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Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies

Volume 16 Number 2 November 2009 159-166

© 2009 Baker College 10.1177/1548051809335360

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Followership, often described as the ability of indi-viduals to competently and proactively follow the instructions and support the efforts of their superior to achieve organizational goals, has remained an under- valued and underappreciated concept among manage- ment development practitioners and researchers. Whereas there is a plethora of articles in academic literature on leadership characteristics, traits, quali- ties, selection, training, development, and evaluation, much less attention has been given to the study of the importance and significance of effective followership (Brown & Thornborrow, 1996). A review of recently published management and organizational textbooks indicates that the concept of followership is still not well emphasized in business education and manage- ment development programs.

The lack of research and appreciation of follower- ship relative to leadership can be attributed to four interrelated factors. First, the term followership is generally associated with negative and unflattering words such as passive, low status, unimaginative, and inability to make independent judgment (Alcorn, 1992). Followership is seldom presented as an impor- tant character trait for any person who aspires to lead others. Second, the traditional hierarchical relation- ship between leaders and their followers in bureau- cratic organizations has distorted the interactive effects of leadership-followership on organizational growth, stability, and survival. The predominant view

of leadership behavior in the stereotypical leader- follower exchange relationship is one in which lead- ers provide direction, support, and reinforcement and followers simply follow through on specified or expected levels of performance (Avolio & Bass, 1988; House & Shamir, 1993). Third, professional development programs pay less attention to develop- ing effective follower cultures and skills because of the erroneous assumption that people know instinc- tively how to follow. This view may explain why professional development programs have been slow in advocating for a shift in organizational culture to one that promotes effective followership and advo- cates for culture in which individuals can seamlessly transition to effective leadership while simultane- ously fulfilling their followership roles in support of their superiors. Finally, academic business programs and professional development programs have not been proactive in documenting how characteristics and

Perspectives of Senior-Level Executives on Effective Followership and Leadership

Augustine O. Agho Indiana University Purdue University-Indianapolis

Using a three-page questionnaire administered to a sample of 302 senior-level executives, this study examined the perceptions of executives on the distinguishing characteristics of effective leaders and followers. Most of the char- acteristics associated with effective leaders were perceived to be different from those associated with effective fol- lowers. A significant number of the respondents agreed that (a) leadership and followership are interrelated roles; (b) leadership and followership skills have to be learned; (c) effective leaders and effective followers can influence work performance, quality of work output, satisfaction and morale, and cohesiveness of work groups; and (d) researchers have not devoted enough attention to the study of followership.

Keywords: leadership; followership; characteristics; attributes

Author’s Note: I would like to acknowledge the contributions of individuals who assisted to study and preparation of the article. Ms. Peggy Suess and Ms. Sandra Johnson managed the task of identifying study participants and distributing the questionnaires. Dr. Christina Mushi-Brunt and Mr. John Collins assisted with data entry/analysis and with the creation of tables. Dr. Betty Velthouse, Dr. Jack Helmuth, Dr. Roy Barnes, Dr. Yener Kandogan, Mr. Clarence Page, and Mr. David Gibbons critiqued and partici- pated in the pilot testing and instrument development phase of the study.

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traits of effective followers are different from those exhibited by ineffective followers.

Murphy (1990) argued that effective followers have the capacity to “think for themselves and have initiative, are well balanced and responsible, manage themselves well and can succeed without a strong leader” (p. 68). Consistent with Murphy’s argument, Alcorn (1992) highlighted essential skills of effective followers to include cooperation, flexibility, integrity, initiative, and problem solving. In an attempt to fur- ther elaborate on the distinguishing characteristics of effective followers, Kelley (1992) presented two broad dimensions (i.e., independent, critical thinker vs. dependent, uncritical thinker) of followership. According to Kelley, there are five basic styles of followership:

1. Conformist followers are the “yes people” of organ- izations. They are unenterprising and completely dependent on a leader for inspiration.

2. Alienated individuals are critical and independent in their thinking but passive in the conduct of their role.

3. Pragmatist followers are “fence sitters” of organiza- tions. They avoid making waves and do what is necessary to master the rules and survive in a bureaucratic organization.

4. Passive followers adopt the attitude of “better safe than sorry.” They require constant supervision and are incapable of taking initiative.

