Module 5 Following

If you are marching along and you look round behind you to find that there is nobody
there, then you are not a leader.
Old Soldiers Tale
5.1 Introduction
success depends both on leading and following.
Parker Follett
continued:
Their part is not merely to follow, they have a very active part to play and that is to
keep the leader in control of a situation. Let us not think that we are leaders or noth-ing of much
importance. As one of those led we have a part in leadership. In no aspect
of our subject do we see a greater discrepancy between theory and practice than here
Bennis elaborated his view of what constituted an effective follower:
a willingness to tell the truth;
a willingness to speak out;
to be other than the leader;
to share their best counsel with the leader.
Also characteristics of good leaders!
Eg take a wrong order back to leader for correction to meet chaning conditions ( or else lead to
disaster as in some battles due to leaders not listening). Depends also on culture.
Follett's view was that it was leaders' responsaibility to train educate the followers to understand
goals and think in pursue of the goals. Leader should not simple give orders but establish a mode of
common purpose.
Leaders and followers have a complex realtion especially considering that most managers are both
leadres and followers.
5.2 Studies of Followers
only 25% chance of match.
5.3 Kinds of followers
Brown and Thornborrow 1996 asked if organisations get the followersw they deserved. They used
Kelly's 1988 typology;
1)
2)
3)
4)

Effective and exemplary self startes, problem sovlers, rated hihgly

survivors go along with leadres and adpart
yes people not enterprising and are a little servile
sheep passivem unengaged, lack initiative and sense of responsibility, just do what is
asked
5) alienated independent in thining but pasive in work, cynical and distruntled.
They tested 3 UK orgnaisations and resutls were surprising ly similar;

the critically intellignet spintinto exemplaery and alientated, and 70% the rest. 1/6 is ready for
promotion in a static picture. But they might get frsutrated, lead or become passive followers.
They then investigred leader and follower preferred leadship style and both seemed to uniformaly
discourage exemplary follewers and might eplain thehigh number of alientated.
They were not able to prove that leadershp style forms the followers.
Yet the found that folowers are a results of work exprieces and staff thought that they could be
trained to be exmpalry. There is some correlation between org cultyre, leadership style and types of
followers encouraged. And seems that sometinmes exmeplary fellows are discouraged.

Interesting points perosns were both leadres and folowers maybe they sought leaders that fitted
them and folloewrs that didnt threaten them. Also in cross functional teams follows could be equal
in rank and seriorty.
5.4 Facing the Music?
Yaakov Atik 1994 symphony orchestras - comparative values of the authoritative
vs collaborative conducting styles, the proper distance between conductors and followers and
the necessity and role of hierarchy. First a tsting stage to build trsut and then a transactional
relationship with mutually acceptable set of expectaions. Sometimes charistmatic and
transformaiton leaders reach third stage insprational stage where both are motivated and perform
beyond expections.
Even cynical players still sought from leader clarify of message, praise and demand to produce
best playing.
Best conductors become part of orchesra and they play with him rather than for him.
5.5 Transformational Relationship
Leaders are not neccesrily rational, logical but can have conflicts and desires.
Aaltio-Marjarosa and Takala
(2000) rehearse the dangers of manipulation. They also argue that the legitimacy of charis-matic
leadership is sociologically and psychologically attributed to the belief of the followers.
There is an ideal way in which the beliefs of leader are in tune with follwoers and not neccearily a
represetation to the outside world.
5.6 Follower Orientation ? Task and Relationship
Miller 2004 did a study on folowers using Fiedler model. Subjects rated their least liked leader and
asses them along 2 dimensions ralationsorientedand task oriented. Their performance was thent
aken from efificency reports.
Situationl favourability was defined as ;
1) Leader member relations degree to wcih the leader feels accepted by group
2) taks strcture clear cute procdures, meausreable progress
3) leader power degree of formal psoiton of leader.

