The 21st Century has been characterized by numerous vital developments. Key amongst these has been the unprecedented access to information and its subsequent impact on today’s workplace. For instance, since today’s workers are more informed than they were centuries ago, a higher level of accountability is needed from their leaders. This has resulted in the necessity for leaders to keep pace with the changing needs of the employees. Despite this, past research has paid more attention to leadership as opposed to followership. However, given that leadership and followership are complementary, they both should be given equal emphasis (Baker et al., 2011). According to Bjugstad et al. (2006), followership refers to “ the ability to effectively follow the directives and support the efforts of a leader to maximize a structured organization. ” One of the most prominent social scientists in the field of followership is Robert Kelly.
Kelley's effective followership
According to Kelly, effective leadership is pegged on four vital follower qualities ( Kelley , 2008; Bjugstad et al., 2006). Firstly, effective followers are in a position to sufficiently manage themselves. In this case, the individuals should have their own goals and be decisive about their role all the time. Secondly, the effective followers’ commitment to their respective organization is unwavering. They are also driven by a bigger purpose ( Bjugstad et al., 2006). Thirdly, effective followership is based on the followers' ability to work on their competencies and focus on the maximum impact of their efforts. As a result, they aim to elevate their performance and capacity. Lastly, effective followership is characterized by the ability of followers, to be honest, credible and courageous.
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Using Kelley ’s model of followership to assess follower effectiveness
Kelley’s model of followership can be used in several ways to assess how effective a follower is. In this pursuit, a leader may employ several tactics. First, he or she may look at whether the follower is enthusiastic and whether he or she can be trusted to carry out his or her tasks without supervision. For instance, an effective follower is in a position to, and willing to put forward and sustain the best performance in the pursuit of organizational goals ( Kelley , 2008). On the other hand, the leader can look for several traits in an ineffective follower. Key among these include cynicism, alienation, apathy and criticism. Ineffective followers are also likely to focus solely on what has been requested of them. Further, as opposed to focusing on what they are capable of doing, ineffective followers dwell on what they can't control and what is likely to go wrong. Moreover, they don’t trust themselves due to their overemphasis on challenges as opposed to solutions. Ineffective followers are also less likely to take responsibility for any challenge. Rather, they dwell on blaming others for the problems they encounter ( Bjugstad et al., 2006).
Categories of followers
In categorizing followers, Kelley utilized two dimensions, namely, acting and thinking ( Kelley , 2008). With regard to acting, those that are active take initiative and influence decision making. However, passive followers only do what they are told to do. As regards thinking, those that are critical thinkers and independent are keen on the repercussions of their actions and more likely to give criticism, be innovative and creative. On the other hand, non-critical and dependent followers do only what their leaders tell them to do and don’t query their leaders thinking. Based on the two dimensions followers can be categorized as alienated, conformist, passive and exemplary ( Bjugstad et al., 2006). Alienated followers are capable, cynical and their skepticism of their organization is healthy. Conformists are less likely to question anything and are active in following the orders given. The passive followers rely solely on their leader thinking and direction. Lastly, the exemplary followers are not only innovative but also independent and willing to query the existing leadership.
The role of effective followership on one’s leadership perspective and developing effective followers
Followership and leadership roles are not only interrelated and linked but also interdependent (Baker et al., 2011). Therefore, one cannot be considered in the absence of another. For instance, while leadership is critical to the success of any organization, the role of followers cannot be ignored. This is because it is followership that determines whether leadership will succeed or not ( Kelley , 2008). Therefore, an individual’s knowledge of effective followership is vital in building his or her leadership perspective. It is also based on this knowledge that a leader would be able to develop effective followers. Firstly, the leader would need to focus on building a healthy relationship with his or her followers ( Kelley , 2008). Besides fostering trust and unity, this is critical in ensuring that the followers are committed to the organizational goals. Also, the leader would need to create a supportive environment (Baker et al., 2011). Further, a leader might need to exercise different leadership styles on the various categories of followers. This would be helpful in determining how best to address their weaknesses while reinforcing their strengths.
References
Baker, S. D., Mathis, C. J., & Stites-Doe, S. (2011). An exploratory study investigating leader and follower characteristics at US healthcare organizations. Journal of Managerial Issues , 341-363.
Bjugstad, K., Thach, E. C., Thompson, K. J., & Morris, A. (2006). A fresh look at followership: A model for matching followership and leadership styles. Journal of Behavioral and Applied Management , 7 (3), 304.
Kelley, R. E. (2008). Rethinking followership. The art of followership: How great followers create great leaders and organizations , 5-16.
