Followership
Citation
Daft, R. L. (2017). The Leadership Experience (7th Edition). Cengage Limited. https://reader2.yuzu.com/books/9781337469500
Learn to Manage Up as Well as Down
Managing up means consciously and deliberately developing a meaningful, task-related, mutually respectful relationship with your direct superiors; offering insight, information, guidance, and initiative; and challenging your superiors when necessary in order to enable all members to do their best work for the organization.5 People who effectively manage both up and down the hierarchy are more successful. Leaders at higher organizational levels depend on their subordinates for information, support, and assistance in accomplishing the organization’s goals, so your boss needs you to manage up. In addition, your subordinates depend on you to help them get the information, resources, support, and recognition they need and deserve from higher levels. People like working for leaders who have influence with their superiors because it enhances their own status in the organization and helps them get what they need to do their jobs well.6 You can’t be a really good leader unless you manage the boss as skillfully as you manage employees.
Managing Up Presents Unique Challenges
Many new leaders are uncomfortable with the idea of managing their boss. Their overriding concern is pleasing the boss and keeping him or her happy. Therefore, they hesitate to pass along any information that might not be welcome, and they avoid questioning any of their superior’s assumptions, ideas, or decisions.7 In the long run, these self-protective strategies hurt the employee, the boss, and the organization.
One reason we may have difficulty managing upward is that we’re not “in control” in this relationship as we are in our relationships with subordinates. It is natural that we try to protect ourselves in a relationship where we feel we have little control and little power.8 Yet in reality we have more power than we know. Bosses need our support—our talent, information, ideas, and honesty—in order to do their jobs well, just as we need their support to do our best work. Everyone benefits when leaders learn to effectively manage relationships with superiors as well as subordinates. Consider the following examples.
WHAT YOUR LEADER WANTS FROM YOU
Leaders and organizational situations vary, but there are some qualities and behaviors that every good leader wants from his or her followers. The following are ones that have been shown to contribute to productive and rewarding leader–follower relationships.10
1.A Make-It-Happen Attitude. Leaders don’t want excuses. They want results. A leader’s job becomes smoother when he or she has followers who are positive and self-motivated, who can get things done, who accept responsibility, and who excel at required tasks. Leaders value those people who propose ideas, show initiative, and take responsibility when they see something that needs to be done or a problem that needs to be solved. For example, when the night janitor at FAVI, a French copper-alloy foundry, was cleaning one night, the phone rang and she answered it to discover that an important visitor to the company had been delayed and was now waiting at the airport without the promised ride to his hotel. (FAVI’s CEO had left the airport when the visitor didn’t arrive as expected.) The janitor took the keys to one of the company cars, drove 90 minutes to pick up the visitor and deliver him to his hotel, then went back to finish the cleaning she had interrupted three hours earlier. Although this was nowhere close to being within her official job duties, the employee knew that leaders in the company valued and rewarded people who had the gumption to take responsibility for getting things done.11
2.A Willingness to Collaborate. Leaders are responsible for much more in the organization than any individual follower’s concerns, feelings, and performance. Each follower is a part of the leader’s larger system and should realize that his or her actions affect the whole. Larry Bossidy, former chairman and CEO of AlliedSignal and of Honeywell, tells about a conflict between the heads of manufacturing and marketing at one organization. The two managers didn’t communicate with one another, so inventories were always out of whack. The CEO finally had to fire them both because their refusal to cooperate was hurting the organization. They got their jobs back when they jointly called and said they got the point and would change their behavior.12
3.The Motivation to Stay Up-to-Date. Bosses want followers to know what is happening in the organization’s industry or field of endeavor. In addition, they want people to understand their customers, their competition, and how changes in technology or world events might affect the organization. Most people try to learn all they can in order to get a job, but they sometimes grow complacent and fail to stay current with what’s going on outside the narrow confines of their day-to-day work.
4.The Passion to Drive Your Own Growth. Similarly, leaders want followers who seek to enhance their own growth and development rather than depending solely on the leader to do it. Anything that exposes an individual to new people and ideas can enhance personal and professional development. One example is when followers actively network with others inside and outside the organization. Another is when followers take on difficult assignments, which demonstrates a willingness to face challenges, stretch their limits, and learn.