First 2 results were predicted by Fiedler but 3rd is contrdictory relations orietned follwoer
believed they performbetter with good leader follower relations but worse with por leader follwoer
realtions. This underlines the signgifcance of leadfrr and follower link as relationship
5.7 Relationships at issue
Mischa Popper 2004 leadership as relationship. - regressive relations, symbolic relations and
developmental relations.
To some extent Popper derived his three types of relationship from Webers distinction
between authority (legal, sourced in law and rules), power (traditional, sourced in heredity),
and influence (sourced in personalit y, called charisma).
Influence is much discussed it is the followers willingness aht distingused leaders from coercive
power or rulers.
Influence is affected by facots social distance and culture context could lead to over esitamtion.
5.7.1
Regressive Relation
unconcious proecess of projection Freud 1939 leader as projection of father's resoluteness,
stench of will and energetic action. Not person but construction of followers's wishes. Love and
regard of oflloewrs fills unmet needs of a mirror hungry persoanlity. Also follower without
resrouces to lead might seek figures to admire ideal hungry persoanlity.
The meeting
of mirror hungry personalities with ideal hungry personalities may create a dynamic in which
desires and fantasies feed the needs, perhaps pathological , of both parties.
The core causes of the formation of the charismatic personality are complex and beyond
our discussion here, except to note that they appear to be rooted in very early life experience,
including separation and loss, gr ief and anger, with defences of idealisation and alienation.
The very living of the defences reinforces th em. Popper noted that However, in crisis the
self-schooling in trauma are perceived as having social value, and are a source of public
strength. The argument of Popper is that regressive relations are not formed on ideas but are
rooted in primary urges, anxieties and distress . This is not to claim that all charismatic
relations are so pathological but that the concept of regressive relations does give an
explanation of the interpenetration of followers and leaders (indeed deep collusion) that can
lead to destructiveness.
Eg family busiees lead into insolvency rather then sell believe value or get new leadership
or get new leader but not let him cange product design due to collusion of identidy and narcisitic
sense of design.
A linked question arises here. Can we understand the reason why people follow leaders of
repressive social movements? Duncan (2003) argued that if we can gain understanding then
we may be helped to find means of limiting their access to power and limit the damage they
can do. The relations of leaders and followers in some cults can be intense and sometimes
overpowering. This may arise from a need of the followers to have certainty, a need that the
certain leader only too readily supplies (Brothers, 2003), through such processes as the
denial of difference, the inflammation of passion and faith keeping fantasies. This is indeed
the dark side of charisma.
5.7.2
Symbolic Relation
grow out of content based meanins , ideaolgies and values that a leader represents. ( politic,
religious , temporary op starts). Usually these figures are very avialale for projectiosn to make them
bigger than life.

Shamir 1993 by idenitfying with a symbolic leader ollowers increase their self worth. It also
allows a sense of belinging and communal identity.
Of course such leaders can market their influence for power and wealth.
5.7.3
Developmental Relations
Popper and Mayseless 2003 based in good parenting nurtering developemnt. Appears in
versions of transformational leaderhsup that build followers capabilityies and autonotmies. But
development leaders also provide boudaries of meaning, policy and anxiety and so provide safety
for risky busness of working. Developmental leader holds projections without fighting them but
then invistes followers to take porejctions back and move to a higher psoiton of mature dependence.
Poppers ideas go beyong the more strucutral approaches. Decenter leader and bring forward
folowers and context for analusis. Eg in difficutl sitations where idetity and meansing are under
threat these conditions see the emrgence of strong leadrers as a product of regressive relations.
Hitler, churchil etc. The secret was the relationship not just leadership. Once sitution changed they
wer abandoned by followers.
5.8 Followers shaping leaders?
5.9 A relational process?
Megan Russell 2003 studied a school in cotext of 4 villages sutdy of small roganisations that
exposded the relationsal aspect of leaderhsup out of the 40 plus categoeis tahte emreged most
concerend relations. - Between individuals and group of followers and between leaders and
followers. Role of followers and Role of leaders in organisationsl dynamic.
Leaders were peropleo f importance, central fogures and aceess to groups ie well know, well
informed an influential.
Follower groups were fragments in contract to unitary conception of leader. Focus was on group
need and not organisational need. The stronger the ses of 'us' the more ohesive theywere.
Russell proposed an overarching concept, relational purpose , to underline the relational
aspect of leadership in practice leaders also need followers concent. Also dilemma of need for
support vs need to achieve organisation goals. Leaders used tactics seeking concent, manipualtio
and reduction of intergroup conflict.
The sutyd illustrates several poitns followers differnetied into interest groups. Not passive. Poor
connection to overall goals. They didnt fit any of Kelly's categories. Might be related to complatex
social natural aroudn schools , of which only few are employees and many agendas are present.
( governing body, parents councilors etc).
5.10 Some important issues.
Emotions. Few human relationships are devoid of emotions, even if some models of
leadership such as the autocratic, do a ppear to repress or suppress them. Dvir et al.
(2004) found that vision formulation, content of social-oriented valu es and assimilation
were positively associated with affective commitment of followers but not with their
cognitive commitment. Further, Sivanathan and Fekken (2002) reported that leaders who
reported higher levels of emotional intellig ence were perceived by their followers as
higher in transformationa l leadership and more effective as leaders ( see Module 4).
Distributed leadership. Leadership may be exercised in almost any role in any
organisation, to the individual and communal benefit. Here we might consider leadership
to be distributed (Spillane et al. , 2004) across the organisation. This is different from the

