Case Study (Please read carefully) Study guide attached

MSL 6000, Psychological Foundations of Leadership 1

Course Learning Outcomes for Unit II Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:

6. Examine the characteristics a leader needs to achieve organizational objectives. 6.1 Outline leadership characteristics necessary for success in an organization, division, or

department. 6.2 Differentiate between the expectations of leaders and followers. 6.3 Determine leadership strategies that can be implemented to increase company satisfaction.

Course/Unit Learning Outcomes

Learning Activity

6.1 Unit Lesson Chapter 7 Unit II Case Study

6.2 Unit Lesson Chapter 7 Unit II Case Study

6.3 Chapter 7 Unit II Case Study

Reading Assignment In addition to a physical copy of the textbook, each unit contains the eTextbook version of the assigned reading chapters. If preferred, click on Unit II in the course navigation menu to access the online version of the assigned chapters. Chapter 7: Followership, pp. 197–217

Unit Lesson In Unit I, we discussed the fundamental foundations of leadership along with a few leadership models. Take a minute to recall something about Unit I that stuck out to you. Were there any new concepts that you would like to explore further? Is there anything you learned that you would like to try to apply to your current job role? As we transition to Unit II, we will focus on the role of leading a collaborative, high-performance team. Do not forget about the learning activity located beneath the lesson. Exploring your followership characteristics could have an impact on what type of leader you want to become.

UNIT II STUDY GUIDE

Leadership and Followership

“For any group or organization to succeed, there must be people who willingly and effectively follow just as there must be those who willingly and effectively lead. Followership is the testing ground, a place to learn

skills valuable for leadership.” (Daft, 2018, p. 198)

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We know that leaders are focused on change. What behaviors and methods do they convey to their followers? Leaders often find themselves in a position of needing to deliver a tough or even negative message to their followers. In order to ensure their messages are received, leaders must focus on the relationship between themselves and their followers. Items like respect, trust, and reputation can have an impact on how a message is conveyed and received. Understanding human behavior and human development can help leaders build a stronger tie and relationship with their followers. This link can strengthen the relationship between the leader and follower, making the communication process more effective. Strong relationships are key to building a solid work environment. Leadership and followership each have many similarities and attributes that complement one another. Most of us have all been followers at one time or another in our lives. You may not have realized it, but, regardless of your role, you may have willingly followed another’s path, walked alongside others, or even led without fully acknowledging this hidden entwinement. Hopefully, most of your career paths have been positive and have resulted in successful outcomes. Many will only focus on what is required to lead and will not focus on what is expected of being a follower. At some point, we all are both a leader and also a follower, so we should understand both sides of what might work and what might be required (Daft, 2018). The first foundation for any leader to establish is trust. Leaders need to have the trust of their followers. We might think that establishing trust is easy, but it can be quite difficult. We can only look to our current political leaders over the past decade and compare what they promised to what they actually delivered to see that trust can be an issue. We could make the argument that most of these leaders at some point have not kept their word or changed their position on an issue. Throughout your career, you will likely participate in both of these roles. Therefore, an in-depth understanding of leadership and followership is warranted. There are five styles of followership, which include conformist, passive follower, alienated follower, effective follower, and pragmatic survivor. These five styles are categorized according to two dimensions: Dimension 1 (critical and uncritical thinking) and Dimension 2 (active and passive behavior; Daft, 2018).

Let’s take a look at the first dimension. Critical thinkers are typically more independent; they “approach subjects, situations, and problems with thoughtful questions and in an unbiased way” (Daft, 2018, p. 201). Critical thinkers have often been referred to as independent thinkers. Uncritical thinkers do “not consider possibilities beyond what he or she is told, [do] not contribute to the cultivation of the organization, and [accept] the leader’s ideas without assessing or evaluating them” (Daft, 2018, p. 201). Uncritical thinkers have

• Conformist

• Passive Follower

• Alienated Follower

• Effective Follower

• Pragmatic Survivor

5 Styles of Followership

• Critical thinking

• Uncritical thinking Dimension

1

• Active behavior

• Passive behavior

Dimension 2

The five styles of followership (Daft, 2018)

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often been referred to as dependent thinkers. It is important to note that one’s thinking style critically affects, enables, or disenables a follower’s level of engagement. One may ask the question: What does a leader want from a follower? Daft (2018) examines the important role of each and shares that a leader typically wants a follower to have the traits outlined below.

