Instructions

One of your closest friends, Pat, has been recently promoted to vice president of Company XYZ. Company XYZ is a thriving company that is known for being focused on task management. Pat has always found this practice unsettling and wants to change the culture of Company XYZ. Pat is well-liked and respected by peers.

The company has seen tremendous growth over the years, but the past 2 years have been trending downward. A recent employee survey has caught Pat’s attention. The survey polled employee job satisfaction and leadership satisfaction. The employee satisfaction rating was, on average, 5 out of 10, and the leadership satisfaction rating was 4 out of 10 on average. The scores have other members of management puzzled, but Pat believes that increasing these ratings could turn things around.

Company XYZ’s yearly leadership conference is a month away, and Pat has been asked to speak on achieving organizational objectives. Pat knows that you have recently enrolled in a management course and wants to hear a fresh perspective. You will see Pat next week, and you have been given a list of things to consider prior to the meeting:

• What are some characteristics of a successful leader of an organization, division, or department? [Unit Learning Outcome 6.1]
• What do followers expect from a leader? [Unit Learning Outcome 6.2]
• What do leaders expect from followers? [Unit Learning Outcome 6.2]
• Identify a strategy to increase the leadership satisfaction rating. [Unit Learning Outcome 6.3]   
• Identify a strategy to increase the employee satisfaction rating. [Unit Learning Outcome 6.3]

Pat wants to read over your suggestions prior to the meeting and wants a document that is a minimum of two pages addressing these questions. Be sure your submission is double-spaced and includes a title and reference page. Use your textbook and at least two additional scholarly sources to support your answer. Click

here

to access a video from the CSU Online Library to learn how to find peer-reviewed articles. All sources cited must be in APA format and listed in an accompanying reference page.

MSL 6000, Psychological Foundations of Leadership

1

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

Chapter 7
Unit II Case Study

6.2
Unit Lesson
Chapter 7
Unit II Case Study

6.3
Chapter 7
Unit II Case Study

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

“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)

MSL 6000, Psychological Foundations of Leadership 2

UNIT x STUDY GUIDE

Title

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)

MSL 6000, Psychological Foundations of Leadership 3

UNIT x STUDY GUIDE
Title

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.

MSL 6000, Psychological Foundations of Leadership 4

UNIT x STUDY GUIDE
Title

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

MSL 6000, Psychological Foundations of Leadership 5

UNIT x STUDY GUIDE
Title

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

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.

Course Learning Outcomes for Unit II
Reading Assignment
Unit Lesson
Leadership and Followership
Learning Activities (Nongraded)
Apply the Concepts: Take the Self-Assessment!