Chapter 13: Followers, Communication and Leadership Flashcards
Followership
a subdomain of study within leadership
it is concerned with the behaviour of followers
Kelly (1992) defined followers in terms of two dimensions:
independent/critical thinking
passive/active
Howell and Mendez’s three perspectives on followership
1) Interactive
2) Independent
3) Shifting
1) Interactive
Effective followers complement and support the leader, demonstrate knowledge and competence, and build collaborative relationships.
2) Independent
Followers are treated as independent actors in the workplace; followers substitute for leaders in the context of more highly skilled and knowledgeable followers.
3) Shifting
Followers and leaders alternate roles. Followers monitor and interpret the situation to respond to dynamic changes, participate in decision making when appropriate, challenge the team, and role-model effective team behaviour.
Carsten and Uhl-Bien (2012) Followership
Considers how followers view their own behaviours and roles when engaging with leaders
Follower Behaviour and Personality
Personality is the starting point for understanding individual workplace behaviour.
Personality
A relatively enduring pattern of thinking, feeling and acting that characterizes a person’s unique response to her or his environment
Divide the study of personality into two broad perspectives:
1) nomothetic
2) Ideographic
The nomothetic approach
supports the view that personalities are determined by heredity and can be measured.
This approach often describes personality in terms of the measurable traits a person exhibits
2) Ideographic
a dynamic perspective that takes into account not only unique innate characteristics, but also how individual differences are moulded within a ‘society’ context.
As such, it suggests that personality can be shaped and that both personality and behaviour are determined by specific social experiences.
Trait theory
Other frameworks, such as the Big Five personality (BFP), the Myers-Briggs type indicator (MBTI) and the Dark Triad also explain certain aspects of an individual’s personality. We discuss each below.
The introversion–extroversion framework
Three basic factors or dimensions: introversion–extroversion, stability–instability and psychoticism
The Myers-Briggs type indicator
100-question personality test to determine where a person lies between a set of four personalities.
The Dark Triad
1) Machiavellianism
2) narcissism
3) psychopathy
1) Machiavellianism
Describes the degree to which a person displays emotional and pragmatic behaviours and believes that ends justify the means
Machiavellian tendencies are also associated with unethical behaviour
2) narcissism
describes the degree to which a person possesses a pervasive pattern of grandiosity, entitlement, self-importance, a tendency to exploit situations and perhaps to develop and manipulate others
3) psychopathy
in an organizational behaviour context is defined as lack of concern for others, a lack of remorse when actions cause harm, and impulsivity
Social-cognitive theory
understands personality to be fundamentally rooted in life experience, social relationships and the self-concept
Rotter argues that a person’s decision to engage in behaviour in a given situation is determined by two factors:
1) what the person expects to happen following the action
2) the value the person places on the outcome
Self-efficacy
part of the self that is concerned with a person’s beliefs about her or his ability to perform the actions needed to achieve desired outcomes.
It determines whether a person will engage in a particular behaviour, and also determines the extent to which she or he will sustain that behaviour in the face of adversity
Motivation
the choice of a particular action, the intensity expended on it and the duration of energy.
Motivation can be categorized as either:
Content theories
Process theories