Organizational Learning Leadership - Assignment Example

Effective Leadership vs. Effective Followership Student’s Name: Instructor’s Name: Course Code: Date of Submission: Effective Leadership vs. Effective Followership 1.0 Introduction A manager who is an effective leader has a comparative advantage over his/her pears. Effective leadership is integral in galvanising the support of various stakeholders like employees, shareholders and board of directors to support a certain cause so that organisational goals can be achieved. Effective leadership is a wide concept that involves social/ interpersonal skills like persuasion, motivation, emotional intelligence and communication skills among others. For a manager to be considered effective by convincing stakeholders and shareholder, he or she must have followers who are able to support or implement his/her propositions. However, there is a contention about effective followership and effective leadership. The aim of this paper is to examine if effective followership is the same effective leadership. Moreover, the paper aims to explore if there is any use in distinguishing between the two. Lastly, the paper aims to show if followership is an overrated and irrelevant concept. 2.0 Effective Followership vs. Effective Leadership: Are they the same? The aim of this section is to explore what the two concepts are about. Therefore, this implies that we will examine definition of the two, what various literatures say about them and their application in managing people in an organisation. Based on the literatures the section examines the connection of the two and the existing relationship if any so as to establish if they are the same. 2.1 Concept of Effective Leadership Lucey (2008, p.12) contrast a manager and a leaders so as to create a vivid picture what is an a leader. She notes that leaders are those people are able to initiate change and create a surrounding where change is the order of the day. On the other hand she views managers as those who are for stability and implementers of change. Kotter (1995, p.60) sees a manager as one who in charge of controlling, problem solving and producing the short term results as per the expectations of stakeholders. On the other has and, he conceptualises a leader as one who establishes direction by outlining vision for the future. Moreover, this individual is able to set the strategies for attaining the vision. In a nutshell, he sees leadership as ‘aligning people, communicating the direction to all whose co-operation is needed’. Pindur, Rogers and Kim (1995, p.65) observes that the growth of leadership in managing people is grounded on the human relations theoretical basis. The styles and attributes of a leader differ from one to another. This is tied to power that a leader wields in the organisation. A leader can be said to be autocratic/ dictator, participative/ democratic or delegative/ free reign (Bolden, etal. 2003). The optimal in all the above is a leader who is able to combine all of the above styles in different scenarios. There are those who are transformational in nature, visionary and motivational in nature among others. Effective leadership ties with what is known as transformational leadership rather than transactional leadership. The significance of leadership in influencing employees and managers so that their synergies can be galvanised towards a common goal has been proven to be critical process. In a nutshell, it is a shared leadership irrespective of the employee’s position in the organisation. The reason in support of stating that effective leadership is tied to transformational leadership rather than transactional leadership is summed up by the fact that transactional leadership is seen to be based on the traditional roles of a manager of controlling and organising. The tenet of this approach is to appeal to the self interest of those being led (Pindur, Rogers and Kim, 1995, p.65). What emerges from these literatures as effective leadership is the ability to cope with change by inspiring and giving new sense. There are other types and attributes of leadership that encompasses effective leadership. Consultative leadership comes into place based on the fact that the success of any organisation is tied on how well the management relate with its employee. Employees are the epicentre of idea creation and implementation of strategic management plan of an organisation so as to achieve strategic positioning and market leadership (Bacal, 2012, p.8). Frankel (2008, p.24) stresses the need for managers to embrace characteristics of an effective leader. The essence is to create an aura of possibilities among employees. When managers and employers give employees that opportunity to innovate and engage in their profession the best way they can by looking at the value one brings in rather than the experience employees are likely to have that synergy and team work (Cummings, 2010, p.363). The point to be abstracted from this argument is that leaders do not create change, but they rely on the employees to change the culture through day to day behaviours by creating that enabling environment for employees. Katzenbach and Smith (1994 cited in Bolden et al, 2003, p.12-13) observes that critical behaviours of effective leader include asking question and not giving answers, doing real work in support of others, providing opportunities for other, becoming match maker instead of the focal point and seeking common understanding instead of consensus. They further offer indicators that effective leaders should follow and they include organisational performance, individual performance and team performance. 2.2 Concept of Effective Followership It said that no general can go to war without the support of his/her foot soldiers. The same applies to management. A manager can’t succeed if the employees, stakeholders and shareholders are not on his or her side. This calls for followership building thus, the need for people’s skills so as to marshal this support. Cameron (2008, p.2) notes importance followership by stating to implement change successfully, one has to establish the expected level of resistance, asses his or her own power in relation to the power of the possible resisters and determine those who have accurate information among others. In a nutshell, this implies a great deal of engaging employees by a leader so that they can be in sync with change demands. To attain effective followership, an effective leader should be able to meet the need, aspirations and capabilities of their followers. Thach, Thompson and Morris (2006, p.304) and Ogho (2011, p.481) observes that the concept of followership has been understudied by organisational experts. This has resulted in limited literature about the same. Thach, Thompson and Morris (2006, p.304) notes that the dynamics in followership is rapidly changing with increasing access to information and empowerment of employees this implies that leaders/ managers should not sit back thinking employees will blindly follow them. They define followership as ‘ the ability to effectively follow the directives and support the efforts of a leader to maximise a structural organisation’. The need to be a follower is natural so long as a leader can meet the employee’s expectation (p.306). The question that one can ask is if leaders can exist without tangible follower? Followership is best examined through expectation theory. Expectation theory looks at performance in relation to anticipated satisfaction of valued goals set by the followers. Followers are able to make a great leader if the leader is able to read their emotional & material needs and values. In this context, a leader should be able to provide resources, information and representing member’s values & aspirations. 