dependence on the followers to come out with solutions, whereas, the followers seem to be leaders owing to their initiative and ingenuity. Under such circumstances, the quality and effectiveness of the leader follower exchange and relationship has been found to be much better, than in case of the leadership theories where the leader alone is burdened with the responsibility to yield solutions (Heifetz & Laurie, 2001). In contrast to the ‘adaptive change’ theory of Heifetz and Laurie, Hogg presents a social identity notion of leader-follower theory. While doing so Hogg highlights the sense of interdependence inherent in the leader-follower exchange by pointing to the fact that leaders exist only because followers exist and followers exist because their exist the leaders (2001). This approach touches the very heart of leader-follower theory and pin points the dire need for cooperation, effective communication and relationship building between leaders and followers, and followers and followers. According to Hogg, as followers get organized as groups, there arises the need to augment and bolster group identity by influencing the outcome of events and situations (2001). Hence the groups resort to taking initiative, and coming out with ingenious solutions, which endows groups with power and give them the leadership prowess. This leadership capacity amongst the groups may subvert the established leadership, if it fails to manage the group dynamics by exploiting leader-follower theory to project itself as a constituent of the group. Conclusion The success of any organization depends to a great deal on the way its leadership perceives itself and as well as its employees. Here, the advantage goes to a leader who affiliates to the leader-follower theory, based on the pragmatic acknowledgement and confession that one does not know everything that needs to be known. Hence, occasionally resorting to a circumstantial followership is one great way to learn the things that need to be learned. References Bantu-Gomez, MB. (2004). Great leaders teach exemplary followership and serve as servant leaders. Journal of American Academy of Business, 4(1/2), 143-150. Burns, JM. (1978). Leadership. New York: Harper & Row. Heifetz, R & Laurie, D. (2001). The work of leadership. Harvard Business Review, 79 (11), 131-141. Hogg, M. (2001). A social identity theory of leadership. Personality & Social Psychology Review, 5 (3), 184-201. Kellerman, B. (2007). What every leader needs to know about followers, Harvard Business Review, 85 (12), 131-141. Kelly, RE. (1992). The Power of Followership: How to Create Leaders People Want to Follow and Followers who lead themselves. New York: Currency Doubleday. Read More