5. Effective/exemplary followers are able to think for themselves and conduct their duties with energy and assertiveness. Such people are often viewed by both leaders and coworkers as risk takers and self-starters who can independently solve problems and be inno- vative.

Emerging literature on leadership-followership suggests that effective followers and effective leaders share many of the same characteristics and that culti- vating followership skills is a prerequisite for effec- tive leadership (Brown & Thornborrow, 1996; Kelley, 1992). Employees have to simultaneously play the roles of followers and leaders because of the nature of bureaucratic or hierarchical model of organizations. In bureaucratic or hierarchical organizations, superi- ors and subordinates spend a great deal of their work hours following established procedures or implement- ing or evaluating policies developed by others. Failure to recognize followership as a complement of leader- ship may undermine organizational effectiveness and efficiency. Effective followership is viewed as both an art and science, just as effective leadership is an art and a science requiring skill and knowledge.

Some authors have argued that a balanced approach to the study of leadership is necessary to understand and appreciate the contribution of followers to leader- ship and organizational effectiveness (Dvir & Shamir, 2003; Ehrhart & Klein, 2001; Hollander, 1993; Lord, Brown, & Freiberg, 1999; Yukl, 1998). Followership encompasses important character traits for any person who aspires to lead others. Effective followers are cooperative and collaborative, honest, enthusiastic, innovative, independent, credible, and intelligent (Blackshear, 2003; Chaleff, 1995; Kelley, 1988, 1992). There are individuals with excellent attributes of followers who may not be good leaders or even desire to be in a position of leadership, but it would be difficult to find a good leader who is not also a good follower.

The twofold purpose of this study was to examine the similarities and differences between the distin- guishing characteristics of effective leaders and effec- tive followers and to investigate the perspectives of senior-level executives on questions regarding leader- ship/followership. Specifically, the questions explored the importance and contributions of effective follow- ers, the influence of effective followers on quality of work output, whether followership skills have to be taught, whether adequate research attention has been devoted to the study of followership, and whether the roles of leaders and followers are interrelated. Followership studies aimed at comparing and con- trasting the characteristics of effective followers and effective leaders will provide the foundation for the integration of leader-follower development programs.

Method

Questionnaire Design and Data Collection

The three-part questionnaire used to collect data for this study was developed in four successive steps. First, a literature review was conducted to identify key themes in leadership-followership articles and the characteristics of leaders and followers. Second, the first draft of the questionnaire was critiqued by a group of faculty with expertise in management devel- opment and research methods. Third, the revised questionnaire was piloted and refined based on feedback from a group of senior-level executives rep- resenting business, education, and health care organi- zations. Finally, the questionnaire was submitted to the human subject review committee for review and approval.

Agho / Effective Followership and Leadership 161

Part 1 contained a listing of 20 characteristics of superior leaders identified by Kouzes and Posner (1990). Respondents were asked to rank the charac- teristics they value and admire most about effective leaders and effective followers. A score of 1 signifies the most important characteristic and a score of 20 signifies the least important characteristic. Part 2 of the questionnaire contained general statements regard- ing the contributions and importance of effective fol- lowership. Specifically, respondents were asked to indicate the extent to which they agree or disagree with statement such as “effective followership is a prerequisite to be an effective leader,” “qualities of good followership are the same as the qualities typi- cally associated with good leadership,” and “good followership is simply doing what one is told to do.” Part 3 contained demographic information such as age, experience, education, gender, race/ethnicity, and academic discipline. A total of 1,500 senior-level executives were invited to participate in this study by completing a three-page questionnaire.

Sample and Data Analysis

The sample for this study consisted of senior-level executives in for-profit and not-for-profit sectors, including community health centers, medical centers, accounting firms, consulting firms, local and federal government agencies, 4-year and research/doctoral academic institutions, and community-based organi- zations. Included in the study were individuals with job titles of chief executive officer/president, vice president, provost, dean, chief financial officer, chief operations officer, executive director, bureau chief, and chancellor. Names, titles, and addresses were obtained from organizational Web sites and directo- ries. Descriptive statistics (i.e., mean, range, and fre- quencies), t tests comparing means of ranking for each of the characteristics of effective leaders and fol- lowers, and Spearman rank order correlations for mean ranking of characteristics of effective leaders and followers were computed using Version 16.0 of the Statistical Packages for Social Sciences.