7-3STYLES OF FOLLOWERSHIP
Despite the importance of followership and the crucial role that followers play in the success of any endeavor, research on the topic is limited. One theory of followership was proposed by Robert E. Kelley, who conducted extensive interviews with leaders and followers and came up with five styles of followership.13 These followership styles are categorized according to two dimensions. The first dimension is the quality of independent, critical thinking versus dependent, uncritical thinking. Critical thinking means approaching subjects, situations, and problems with thoughtful questions and in an unbiased way, gathering and assessing ideas and information objectively, and mentally penetrating into underlying implications of various alternatives. This recalls our discussion of mindfulness in Chapter 5; independent critical thinkers are mindful of the effects of their and other people’s behavior on achieving organizational goals. They are aware of the significance of their own actions and the actions of others. They can weigh the impact of decisions on the vision set forth by a leader and offer constructive criticism, creativity, and innovation. Conversely, a dependent, uncritical thinker does not consider possibilities beyond what he or she is told, does not contribute to the cultivation of the organization, and accepts the leader’s ideas without assessing or evaluating them.
According to Kelley, the second dimension of followership style is active versus passive behavior. An active individual participates fully in the organization, engages in behavior that is beyond the limits of the job, demonstrates a sense of ownership, and initiates problem solving and decision making. A passive individual is characterized by a need for constant supervision and prodding by superiors. Passivity is often regarded as laziness; a passive person does nothing that is not required and avoids added responsibility.
The extent to which one is active or passive and is a critical, independent thinker or a dependent, uncritical thinker determines whether he or she is an alienated follower, a passive follower, a conformist, a pragmatic survivor, or an effective follower,
The alienated follower is an independent, critical thinker but is passive in the organization. Alienated followers are often effective followers who have experienced setbacks and obstacles, perhaps promises broken by superiors. Thus, they are capable, but they focus exclusively on the shortcomings of the organization and other people. Often cynical, alienated followers are able to think independently, but they do not participate in developing solutions to the problems or deficiencies they see. For example, Barry Paris spent more than 10 years writing on and off for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, where he was known for his bad attitude and lack of enthusiasm and teamwork. Eventually Paris realized that he wasted that time ruminating over what he perceived as the hypocrisy of journalistic objectivity. “I could never resign myself to it,” says Paris. Thus, rather than doing his best and trying to help others maintain standards of integrity and objectivity, he allowed hostility and cynicism to permeate his work.
The passive follower exhibits neither critical, independent thinking nor active participation. Being passive and uncritical, these followers display neither initiative nor a sense of responsibility. Their activity is limited to what they are told to do, and they accomplish things only with a great deal of supervision. The assistant manager at one large hotel found herself having to supervise her boss’s daughter, who failed to follow procedures, had to be told over and over when and how to perform tasks, and showed little interest in the job, reflecting the characteristics of a passive follower.18 Passive followers leave the thinking to their leaders. Sometimes, however, this style is the result of a leader who expects and encourages passive behavior. Followers learn that to show initiative, accept responsibility, or think creatively is not rewarded and may even be punished by the leader, so they grow increasingly passive. Passive followers are often the result of leaders who are overcontrolling of others and who punish mistakes.19
STRATEGIES FOR MANAGING UP
There is growing recognition that how followers manage their leaders is just as important as how their leaders manage them.21 Two aspects of managing up are understanding the leader and using specific tactics to improve the leader–follower relationship.
7-4aUnderstand the Leader
We all spend time and energy trying to understand people who are important to us, so it only makes sense that you do the same with your boss if you want to have a productive working relationship. It is up to you to take the initiative to learn about your leader’s goals, needs, strengths and weaknesses, and organizational constraints.
In addition, effective followers study their leader’s preferred work style. No two individuals work alike or behave alike under the same circumstances. Effective followers learn their leader’s preferences and adapt to them. Interviews with senior executives confirm that this strategy is both effective and appropriate for influencing the leader–follower relationship.22 You can pay close attention to the leader’s behavior in the following areas to know how to be a more effective follower:23
•Does the leader like to know all the details of your plans, projects, and problems, or does she just want the big picture?
