Discussion Thread: Leadership
Melissa Ruk
School of Business, Liberty University
BUSI616: Total Quality Management
Dr. Dickerson
September 5, 2023
Discuss how leadership can create followership in a quality culture.
Leadership is a concept that is not easily explained, and leadership can be defined as
something different depending on the context. In total quality, leadership is “the ability to
formulate a worthy vision and inspire people to make a total, willing, and voluntary commitment
to accomplishing or exceeding organizational goals” (Goetsch & Davis, 2021, p.122). In total
quality, having the ability to inspire employees is more than just motivating them. According to
Goetsch & David, when individuals are encouraged, they are more committed to achieving the
goals set by an organization because they have taken on the goals as their own. In quality
management, leadership should be viewed as more of a reciprocal process between the leader and
followers, where both are inspiring and influencing each other (Darling, 1992). According to
Darling, for leadership to be successful in quality management, there must be attention through
vision, meaning through communication, trust through positioning, and confidence through
respect. Leaders must also have the desire to lead, possess honesty, self-confidence, a natural
drive to succeed, reasoning skills, and have a vast knowledge of the business (Kirkpatick &
Locke, 1991). When individuals have these traits, they aid them in becoming successful leaders.
For an organization to be successful, leadership is nonnegotiable. If leadership is missing, it
becomes increasingly hard for staff to sustain profitability, productivity, and a competitive
advantage (Yahaya & Ebrahim, 2016).
To be a leader, one must have others who follow them. Followership can only be built and
must be maintained (Goetsch & Davis, 2021). As Goetsch & Davis explained, long-term
followership is established out of respect rather than popularity. Leadership is not a popularity
contest; instead, it is being able to make tough decisions that will not always be the popular ones.
Leaders can create and maintain followership by building respect with those they lead (Goetsch
& Davis, 2021). According to Goetsch & Davis, the following items help leaders generate respect
and followership: a sense of purpose, self-discipline, honesty, credibility, common sense,
stamina, commitment, and steadfastness.
There needs to be more leadership regarding the small family-owned furniture manufacturer I
used to work for. The company owners who believe they are leaders do not inspire the workers,
nor have they established the respect to generate followership. This organization is an excellent
example of what not to do when in a leadership role. The company owner is unwilling to make
tough decisions; they make the one that would win them a popularity contest, which is not
beneficial for staff or customers. When the leader does not show up ready to work, followers will
notice and stop committing to the organization because they can see the leader is not committed.
The Bible teaches, “When the righteous increase, the people rejoice, but when the wicked rule,
the people groan..” (English Standard Version Bible, 2016, Proverbs 29:2). Good outcomes
follow when leadership is done correctly. However, when unjust individuals are in a leadership
position, the followers will be miserable, while results will suffer. This passage teaches God’s
followers that successful leaders care about those dependent on them, while bad leaders only
care about themselves. Show the company I used to work for, wish to change their current path,
the company owner should look to the teaching of God on how to become a better leader. God
will surely reward them for their hard work if they become a better leader.
References
Darling, J. R. (1992). Total Quality Management: The key role of LeadershipStrategies.
Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 13(4), 3–7.
https://doi.org/10.1108/01437739210013388
English Standard Version Bible. (2016). Retrieved from
https://www.biblegateway.com/versions/English-Standard-Version-ESV-Bible
Goetsch, D. L., & Davis, S. B. (2021). Quality Management for Organizational excellence
introduction to total quality (9th ed.). Pearson.
Kirkpatick, S. A., & Locke, E. A. (1991). Leadership: do traits matter?. Academy of management
perspectives 5, (2), 48-60. Retrieved from
https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/33693950/Leadership_-_Do_Traits_Matter-
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Yahaya, R., & Ebrahim, F. (2016). Leadership styles and organizational commitment: Literature
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