 Make-it-happen attitude o Optimize results o Make no excuses o Accept responsibility o Be the first to initiate ideas and action

 Be a collaborator o Work with others to benefit the organization

 Motivation to stay up-to-date o Knowledgeable in his or her field o Anticipate and communicate change that affects the organization

 The passion to drive his or her own growth o Be a self-initiator instead of relying on the leader to do it o Accept the more challenging assignments o Be open-minded o Willingness to be a continuous learner

On the other side of this coin is the following question: What does a follower want from a leader? “Followers want their leaders to be honest, forward-thinking, inspiring, and competent” (Daft, 2018, p. 214). Coincidentally, both the leader and the follower expect one another to be honest and competent with the leader carrying the primary responsibility to foster the vision. The match of a visionary leader with a competent follower will, in all likelihood, result in a valuable team. Leaders heavily influence the dynamics of the team. Typically, teams develop over many stages, but five primary stages were developed by Dr. Bruce Tuckman in 1965 (first four stages introduced) and 1970 (fifth stage introduced). Heathfield (2018) writes about her experience with these stages and explains them in the following table. As you read about the stages, think about how you (as both a follower and a leader) can help support these areas.

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Stages of team development (Heathfield, 2018)

Regardless of the stage a team is in, the outcome that distinguishes leaders and followers is the dynamics of the team. High-performance teams typically reflect the team’s basic characteristics and share correlated, common purposes. High-performance teams are led by high-performance leaders and followers who act as leaders. Both leaders and followers should abide by protocol. Having a supportive management system that rewards expectations being met drives the team to achieve more and reduces complacency. High-performance teams must distribute the work and hold one another accountable and responsible to generate and achieve goals, outcomes, and success (Musselwhite, 2007). As we come to the end of Unit II, think about people who either successfully or poorly portray the leader/follower relationship. Reflect on the 2016 presidential campaign—specifically on candidate Bernie Sanders. While his political stance might not have been for everyone, he did have many followers—most of whom were extremely dedicated to his campaign. What did Sanders do to create this relationship? How did Sanders connect to his followers, and why were his followers so committed to following him? When Sanders finally withdrew from the presidential race, his followers were then tasked with making the decision of who to follow. Some followed party lines, but others made the decision to back someone out of that party partly because of how Sanders was negatively treated as a leader. Followers can give negative feedback when their leader is treated in a negative way. We all know that leadership is important, but so is the act of following. If you take away the followers from the leaders, there is no longer a leader. It is essential that we value both the leader and the follower. As a leader, how might you place more value on your followers? On the flip side, how can you become a stronger, more supportive follower? Take a look at the learning activity below to focus more on the power of followership.

• Forming is when a team gathers in order to get to know each other better and discuss their common goal and purpose.

Forming

• As team members get a better understanding of each other, conflicts can arise. Storming happens when team members have different views of the mission or vision.

Storming

• Norming occurs when the team has stopped growing and progressing. Team members may become comforable with certain "norms" developed within the group.

Norming

• Performing is when the team starts functioning successfully. There is a focus on effectiveness and how to best meet objectives.

Performing

• Transforming takes place when the team feels successful about what they have accomplished.

• Ending takes place when the goal has been accomplished and team members move to other projects.

Transforming/ Ending

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References Daft, R. L. (with Lane, P. G.). (2018). The leadership experience (7th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning. Heathfield, S. M. (2018). What are the stages of team development? Retrieved from

http://humanresources.about.com/od/teambuilding/f/team_stages.htm Musselwhite, C. (2007). Building and leading high performance teams. Retrieved from

http://www.inc.com/resources/leadership/articles/20070101/musselwhite.html

Learning Activities (Nongraded) Nongraded Learning Activities are provided to aid students in their course of study. You are not required to submit these to your instructor but are encouraged to keep a copy for your personal files. If you have questions, contact your instructor for further guidance and information. Apply the Concepts: Take the Self-Assessment! This is a class on leadership, so why should you follow followership? Before we can lead, we must learn to follow. It is imperative that we study various leaders and practice followership in order to become a leader ourselves. To take the Ready for Coaching and Destructive Boss self-assessments, click on Unit II in the course navigation menu, and then click on Nongraded Learning Activities.