•Is the leader controlling or empowering? Does he want to closely supervise and be in control of people’s behavior or delegate freely and look for opportunities to help individuals grow and develop to their highest potential?
•Does the leader like to carefully analyze information and alternatives before making a decision, or is she more inclined to make quick decisions and take action?
•Is the leader a reader or a listener? Does he like to have materials presented in written form so he has time to study and analyze them by himself first, or does he prefer an oral presentation where he can ask questions on the spot?
•Is she a numbers person or a word person? Does she want statistics and figures to back up your report or request?
•Is the leader an extrovert or an introvert? Do interactions with large groups of people energize or tire him? Does he like to be involved with people all day or need time alone to think and recharge?
Effective followers seek out all the information they can about their leader from talking to the boss, talking to others, and paying attention to clues in the leader’s behavior, so that they are sensitive to the leader’s work style and needs. For example, people working with U.S. President Barack Obama learned that he is an introvert who likes to have time to reflect. He preferred to have decision memos, briefing materials, and other items in writing so he could carefully study them and think of questions he wanted to ask. Obama liked to consider a lot of information and a variety of opinions before acting. President George W. Bush, on the other hand, was an extrovert who preferred oral briefings and relatively quick decisions.
Tactics for Managing Up
Most followers at some point complain about the leader’s deficiencies, such as a failure to listen, to encourage, or to recognize followers’ efforts.25 Sometimes, though, we need to look in the mirror before blaming our leaders for an unsatisfying or unproductive relationship. The authors of a new book on leadership and followership report that poor followership is cited as one of the top three reasons people get fired, and often the primary one. This provides solid evidence that it is just as important to build up one’s followership skills as to develop leadership abilities, as further described in the Leader’s Bookshelf. To be effective, followers develop a meaningful, task-related relationship with their bosses that enables them to add value to the organization even when their ideas differ from those of the leader.26
Followers should also be aware of behaviors that can annoy leaders and interfere with building a quality relationship. One business magazine interviewed powerful people about their pet peeves and identified more than two dozen misdemeanors that followers often commit without being aware of it.27
Most relationships between leaders and followers are characterized by some emotion and behavior based on authority and submission. Leaders are authority figures and may play a disproportionately large role in the mind of a follower.28 Exhibit 7.3 illustrates four tactics that enable followers to overcome the authority-based relationship and develop an effective, respectful relationship with their leaders.
Be a Resource for the Leader Effective followers align themselves with the purpose and the vision of the organization. By understanding the vision and goals, followers can be a resource of strength and support for the leader. An effective follower can complement the leader’s weaknesses with the follower’s own strengths.29 Similarly, effective followers indicate their personal goals and the resources they bring to the organization. Effective followers inform their leaders about their own ideas, beliefs, needs, and constraints. The more leaders and followers can know the day-to-day activities and problems of one another, the better resources they can be for each other. At one organization, a group of disabled employees took advantage of a board meeting to issue rented wheelchairs to the members, who then tried to move around the factory in them. Realizing what the workers faced, the board got the factory’s ramps improved, and the employees became a better resource for the organization.
Help the Leader Be a Good Leader Followers’ influence upon a leader can enhance the leader or accentuate the leader’s shortcomings.31 Good followers seek the leader’s counsel and look for ways the leader can help improve their skills, abilities, and value to the organization. They help their leaders to be good leaders by simply saying what they need in order to be good followers. If a leader believes a follower values his or her advice, the leader is more likely to give constructive guidance rather than unsympathetic criticism.
A leader can also become a better leader when followers compliment the leader for behavior that followers appreciate, such as listening, rewarding followers’ contributions, and sharing credit for accomplishments.32 In addition, a follower can provide enthusiastic support for a leader, but not to the extent that the follower fails to be candid with a leader who is unethical or threatens the values or objectives of the organization. It is in leaders’ best interests when followers help them make needed changes or avoid ethical problems.33
Build a Relationship with the Leader Effective followers work toward an authentic relationship with their leaders, which includes developing trust and speaking honestly on the basis of that trust.34 By building a relationship with the leader, a follower makes every interaction more meaningful to the organization. Furthermore, the relationship is imbued with mutual respect rather than authority and submission. John Stroup, CEO of Belden Inc., says he learned this in a previous job at Danaher Corporation.