usual conception, but fits our discussion of leaders and followers in complex relation-ships. But
note that if leadership is distribute d then followership is also distributed, with
top people being willing followers of others. Yo u may find that somewhat unlikely, but it
must be true of knowledg e-intensive organisations.
Servant leadership. Links to servant leadership were explored by Whetstone (2002). He
argued that a genuine servant leader works wi th his followers in building a community of
participation and solidarity. In addition, Stone et al. (2004) argued that transformational
leaders were more focused up on the organisation and its goals whereas the servant leader
was more focused upon the followers and th eir contribution to th e organisational pur-pose. The
servant leader is close in conception to the altruistic transformational leader.
The ideal of developmental relations is found here when the leader and followers focus
upon a jointly created and developed vision, avoiding manipulation by working with
mutuality, solidarity and respect. This is, of course, very close to the insight of Mary
Parker Follett. The notion of servant leadership is not necessarily self-sacrificing (except
of the over-weaning ego) but is in service to a goal greater than the individual. Some
people persist in claiming that all human beha viour is based upon self-interest, and even
go as far as to claim that altruism is only a nother version of self-int erest. Apart from the
projections involved in such a stance it is also an abuse of others to make such claims
(Avolio and Locke, 2002).
Critical reflections. The charismatic can exert a kind of seductive power, and the fact
that the seduced are more than willing does not absolve either of them from their ethical
difficulties. It may be the case that charismatic leadership always has a regressive under-current,
even if it is the best choice in a given setting, yet adoption of a specific ethical
stance towards the clients, the work and the followers can still be attempted. Hoffman
and Burrello (2004) noted that this could happen, for when a school leadership was
critical, transformative, educative and ethical, it implemented schooling with equity as its
watchword. The development of community emerged when leaders adjusted their work
between leaders and followers.
Cultural context. We also wish to be careful about the cultural context of leading and
following. In one study Valinkangas and Okamura (1997) found that US managers based
leadership and followership upon the right agency of utility and values, whereas the
Japanese managers in their study assumed th at a right corporate identity would induce
the right contributions of the followers. Modu le 6 on culture indicates that leading is
conditioned by assumptions that vary considerably across countries and within them.
Hence the nature of leader and follower relations will, we argue, be equally varied. There
is as yet limited research on following across cultures.
Anti-followers. In the Hawthorn studies of leadership referred to in Module 3/ Module
9, we noted that a group of women workers cooperated with the rese arch team. Less well
known was the fact that the original research design in cluded a group of male workers.
When the researchers began to change the lighting, the men simply refused to cooperate,
and they removed themselves from the expe riment. Heavy unionisation is a symbol of
conflict and cooperation between the managers and the workforce as well as of solidarity
among the workers. So obviously relations ca n become very regressive. In one study the
managers and workers maintained good personal working relations (to meet workers
needs for work to do and direction and managers needs for work to be done) but dis-placed their
conflict over wages and profits into the relationship between the industrial
relations managers and the elected representative of the workers. The managers positive-ly hated
the elected representative, and the workers positively hated the industrial
relations managers. So there were both followers and anti-followers at the same time.
Anti-leaders. It is a common experience of some stages of economic development for
the conflict about wages and costs to be rather severe. In such cases the workers view
the owners and managers as setting out, wilfully, to exploit them . They reciprocate by

seeking ways of countering the power of the owners and managers and exploiting them
in their turn. We often hear of cussed and uncoopera tive staff, but rarely in the leader-ship
literature do we see such behaviour as the product of social and economic
conditions, foolish assumptions and crass and destructive leadership. As in any relation-ship there is
more than one party, there is mo re than one version of history, and there is
the ever-present economic pressure to reco nfigure, cut costs, introduce changes and
perhaps go out of business. Also, people lear n lessons about relations hips very quickly,
and we have long memories. We might live with injustice, we might forget injustice, but
we rarely forgive it unless there is mutuality in such an endeavour.