LEADERSHIP PROCESS:Strategies for Cultivating Exemplary Followers, Important Traits of Leaders

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Leadership & Team Management MGMT 623

Lesson 07

LEADERSHIP PROCESS

As you are aware, leadership is a process and not a position. Basic components of leadership include leader,

followers and situation. A leader is different from other leaders due to his/her personality, skill set,

exposures, characteristics, expertise, etc. Followers also vary on similar personal trait basis, while situation

compromise of particular environment, kind of task, pressure and other situational factors. These all

components play very important role in leadership process. Same leader with different followers and

situation can have different effect.

Responsibilities of Exemplary Followers: When all components of this leadership process are in line with

each others and working in collaboration, the results are effectiveness of outcome. Especially the leader and

followers are dynamic inputs and play very important role is the outcome. There are some basic

responsibilities from exemplary followers.

Support the leader's decisions: Followers need to support leader's decisions. This is true when

leader and followers work like a team and decisions are taken by participative process. Need for

dialogue before important decisions are very important. Once a decision is taken by leader than it

becomes every body's decision. Every body needs to own and support these decisions.

Challenge the leader: For a group to be effective and dynamic, team member also challenge the

process, procedures and decisions. They do differ on policies, procedures etc but not on

personalities. This is good sign for dynamic groups/teams. The follower's also challenge the leader

on different issues with in the group/team. They challenge the leader on decisions and make sure

that all the work is going in the right direction and towards achievement of goals. This challenging

is for the improvement of decision making and avoiding the group think.

Encourage the leader: The followers always encourage the leaders. Provide full support for

his/her creative ideas. They also support him/her when he/she is under some pressure/stress. Also

support the leader in bad times and encourage him/her to make better decisions.

Defend the leader: The followers also defend their leader in any situation or at the time of needs.

They also defend his/her action, decisions and policies for the achievements of organizational

goals.

Exemplary Followers Expect from Leaders: Followers also have certain expectations from

leaders. To be followers, people expect certain characteristics in their leaders. They must be;

Honest: Followers expect leader's to be an honest person so that he or she can build trusts.

Honesty provide basis for trust building.

Forward-looking: Leader must be a visionary so that he/she can predict the future of the

organization. Anticipate changes and be proactive rather than reactive. Vision then is based on

two components that leaders also need: creativity and intellectual drive.

Inspiring: A leader should have an inspiring personality. Inspiring for development, inspiring

for better and better.

Competent: A leader should be a competent enough to perform his/her duties and provide the

directions to the team members. They need to be their when others are stuck and need answers.

Fair-minded: A leader with fair mind and unbiased personality is always known as a better

leader. For good leader, every member of the team is equal for him/her. The difference, if any,

is due to performance and commitment with team mission.

Leadership & Team Management MGMT 623

Strategies for Cultivating

Exemplary Followers

· Work to increase the variety and complexity of assignments

they receive

· Seek to enhance their skill sets

· Share the credit

· Never undermine their authority

· Mentor followers who hope to assume larger leadership

roles

· Encourage and enhance dialogue

· Keep their confidences

· Empower them

· Acknowledge their value, both publicly and privately

· Reward them in ways they find meaningful

· Trust your followers

Let us discuss these strategies one by one;

Work to increase the variety and complexity of assignments they receive: As leader you

have to assign the some critical task so that he or she will be able to generate some creative or

productive output. Diverse work experience is always good and more expose leader is with

different and complex environments/assignment the more mature will merge in personality.

Same is true for followers. Followers can be given chances through job rotation and giving

them complex and challenging tasks.

Seek to enhance their skill sets: Leader provides the chance to enhance their skills through

training. Training and development is a continue process and leaders always try to enhance skill

sets of their employees.

Share the credit: Good leaders always share the credit of achievement. They share with the

followers and give credit to their team members. This approach not only creates trust but also

boosts moral of team members and also act as motivational factor.

Never undermine their authority: As leader you should not demoralize them or challenge

their authority. Followers are also very important as leaders themselves.

Mentor followers who hope to assume larger leadership roles: The followers are always

looking for the role model within the group and try to copy him in different manner. Leader's

need to act as mentor for followers and build them as leaders for the future.

Encourage and enhance dialogue: A leader should encourage the followers to keep the

communication channels open and enhance the dialogue for batter group decision and better

working environment.

Keep their confidences: Leader should take the followers in confidence for taking any

decision so that they feel themselves more confident. They should be encouraged to take risks.

Empower them: a leader should empower his/her followers so that they will feel more open

and do not hesitate to take any decision. By taking risk, they will learn and bring creativity.

Empowerment is required for quick decisions by those people who are most knowledgeable

about the issues. The reality that organizational downsizing has left managers with larger spans

of control and in order to cope, managers are turning to employee empowerment.

Acknowledge their value, both publicly and privately: A leader should always recognize the

work done by the follower's part openly. This will create a motivational culture for other and

ultimately a long run benefit for the organization.

Reward them in ways they find meaningful: there should be a reward system within the

group after achieving the goals. It will also create the motivation in the employees. Nothing is

free in the world and we need to understand this while deciding rewards. These rewards should

be meaningful and must be linked with performance.

Leadership & Team Management MGMT 623

Trust your followers: Trust is the belief in the integrity, character, and ability of a leader. We

have already explained concept of trust. Without trust of followers, leaders can not perform

well in the organization. Leader must have trust on his/her followers.

Empowering Followers:

In today's dynamic environment, empowering followers/team member is important to boost their moral and

for better decisions. This is also very important for creativity.

A leader must give people (followers/team members) discretion and autonomy and important. Give people

visibility and provide recognition for their efforts. It is the responsibility of leader to build relationships

with team members, connecting them with powerful people for learning and their professional

development.

What Followers Want:

Leaders to be

Colleagues to be

Honest

Forward-Thinking

Cooperative

Inspiring

Dependable

Competent

Leader Traits That Influence the Leadership Process:

Personality is defined as a combination of psychological traits that describes a person.

Personality of leader play important role.

Position is defined that one can influence on the group member or in the organization

Experience is defied as an exposure that he or she have in his field of expertise.

Important Traits of Leaders

Physical or

Task or

Personality or

Background

Social Traits

Ability Traits

Traits

Assertiveness

Activity or

Motivation to

energy

achieve

Dominance

Education

Responsibility

Self-confidence

Social status

Initiative

Administrative ability

Persistence

Communication abilities

Task orientation

Social perceptiveness

Cooperativeness

Adaptability

Sociability

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