Results

Of the 1,500 surveys mailed, 302 were returned (20.1% response rate). Table 1 presents the demo- graphic characteristics of the respondents. As noted, a majority of the respondents have held leadership posi- tions for more than 12 years, completed more than 16 years of education, have academic backgrounds in

social science and humanities, played organized sports in high school, and work for not-for-profit organizations, with a higher percentage working in the field of education. In terms of age, race, and gen- der, most of the respondents are older than 55 years of age, White, and male.

Table 2 shows the ranking of the characteristics of effective followers and effective leaders. Based on the mean scores of each of the listed characteristics, respondents perceived the five most important charac- teristics of leaders to be honesty/integrity, competent,

Table 1 Demographic Profile of Respondents (n = 302)

Years in a Leadership Position Percentage

< 1 year 1.0 1 to 3 years 4.0 4 to 7 years 9.9 8 to 12 years 16.9 > 12 years 67.2 Highest level of education completed High school 1.3 Associate 0.7 Bachelor’s 9.6 Master’s 54.6 Doctorate 32.5 Academic background Business/management 18.9 Social science/humanities 41.7 Health care 28.8 Other 8.9 Racial/ethnic background White/Caucasian/European American 77.8 Black/African American 16.6 Asian 0.3 American Indian/Alaskan Native 0.3 Hispanic/Latino 2.0 Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 0.3 Other 0.3 Played organized sports Yes 63.2 No 35.4 Gender Male 57.0 Female 41.7 Age 18 to 34 2.3 35 to 54 42.1 ≥ 55 53.3 Description of type of organization For profit 7.3 Not for profit 75.5 Government 15.6 Employment setting Business 25.8 Education 27.2 Self-employed 2.0 Other 43.0

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forward looking, inspiring, and intelligent. In com- parison, the respondents ranked honesty/integrity, competent, dependable, loyal, and supportive as the five most important characteristics of effective fol- lowers. The results of the Spearman’s rank order cor- relation revealed a significant (r = .89, p < .01) relationship between the original rankings of the char- acteristics of effective leaders obtained by Kouzes and Posner (1990) and the rankings reported by the respondents in this study. No significant relationships were found between the rankings for effective leaders as reported by Kouzes and Posner and the character- istics of effective followers reported by the respon- dents in this study (r = .20, p > .05) or between the respondents’ rankings of the characteristics of effec- tive leaders and effective followers (r = .39, p > .05).

According to the results of t tests comparing means of ranking for each of the characteristics of effective leaders and followers presented in Table 3, the respondents perceived that there are differences between the distinguishing characteristics of effective leaders and effective followers. Of the 20 characteris- tics respondents were asked to rank, there were 14 characteristics in which statistically significant differ- ences were observed. They perceived effective lead- ers and followers to share only 6 characteristics (i.e.,

intelligent, broadminded, straightforward, ambitious, determined, and independent).

As presented in Tables 4 and 5, rankings of the characteristics of effective leaders and followers did not vary by gender, race/ethnicity, education, or expe- rience of the respondents. A review of the rank order correlations showed that men and women (r = .96, p < .001), Whites and African Americans (r = .93, p < .001), respondents with less than 16 years of educa- tion and those with more than 17 years (r = .95, p < .001), and respondents with 7 or less years of leader- ship experience and those with 8 or more years of leadership experience (r = .96, p < .001) have similar views on the characteristics of effective leadership. Likewise, men and women (r = .96, p < .001), Whites and African Americans (r = .92, p < .001), respon- dents with less than 16 years of education and those with more than 17 years (r = .95, p < .001), and respondents with 7 or less years of leadership experi- ence and those with 8 or more years of leadership experience (r = .95, p < .001) have similar views on the characteristics of effective followership.

