Part I What are two examples of followership in society, in your work environment, at school, or in any other group you are familiar with? Explain your answers. What impact did the followers have on the outcomes? What impact did leaders have? How would Kelley's Typology apply? (200 word minimum per example) One example of followership is a boss and their employees. At my job I am the only employee so it can be hard to be the only employee because it is kinda just me against my superior if I were to dissent. The impact of this relationship is that I often just do exactly what she says, especially because she is much more knowledgeable on the work topics. I think that I have an impact on the fluidness of the outcome, but overall she is the reason that things get done. I am a more supportive person in the office. I think that the impact of the leader is great in this situation because she is a teacher in a way. She gives me tasks or assignments then checks in as I do them. She often will even check my work after I finish since I am still learning about what we do in the office. I think in this case I am still a passive follower. Since I often do not know what I am doing I look to her for direction as well as motivation. I do not know what I should be doing that day when I go into the office because it is always changing based on the time of year, so we often have a meeting and go over the day or week to help me. My mood can also be reflexive of hers. Because I rely on her so much, if she is in a poor mood or has a bad attitude I also can have one. These factors all indicate to me according to Kelley’s Typology I am a passive follower. Another example of a leader and a follower is a political leader and their constituents. A political leader is the one making the actual decisions and important votes, but their followers have to voice their opinions and vote up their candidate. I think this is a great answer to the question because it does focus on how important the followers are because without them the political leader would never make it into their office. They have to work together in order to get their shared ideas made into policy. I think that both the leader and the follower have a large impact on the entire system. For example if the followers are not in line with the group the leader will not win the election. However, while in office the leader has the role of fulfilling their promises and voting for their ideals of the group to enact them into policy. Overall, if both the leader and the follower do not work together none of their ideas will ever make it very far. According to Kelley’s Typology I think in this situation you would want exemplary followers. You want someone who has the same vision and goals as everyone else, but is not afraid to give their dissent. Keeping leaders, even your own, in check is important when it comes to politics. While people still need to be positive and part of the team. This balance is found through exemplary followers. Take the followership questionnaire according to the instructions. Report and discuss your results. (175 word minimum for discussion of results) For independent thinking I scored a 40 which was considered high. For the other category, Active Engagement, I also scored a 40. What this translated to was being an exemplary follower. This score did not surprise me because I do feel like overall I am an independent thinker, but that I am active in engaging with a group and sharing my ideas and such. I had not really thought about how these skills may translate into followership skills before this quiz, but overall it makes sense that I would have these scores. I typically think about how these attributes would help a leader, but without them people would not be good followers or blindly follow a leader. This chapter explains that followers need to be able to independently think about what the leader is doing and challenge it, if need be. That would require a follower to be independent and active in their follower duties. However, based on some of the questions I think I could work on how I feel towards the team and even work on being a source of positivity even when I do not agree with the choices of the team. Part II Please watch the following videos posted and write a reflection over each: "Why Do Our Minds Get Stuck in the Negatives," "Are We Really In Control of Our Decisions." Discuss the main takeaways from the videos. What you learned, agree/disagree with, how it impacted you, etc. You can relate it to the material we have discussed, your personal experience, etc. (200 word minimum per video) "Why Do Our Minds Get Stuck in the Negatives This video really interested me because this is a concept my dad often would talk to me about. He would ask to hear about the good things, or often remind me to not just focus on the negatives. Now that my dad has drifted away from me, it was nice to get a reminder of this concept. It is something that I often need to hear or even tell myself. This video and concept has made a big impact because what I also got from it was that it's okay that the positives do not come naturally. It is not just me but everyone who has to work to see the positives. I think this relates to our material because it shows how one person can make an effect on the rest. No matter if they are a follower or a leader they are able to help stop the cycle of negativity. Overall, I really agree with what the speaker has to say. She makes a great point about choosing to be happy or positive because it is not in our first nature as humans. I also like and agree with her that we need to look at how we process information because our perspective can affect how we process the data. "Are We Really In Control of Our Decisions." I believe that the main takeaway from this video is that our choices and decisions are constantly being influenced, even if we are not aware. I think this is interesting because many people think that there has to be propaganda or other people in order to be influenced, but often that is not the case. What really stood out to me though was his call to action. To look at how we can help mental limitations just like physical ones in order to create a better world. I have heard of the theory before about implicit influence, but never thought of it as a way to help people get through life easier. I really liked this because it shows compassion and how we should be looking at limitations. There is not a person on the planet who does not have them, so why do people always look at them as weaknesses or think they need to overcome them. Instead of putting so much time, effort, and thought into that why are we not coming up with solutions to help with the choices. The one thing I was surprised by in this video was the examples the speaker used where more choices lead to the better decision. In the past I have always seen people struggle when there are more options. I wonder if there is a specific amount that best helps people navigate what they want with their implicit bias?