2.3 Nexus between Effective Followership and Effective Leadership: Are they the same? The emerging finding out the above literature is that effective leadership and effective followership are intertwined. For a manager to be effective leader, he or she must have followership. It this followers who are able to implement strategies he or she have outside the power relations frameworks (leadership is about using people by showing them direction, sense of urgency and galvanising their support so as to attain organisational goals without force, but through persuasion ); (Moon, 2009, 526). According to Ford, Ford and D’Amelio (2008, p.363), leader as a change agent should ask herself/himself the question that, ‘how will this get accomplished?’ This calls for effective followership through leadership skills/ people’s skills like negotiation skills, communication skills, positive attitude, persuasion skills, team building, emotional intelligence and creation of culture that befits the desired goals. Hence the conclusion that one can build is that effective leadership is larger than effective followership. However, effective is one of the core components of effective leadership. Moreover, various skills used in attaining effective leadership are equally critical in attaining effective followership. In a nutshell, they are not the same, but are intertwined with effective leadership encapsulating effective followership (Ogho, 2011, p.481). 3.0 Any use in Distinguishing between the Two Based on the above literatures, there are terms that have been used which can be applied to distinguish between the two. The critical use that has been applied in distinguishing two is derived from the literal meaning of the two. Being a leader implies being at the forefront and taking charge. Different types of leadership attributes and skills have been used to distinguish between the two. A leader is one who is able to transform, drive change, inspire people and talk to the employee’s emotions. Bolden et al (2003, p.15) provides the following distinguishing features of effective transformational leadership. they include ability to expand a follower’s portfolio of needs, transform a follower’s interest, increase the confidence of followers, elevate follower’s expectations, heighten the value of the leader’s intended outcomes for the follower, encourage behavioural change and last is to motivate others to higher levels of personal achievement. On the other hand, followers have been associated with negative labelling like weaklings, passive and conformists (Elizabeth et al., 2003, p.304). 4.0 Is Followership an Overrated and Irrelevant Concept? To examine if followership is an overrated and irrelevant concept, it is significant that we examine its application in the organisation. To prove or disapprove this concern, the paper will examine the application of followership in driving change. 4.1 Role of Followership in Change Management and Overcoming Resistance to Change Kotter and Schlesinger (2008, p.132) notes that managing change is not easy since only a few succeeds. The question that emerges is that if it is critical how can managers ensure the process succeeds? One of the solution lies with effective followership which ensures support from the required quarters (Lucey, 2008, p.11). Change management undergoes three stages. The first is the unfreezing stage, change creation and refreezing. Unfreezing stage involves creation of sense of urgency and need for change. The second is stage of change that involves elimination of status quo. The last is refreezing where gains made are consolidated (Carter, 2008, p.21). All these three phases require followership so as to be attained. The absence of the same would imply failure. This followership can be attained through soft power like persuasion. Followership is the linchpin of change as it constitutes steps to building support for change (Maurer, 2006, 21-22). Actually, one point where effective followership becomes critical is in overcoming psychological resistance to change. The modern day business environment is subject to various phenomena such as globalization, technological advancements, international competition, downsizing, restructuring, and privatization among others (Hendrickson and Gray, 2012, p.53). As such, to be sustainable, relevant, competitive and profitable, organizations both business and otherwise must adapt to the prevailing situational conditions. This means that time and again organisations must adapt to and implement organisational changes. Most of these organizational changes involve transition from the known way of doing things, business operations and procedures, as well as organizational cultures among others to the unknown (Agboola and Salawu, 2011, p.234). As such, employees resist organizational change for various reasons of which some include; organizational reasons, cognitive reasons, moral and cultural reasons, as well as personal reasons (Smallan and Sayers, 2009, p.436). If a manager has effective followership, he or she is sure that resistance is likely to be minimal. 4.2 Derivations Followers make a leader so long as the leader is able to meet their emotional, economic and social needs. The emerging finding is that followership is not an overrated concept. In this context, we can term it as a soft power derived outside the normal power relations framework that at helps in overcoming resistance since the employees will ascribe to the belief and culture presented by the leader. Consequently, this enable an organisation to build a strong team with manager as the focal point with employees as the supporting pillars of realising dreams projected by the manager. 5.0 Conclusion The aim of this paper was to explore whether effective followership is the same effective leadership or not. Secondly, the paper was to interrogate if there is any use in distinguishing between the two. Lastly, the discourse was to review if followership is an overrated and irrelevant concept. The paper found out that effective leadership is not the same as effective followership. However, the two are closely related and intertwine with effective followership forming part of effective leadership. In relation to areas that these two concepts have been applied, the paper found out that effective leadership has been applied in initiating change and creation of distinct organisational culture. On the other hand followers have been conceptualised as one is able to abide with expectations of his or her leader. Lastly, the paper found out that effective followership is neither irrelevant nor overrated as it can be applied in change management. References Agboola, A.A. and Salawu, R.O. (2011). Managing Deviant Behavior and Resistance to Change. International Journal of Business and Management, 6(1), 235-242. Bacal, R. 2012. Performance management. New York: McGraw-Hill. Bolden, R., Gosling, J., Marturano, A. and Dennison, P. (2003). A review of leadership theory and competency frameworks. Centre for Leadership Studies, University of Exeter. Cameron, K. (2008). Leading Change: Using Fixed Points to Navigate. Provo, UT: Leadership Excellence. Carter, E. (2008). Successful Change Requires more than Change Management. The Journal for Quality and Participation, 31 (1), 20-23. Cummings, G. G., MacGregor, T., Davey, M., Lee, H., Wong, C. A., Lo, E., Muise, M. & Stafford, E. (2010). 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