Followers and Followership
AGED 3153
Thought for the day…
“A river without a bank is a large
puddle.”
~Ken Blanchard
Why is it important to
discuss followers?
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Individuals shift in and out of leader and
follower roles
Everyone is a follower at one time or
another
Leaders are influenced by actions, attitudes
and skills of followers
Leaders must adjust style to the situation,
including followers (contingency theories)
Why discuss cont.
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Northouse’s definition requires reciprocity and
the mutual exchange of influence.
Followers require many of the same qualities
as leaders
Performance of followers, leaders and the
organization depend on one another.
Trend toward empowerment of team members
Example
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US Navy study found that outstanding
ships were those staffed by followers
who supported leader but also took
initiative and did not avoid raising
issues or concerns
Commander Michael Abrashoff of USS
Benfold said “the highest boss should
be the sailor who does the work – not
the person with the most stripes.
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Whiteside, D.E. (1985)
Follower treatment
Grassroots Leadership Video
Styles of Followership
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Robert E. Kelley (1992)
Describes 5 styles of followership:
– Alienated
– Effective
– Passive
– Conformist
– Pragmatic Survivor
Styles cont.
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Styles categorized according to
two dimensions:
– Critical vs. dependent thinking
– Passive vs. active behavior
Independent, Critical Thinking
P
a
Alienated
Effective
A
c
s
Pragmatic
t
s
Survivor
i
v
i
v
Passive
Conformist
e
Dependent, Uncritical Thinking
e
Alienated Follower
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Passive, yet independent thinker
Previously effective
– May have experienced setbacks or frustration
– Capable, but focus on shortcomings of
organization
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Cynical
Does not contribute to solving problems
Conformist
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Active, but dependent, uncritical
thinker
Carries out orders
Participates willingly
Concerned with avoiding conflict
“Goes along to get along”
Pragmatic Survivor
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Has qualities of all four
Changes style depending on situation
Uses whatever style benefits his/her
position
Avoids risk and foster status quo
25-35% tend to be pragmatic
survivors
Ex. – government appointees
Passive
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Passive and uncritical thinker
Lacks initiative and sense of
responsibility
Needs much supervision
Leaves thinking to leader
Effective Follower
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Active and Critical thinker
Has courage to initiate change
Open to risk and conflict to reach
goals
Serves best interests of organization
Committed to something larger than
themselves
Works toward positive impact
Leader’s Role in Developing Effective
Followers
Manz & Sims’ (1987)
Self Management Leadership:
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Lead others to lead themselves (support,
empowerment)
Use self-directed teams
Empowerment
Act as coach and mentor
Provide encouragement and support
Encourage critical, independent thinking
Provide ample information to perform
The Leader's Challenge To make people's strengths effective
and their weaknesses irrelevant.
~Peter Drucker
The Power of Followers
Leaders are almost never as much in
charge as they are pictured to be;
followers are almost never as
submissive as one might imagine. The
state of mind of followers is a powerful
ingredient...leadership is conferred by
followers.
~ John Gardner
References
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Daft, R. (2002). The Leadership Experience, Chapter 7
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Hegarty, Ch. (1985). How to manage your boss. NY: Ballantine.
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Kelley, R. E. (1992). The power of followership. NY: Doubleday.
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Manz, C. & Sims, H. (1987). Leading workers to lead themselves: The
external leadesrhip of self-managing work teams. Administrative
Science Quarterly, March, 106-129.
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Rost, J. (1993). Leadership for the twenty-first century. Westport, CT:
Praeger.
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Vecchio, R.P. (2000). Organizational behavior: Core concepts. Fort
Worth: Dryden Press.
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Whiteside, D. E. (1985). Command excellence: What it takes to be the
best! Dept. of Navy. Washington, DC.
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Yukl,, G. (2001). Leadership in organizations. Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Prentice Hall.