Other leaders have also learned that building a positive, respectful relationship with the boss is the best way to get important changes implemented. Followers can generate respect by asking questions about the leader’s experiences in the follower’s position, actively seeking feedback, and clarifying the basis for specific feedback and criticism from the leader. By doing so, followers are getting beyond submissive behavior by asking leaders to be accountable for their criticism, to have empathy for the followers’ position, and to share history about something both parties have in common—the organization.
View the Leader Realistically Unrealistic follower expectations present one of the biggest barriers to effective leader–follower relationships.36 Whereas it is reasonable to expect your superiors to be competent, it is naïve and unrealistic to expect them to be perfect. When we accept that leaders are fallible and will make many mistakes, we open the path to an equitable relationship. Followers should view leaders as they really are, not as followers think they should be.
Similarly, effective followers present realistic images of themselves. Followers do not try to hide their weaknesses or cover their mistakes, nor do they criticize their leaders to others. Hiding mistakes is symptomatic of conforming or passive followers, and followers who waste their time trashing their superiors or the company intensify estrangement and reinforce the mindset of an alienated follower. These kinds of alienated and passive behaviors can have negative—and sometimes disastrous—consequences for leaders, followers, and the organization. Instead of criticizing a leader to others, it is far more constructive to directly disagree with a leader on matters relevant to the department’s or organization’s work.
7-5THE POWER AND COURAGE TO MANAGE UP
There are followers in almost every organization who remind us “how hollow the label of leadership sometimes is—and how heroic followership can be.”37 But standing up to the boss isn’t easy. Finding the courage to effectively manage up comes easier when you realize how much leaders depend on followers.38 It’s a fact that our bosses typically have more power than we do. Yet subordinates have more power than many people realize.
7-5aSources of Power for Managing Up
Exhibit 7.4 outlines several sources of power that can be used by followers to manage up.
Personal Sources One personal source of upward influence is the follower’s knowledge and skills that are valuable to the organization. A subordinate with useful knowledge is of real benefit to the leader, and his or her departure would be a loss. In addition, someone who has a demonstrated record of performance often develops expertise and in this way can influence the boss’s decisions. A record of successes and a history of contributions can gain a follower expert status. When someone is recognized as an expert, that person often can influence activities because he or she becomes an indispensable resource to the leader. The power to influence is also associated with the effort followers put forth. By demonstrating a willingness to learn, to accept difficult or undesirable projects, and to initiate activities beyond the scope of expected effort, people can increase their power.39
Exhibit 7.4 Sources of Power for Managing Up
Another way to influence up is with persuasion, which refers to the direct appeal to leaders for desired outcomes.40 Rational persuasion—using facts and reason—is typically the most effective approach when trying to manage upward. By treating the issue in a businesslike manner, formulating a carefully crafted argument and supporting it with details, followers gain attention and respect.41 However, followers can use a variety of influence tactics, depending on their own personalities and styles and the preferences and style of the leader.
Necessary Courage to Manage Up
Some people tend to think, “Who am I to challenge the CEO (or director, or team leader)?” Yet leaders depend on followers who are willing to step up and challenge them when it is in the interest of the organization. Good followers are not yes men (or women). They are people who think for themselves and conduct their work lives with courage and integrity.43 The discussion of courage and integrity in Chapter 6 applies to followers as well as leaders. To be effective, followers have to know what they stand for and be willing to express their own ideas and opinions to their leaders, even though this might mean risking their jobs, being demeaned, or feeling inadequate.44 Effective followers have the courage to accept responsibility, challenge authority, participate in change, serve the needs of the organization, and leave the organization when necessary.45
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The Courage to Assume Responsibility The effective follower feels a sense of personal responsibility and ownership in the organization and its mission. Thus, the follower assumes responsibility for his or her own behavior and its impact on the organization. Effective followers do not presume that a leader or an organization will provide them with security, permission to act, or personal growth. Instead, they initiate the opportunities through which they can achieve personal fulfillment, exercise their potential, and provide the organization with the fullest extent of their capabilities.
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The post Followership Citation Daft, R. L. (2017). The Leadership Experience (7th Edition). Cengage appeared first on PapersSpot.