Table 6 shows the responses of participants regard- ing their views on the definitions, contributions, importance, and interrelatedness of followership and leadership. By combining the percentages of the respondents who either strongly agree or agree with the statements provided, there was overwhelming agreement among respondents (89.7%) that leaders and followers assume different roles within organiza- tions as circumstance dictates and that leadership and followership are interrelated roles. In addition, 99% reported that they believe that good leadership enhances followers and 94% believe that good fol- lowership enhances leaders. Of the respondents, 96% disagreed that “good followership is simply doing what one is told to do,” and a similarly high percent- age of respondents (95.7%) disagreed that “everyone knows how to follow.” A significant number of respondents (77.5%) agreed that researchers have not paid sufficient attention to the roles followers play in the leadership process. There was also considerable agreement (74.8%) that effective followership skill is a prerequisite to be an effective leader. A majority of the respondents (79.8%) disagreed with the statement that “effective task accomplishment is just the result of good leadership, not good followership” and that “leadership is more important than followership” (66.6%). An overwhelming majority (99%) agreed that effective followers and effective leaders can influence performance of work units, quality of work output, work satisfaction and morale, and work group

Table 2 Ranking of the Characteristics of Effective

Leaders and Followers

Characteristics

Original Rankinga

Ranking for Leaders

Ranking for Followers

Honesty/integrity 1 1 1 Competent 2 3 2 Forward looking 3 2 17 Inspiring 4 4 20 Intelligent 5 5 6 Fairminded 6 6 11 Broadminded 7 14 14 Straightforward 8 10 10 Imaginative 9 9 15 Dependable 10 8 3 Supportive 11 11 7 Courageous 12 7 16 Caring 13 13 9 Cooperative 14 17 4 Mature 15 15 8 Ambitious 16 20 18 Determined 17 12 12 Self-controlled 18 16 13 Loyal 19 18 5 Independent 20 19 19

a. Original rankings reported by Kouzes and Posner (1990).

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cohesiveness. In response to the question pertaining to the acquisition of leadership skills, only 39.4% agreed that leadership has to be taught and only

43.7% agreed that qualities of followership are the same as the qualities typically associated with good leadership.

Table 4 Ranking of the Characteristics of Effective Leadership by Gender, Race/Ethnicity,

Education, and Years of Experience of Respondents

Gender Ethnicity/Race Years Education Years Experience

Characteristics Male Female White African American ≤ 16 ≥ 17 ≤ 7 ≥ 8

Honesty/integrity 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Competent 3 3 3 2 3 3 3 3 Forward looking 2 2 2 3 2 2 2 2 Inspiring 4 4 4 5 4 4 5 4 Intelligent 5 5 5 4 5 5 4 5 Fairminded 6 6 6 7 7 6 6 6 Broadminded 15 13 14 17 16 14 14 14 Straightforward 11 11 10 12 8 10 11 10 Imaginative 7 9 8 13 10 8 8 9 Dependable 9 8 9 6 6 9 7 8 Supportive 12 12 12 11 9 13 12 12 Courageous 8 7 7 8 11 7 10 7 Caring 10 15 13 9 12 12 13 11 Cooperative 18 17 17 18 18 17 15 18 Mature 14 14 15 15 15 15 16 15 Ambitious 19 20 20 19 19 20 20 20 Determined 13 10 11 10 13 11 9 13 Self-controlled 16 16 16 16 14 16 17 16 Loyal 17 18 18 14 17 18 18 17 Independent 20 19 19 20 20 19 19 19

Table 3 Differences in Respondents’ Mean Rankings for Leader Characteristics and Follower Characteristics

Characteristic

Leader

Follower

Mean Difference

Standard Deviation

t

p Value

Honesty/integrity 1.92 2.35 −0.48 2.22 −3.46 .00 Competent 5.48 3.89 1.62 4.60 5.64 .00 Forward looking/visionary 4.42 14.68 −10.19 6.40 −25.41 .00 Inspiring 6.73 15.64 −8.88 6.11 −23.07 .00 Intelligent 7.61 8.15 −0.44 5.12 −1.36 .18 Fairminded 9.19 10.96 −1.73 5.44 −5.08 .00 Broadminded 12.37 12.17 0.15 5.87 0.39 .69 Straightforward 11.38 10.93 0.37 5.13 1.15 .25 Imaginative 10.37 12.58 −2.09 5.85 −5.70 .00 Dependable 10.19 4.86 5.33 5.06 16.79 .00 Supportive 11.56 8.89 2.57 6.29 6.48 .00 Courageous 10.04 14.01 −3.87 5.66 −10.88 .00 Caring 11.65 10.9 0.71 5.03 2.22 .03 Cooperative 13.58 6.94 6.66 5.10 20.88 .00 Mature 12.48 10.89 1.54 4.80 5.11 .00 Ambitious 15.98 15.26 0.66 5.68 1.85 .07 Determined 11.61 11.21 0.42 5.22 1.28 .20 Self-controlled 12.71 11.27 1.50 5.01 4.74 .00 Loyal 13.61 7.48 6.09 5.68 17.11 .00 Independent 15.66 15.3 0.38 5.41 1.11 .27

