Since the beginning of time, the one characteristic of
any living creature – whether it is insects or animals or humans – that has been the focus
of attention is “leadership”.
Organizations spend enormous amounts of time, energy
and money into leadership development programs across hierarchies. Few
professional-development programs spend time developing effective follower
cultures and skills.
According to Chaleff the term Followers is given a
negative connotation – words like obeying, conforming, following, carrying out
directions etc. conjures up images of people being docile, submissive and thus
devalues followership.
So let us examine followership. Robert E. Kelley, a
prominent social scientist in followership studies, did extensive research on
this theme and offered the following types of followers:
1. Alienated
followers are deep and independent thinkers who do not willingly
commit to any leader.
2. Passive
followers rely on leaders to do the thinking for them and do as
they are told.
3. Conformist
followers are the “yes people” of the organizations.
4. Pragmatic
followers (“Survivors”) are middling in their independence,
engagement and general contribution.
5. Exemplary
followers They are innovative, and willing to question
leadership. Exemplary followers know how to work well with other cohorts and
present themselves consistently to all who come into contact with them.
Thus we see
that in a population of followers, there are various categories who would
respond to the leader and organization differently according to the way they
think and act.
In every
organization, one will find that the majority of the follower population would
belong to the Passive, Conformist, Pragmatic and Alienated follower types.
Therefore
the primary responsibility is how to have a holistic strategy that develops
followers along the continuum from Passive to Exemplary with focused
interventions for the Alienated types – because they are probably the other
side of the coin of the Exemplary follower and have the potential of being
transformed into one.
Thus the
moot point is promote and establish a culture of effective followership, who
think independently and speak the truth – followers who tell the truth, and leaders
who listen to it, are an unbeatable combination.
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