Relationship Between Leaders and Followers - Essay Example

? Sociology al Affiliation During the olden days, gender roles were set in a way that there were roles for the females and there were those for males. In the professional world today, there are strategies that have been introduced, and that have allowed the switching of gender roles. There is a very thin line between gender roles and emotional labor. Emotional labor as we are going to find out is determined by gender role. This essay discusses gender roles, emotional labor and effective leadership. When it comes to leadership, there are strategies and traits of leaders that have enhanced effective leadership Effective leadership is one that has high moral standards. The relationship between leaders and followers is two way traffic. It can also be termed as a symbiotic kind or relationship. Leaders are given the responsibility of cultivating relationships in a way that they do not take advantage of their followers. Key words: Effective, Leadership, Gender Roles, Emotional Labor 1. Introduction In today’s society, people tend to emphasize on gender equality, what the society does not understand is the effect that is generated, for example on a woman who is given the control of a unit that is traditionally male dominated, like a team of engineers or contractors. Gender is the main factor that brings about the difference in both emotional labor and the gender roles. 2. What is the relationship between gender roles and emotional labor in the work place? Gender roles are the behaviors required by persons occupying the male or female statuses. These roles are differentiated in terms of various societies and cultures, classes, ages, and during different periods in history. According to FAO in their report in 1997,“Gender-specific roles and responsibilities are often conditioned by household structure, access to resources, specific impacts of the global economy, and other locally relevant factors such as ecological conditions” (2004). Emotional labor is defined as the, “projection of feelings and emotions needed to gain the cooperation of clients or coworkers” (Meier, Mastracci & Wilson, 2006, p. 899) Emotional labor is performed in a manner that is consistent with cultural expectations. A masculine and a feminine culture both embrace different emotional labor (Meier, Mastracci & Wilson, 2006). Although emotional labor is not necessary, most of the studies have found out that women provide more emotional labor and are expected to do so. Most of female dominated occupations are expected to provide emotional labor as opposed to male dominated occupations. For example, a study conducted by Martin in 1999 shows that female police officers were expected to provide emotional labor, so as to bring to organizational ends through informal interaction with other officers in contrast to when interacting with citizens. This is a clear indication that shows that gender roles are what define emotional labor (Meier, Mastracci & Wilson, 2006). 3. How would you characterize the three major strategies for effective leadership of an organization? Leadership is said to be effective if it has high morals qualities and when it is not questionable. Most people see leadership only as cognitive, such as solution construction skills, but leadership has other aspects in it. Generally, leadership entails the ability to convince other people to delay their own individual concerns and strive to pursue the common goals that are in relation to the well being of a group (Coe, Sukhodoyeva & Johnson, 2005). According to Kanungo and Mandonca model of leadership, in 1999, they concluded that effective leadership formation includes ethics, influence strategies and character formation. Ethics of the leader meant that a leader should always have good intentions towards the organization. A leader should also have influence strategies, and there should also be character formation (Coe, Sukhodoyeva & Johnson, 2005). Leadership intentions and ethics are the results of the leader’s character. Thus I would characterize effective leadership as being one that has a vision, a leadership that has judgment, and also a leadership that has communication. If leadership has the ethical strategy, then it will in turn have a vision and good judgments are going to be raised. Leadership that has influence strategies means that there is good communication that ensures development in an organization. 4. As a leader in an organization, what do you think would be the most effective way to cultivate harmonious relationships among the people you are leading? Everyone should understand that when one is given the responsibility of leading, he or she has entered into a covenant with the people he or she is leading. He or she has the responsibility of ensuring that the well being of each and every individual is taken care of. Thus the relationship that exists between the leader and the followers should be very healthy. Every leader has the responsibility of cultivating this relationship among his or her people, despite the fact that the followers also have the responsibility of being accountable for their actions, or then the relationship is not likely to prosper. The basis of an effective leadership is humility. A leader should embrace humility. Leaders must learn to serve in humility and commitment like any other follower. The leader should understand that what happens in an organization is not only about them, but they should embark to serving the needs of others (Moisan, 2007). For example, a leader should not demand for recognition every time he or she has made a contribution towards the organization, whether it is financially or in any other way. A leader should listen to the contributions that his or her followers have, because they might have a positive impact towards the development of the organization (Moisan, 2007). Every leader should realize that in one way or another, one can fail in one aspect of life. Thus through humility, a leader should allow his or her followers to correct him or her, and thus cultivate the relationship between the leader and followers. In conclusion, leaders are supposed to put in mind that the relationship they have with their followers is a symbiotic kind of relationship. Reference List Coe, J. G., Sukhodoyeva, L. & Johnson, B. E. (2005). Strategies for Effective Leadership. Bloomington: Author House. FAO. (2004). What is Gender? Retrieved August 22, 2013, from ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/007/y5608e/y5608e00.pdf Meier, K. J., Mastracci, S. H. & Wilson, K. (2006). Essays on Equity, Gender, and Diversity: Gender and Emotional Labor in Public Organizations: An Empirical Examination of the Link to Performance, 899-909. Retrieved from http://tigger.uic.edu/~mastracc/meier%20mastracci%20wilson%202006.pdf Moisan, L. J. (2007). Leadership is a Covenant: Leading People and Living Life More Effectively. Bloomington: Author House.   Read More