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Table 6 Views of Respondents on Followership and Leadership

Statement

Strongly Agree (%)

Agree (%)

Disagree (%)

Strongly Disagree (%)

1. We are all both leaders and followers, assuming different roles within our team as the circumstances dictate.

54.6 35.1 8.3 1.3

2. Leadership is more important than followership. 10.9 20.5 55.0 11.6 3. Good followership is simply doing what one is told to do. 0.3 3.0 47.4 48.7 4. Effective task accomplishment is the result of good leadership—not

good followership. 2.0 16.2 61.9 17.9

5. Leadership has to be taught. 6.3 33.1 47.0 11.9 6. Everyone knows how to follow. 0.7 2.3 57.3 38.4 7. Leadership and followership are interrelated roles. 45.0 47.7 5.0 0.7 8. Researchers have paid sufficient attention to the roles followers play

in the leadership process. 1.0 13.2 64.9 12.6

9. Good leadership enhances followers. 61.9 37.1 0.3 0.0 10. Good followership enhances leaders. 51.3 43.0 3.0 0.7 11. Effective followership skill is a prerequisite to be an effective leader. 19.2 55.6 20.9 1.7 12. Qualities of good followership are the same as the qualities typically

associated with good leadership 3.6 40.1 46.4 6.0

13. Effective followers can influence: Performance of work units 49.3 49.3 0.3 0.3 Quality of work output 53.3 45.7 0.0 0.3 Worker satisfaction and morale 55.0 43.0 1.0 0.0 Work group cohesiveness 57.3 41.1 0.7 0.0 14. Effective leaders can influence: Performance of work units 61.6 37.4 0.0 0.3 Quality of work output 60.6 37.7 0.7 0.3 Worker satisfaction and morale 64.9 33.8 0.3 0.3 Work group cohesiveness 62.9 34.8 1.0 0.0

Table 5 Ranking of the Characteristics of Effective Followership by Gender,

Race/Ethnicity, Education, Years of Experience of Respondents

Gender Ethnicity/Race Years Education Years Experience

Characteristics Male Female White African American ≤ 16 ≥ 17 ≤ 7 ≥ 8

Honesty/integrity 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Competent 2 2 2 2 3 2 2 2 Forward looking 17 18 17 16 19 17 16 17 Inspiring 19 20 20 18 18 20 19 20 Intelligent 6 6 6 5 6 6 5 6 Fairminded 11 9 9 11 9 11 10 10 Broadminded 14 14 14 13 14 14 14 14 Straightforward 9 10 8 15 10 9 12 8 Imaginative 15 15 15 14 15 15 11 15 Dependable 3 3 3 3 2 3 3 3 Supportive 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 Courageous 16 16 16 17 16 16 18 16 Caring 8 13 10 12 12 8 9 9 Cooperative 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 Mature 10 8 11 9 11 10 8 11 Ambitious 18 19 18 20 17 19 20 18 Determined 12 12 13 8 13 12 13 12 Self-controlled 13 11 12 10 8 13 15 13 Loyal 5 5 5 6 5 5 6 5 Independent 20 17 19 19 20 18 17 19

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Discussion

Although the findings of this study did not suggest that the characteristics of effective leaders and fol- lowers are identical, the perception of the senior-level executives included in this study is that effective fol- lowers play significant roles in fostering leadership and organizational effectiveness. A significant num- ber of the respondents agreed that followership skills should be viewed as prerequisites for effective leader- ship and that leadership and followership are interre- lated roles.

Consistent with the findings obtained in previous studies (Avolio & Bass, 1988; Kouzes & Posner, 1990; Yukl, 1998), effective leadership is perceived to entail qualities of being honest, competent, forward looking, inspiring, and intelligent and that effective leaders and followers share some characteristics (Dvir & Shamir, 2003; Ehrhart & Klein, 2001; Kelley, 1988, 1992). Respondents in this study ranked being honest and competent as important characteristics of effective leaders and followers.

