The Concept of Followership - Paper Sample

Introduction

Followership entails a person's willingness to dedicate and follow a leader and work together towards achieving an established common goal. Followership must demonstrate a higher degree of interaction between the team members. A follower is entitled to deliver what is expected of them, depending on the organization’s aims and goals.

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Biblical Application

The success or failure of any leadership depends on the type of followership gained by the organization. Over the decades, followership has been overlooked and, to some extent, ignored. However, followership and leadership can have a supportive bond, whereby followers depend on leaders, and similarly, leaders depend on followers (Stojanovic-Aleksic, 2016). Productive leadership can be modelled and shaped by loyal, effective, productive, and active followers, who contribute to making the leadership an easy process. Therefore, being essential in any organization, the followers' behavior and actions much determine leadership.

Effective followership plays a significant responsibility in shaping effective leadership. Good followership is always aware of its standing and willing to express its ideas and opinions to the leadership regardless of the possible outcomes (Epitropaki, et al., 2017). Various practices carried out by subordinates within an organization positively impact the leadership since they are an added energy. Various practices by followers contribute to leadership success. For instance, willingness to undertake challenging tasks, offer ideas for improvement, express loyalty to leaders, assist the leaders in becoming better, work hard as an influential member of the team, and give the leader a smooth time while in the leadership position. This conducive environment created by the follower gives the leader an easy time to plan well and execute duties accordingly, hence portraying good leadership and achieving the organizational mission.

Biblically, King Solomon attained a prosperous reign as a result of effective followership. He had officials under him who helped him execute his duties as a kind to Israel's people (I Kings 4:1-34). Being loyal, active, productive, and practical, the officials carried out the duties assigned to each of them with dedication and willingness (Merida, 2015). Their act significantly contributed to Solomon's successful leadership.

The Adaptive Leadership

Frequent changes and challenges are significant parts of any organization. However, such changes must be adapted to, and the challenges overcame the institution's better running. Adaptive leadership, as an approach, entails how leaders help their followers to solve problems and adapt to changes in the work environment. In this approach, leaders are expected to motivate, mobilize, and focus the follower's attention. Additionally, leaders should provide directions, offer protection, orient followers, manage conflicts, and establish productive norms. Consequently, the followers are expected to show their willingness to change and adapt to the environment, all aimed at facilitating an adaptive change.

Adaptive leadership can be, to some extent, tied together with the theory on complexity leadership, where both have an insight at leader's behaviors that encourage creativity, learning, and ability to adapt in difficult circumstances. However, adaptive leaders are prone to facing clearly defined challenges in work, unclear but clearly defined problems, and uneasily identified challenges. However, to overcome the challenges, a leader must in an ability to listen to followers, offer directions, maintain discipline, regulate stress, identify the unidentifiable challenges as well as maintaining focus.

Conclusion

Thus, adaptive leadership, to some extent, can be categorized as a right leadership style. The leaders help and encourage their followers to independently solve their work-related problems and adapt to changing situations. As the followers practice self-dependence, their experience and courage to undertake organizational responsibilities are build up. This positively impacts the organization’s productivity. Biblically, prophet Elisha practiced adaptive leadership (2 Kings 4:1-7). He advised and helped a poor widow solve her problem of paying debts to a man who had taken her two sons as slaves after his husband's death. Elisha advised her to borrow jars from the neighbors, although he miraculously helped her fill the jars with oil (Merida, 2015). After filling the jars, the prophet advised her to sell the oil and get money to settle the debts.

References

Epitropaki, O., Kark, R., Mainemelis, C., & Lord, R. G. (2017). Leadership and followership identity processes: A multilevel review. The Leadership Quarterly, 28(1), 104-129.
https://scholar.google.com/scholar?as_ylo=2016&q=FOLLOWERSHIP&hl=en&as_sdt=0,5#d=gs_cit&u=%2Fscholar%3Fq%3Dinfo%3A-EFlfzsATE8J%3Ascholar.google.com%2F%26output%3Dcite%26scirp%3D2%26hl%3Den

Merida, T. (2015). Exalting Jesus in 1 & 2 Kings. B&H Publishing Group.
https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C5&q=Exalting+Jesus+in+1+%26+2+Kings&btnG=#d=gs_cit&u=%2Fscholar%3Fq%3Dinfo%3AAz2KZclH0JMJ%3Ascholar.google.com%2F%26output%3Dcite%26scirp%3D0%26hl%3

Stojanovic-Aleksic, V. (2016). Followers in the organizational leadership process: From attribution to shared leadership. Ekonomski horizonti, 18(2), 139-151.
https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C5&as_ylo=2016&q=In+praise+of+followers&btnG=#d=gs_cit&u=%2Fscholar%3Fq%3Dinfo%3AJD_Dr2f6mdEJ%3Ascholar.google.com%2F%26output%3Dcite%26scirp%3D7%26hl%3Den.