Compared to the rankings of the characteristics of effective leaders, being dependable, loyal, and coop- erative ranked higher as desirable characteristics for followers. The difference in rankings may suggest that leaders are expected to set the tone within their organization to enable their followers to be as effec- tive as possible, empower followers to take initiative, and exert leadership over their specific area of work and encourage honest upward communication.

Interestingly, the rankings of the characteristics of effective followers and leaders and respondents’ views on the importance of followers were found to be consistent across gender, racial/ethnic groups, level of educational attainment, and years of experi- ence in leadership position. Respondents perceived that followership is just as important as effective lead- ership and that the actions of both leaders and follow- ers can impact work performance, quality of work output, satisfaction and morale, and cohesiveness of work groups. Consistent with the views expressed by those who believe that a balanced approach to the study of leadership is necessary to understand and appreciate the contribution of followers to leadership and organizational effectiveness (Blackshear, 2003; Dvir & Shamir, 2003; Ehrhart & Klein, 2001; Hollander, 1993; Kelley, 1988, 1992; Lord et al., 1999; Yukl, 1998), this study provides some credence to the argument that followership skills may be viewed as prerequisites to be an effective leader and for effective followership to be viewed as both an art

and science, just as effective leadership is an art and a science requiring skill and knowledge.

Three major implications can be drawn from the findings of this study. First, in light of global competi- tion for intellectual and human resources, increased attention to developing effective followers should be viewed as a necessary condition for organizational success. Organizations can create an environment and culture that fosters effective leadership-followership interaction by encouraging leaders to adopt a manage- ment style based on the philosophy that effective leadership is the outcome of the fruitful interaction between those who lead and those who follow. Second, the role of effective leaders will always remain critical to organizational success. However, successful leaders will be those who are able to acknowledge and appreciate the contributions and vital roles of effective and mature followers. By adopting this view of leadership, leaders and follow- ers will have a shared responsibility for organizational successes or failures. Lastly, follower-oriented lead- ers must develop the skills to integrate effective followership into performance evaluation for all employees and to acknowledge outstanding examples of effective followership. For this to occur, leadership development programs would have to be reoriented to highlight the concept and practice of effective follow- ership and to train managers at all levels on how to promote and manage effective followership.

Conclusion

This article highlights the perspectives of senior- level executives on similarities and differences in the characteristics of effective leaders and effective fol- lowers and reinforces emerging themes identified in the literature on leadership-followership regarding the importance and significance of effective followership (Dvir & Shamir, 2003; Ehrhart & Klein, 2001; Kelley, 1988, 1992; Lee, 1991; Moore, 1976). Although the data and methods used are not robust enough to per- mit generalization of the findings or to draw conclu- sions regarding cause-effect relationship between effective leadership and followership, the findings of the investigation are interesting enough to warrant further research by academics and management devel- opment practitioners. To advance the study of leader- ship-followership, researchers should (a) develop a theoretical model of followership to explain how effec- tive followership interacts with effective leadership to impact organizational performance, (b) examine the

166 Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies

distinguishing characteristics and traits of effective followership as perceived by followers, (c) develop a valid and reliable instrument to measure follower- specific traits and attributes, (d) examine the recipro- cal relationship between effective leaders and effective followers, (e) identify organizational factors that pro- mote or discourage effective followership, (f) develop an integrated model that shows causal relationships between variables and provide a process model of effective followership, and (g) examine the extent to which effective followership enhances effective leadership.

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Augustine O. Agho is the Dean of the Indiana University School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences at Indiana University Purdue University-Indianapolis (IUPUI). Prior to Joining IUPUI in July 2008, he was the founding Dean of the School of Health Profes- sions and Studies at the University of Michigan-Flint. He received his PhD in Hospital and Health Administration from the University of Iowa in 1989, Master of Health Administration from Governors State University in 1985, and Bachelor of Sciences in Management Sciences from Alaska Pacific University in 1983. He has published several peer-reviewed articles and has received grants from several government agencies and foundations and awards for his teaching and research activities.