Leadership Development – From a Follower’s Perspective

Image - leaders followersMost senior leadership development programs take a top-down approach, focusing on the traits and personalities of individual executives. The goal, in many cases, is to look at various leadership styles—such as autocratic, democratic or somewhere in between—and help executives learn new attitudes and behaviors. With a dynamic facilitator and a well-planned curriculum, these leadership programs can boost individual careers and increase an organization’s human capital.

But there’s another perspective to consider as well: How do the “followers” respond to an executive’s leadership style? After all, a leader needs to motivate, engage and coach his or her colleagues, peers and subordinates in order to achieve the desired goals. Therefore, understanding the followers is one of the essentials for effective leadership.

A leader’s followers may respond in different ways to various leadership styles. In some situations, a subordinate may be most comfortable when his or her manager communicates specifically what to do. In this case, an autocratic approach to leadership may produce the best results. But at other times, a subordinate might prefer to handle an assigned task without being micro-managed every step of the way. This is a situation where a democratic or participatory style of leadership might be appropriate. There are even times when a subordinate who is an expert on a certain topic or aspect of the business might step into a leadership role and help the executive determine find the best solution.

The bottom line is there is no one “best” style of leadership. Instead, effective leadership is based upon a clear understanding of the situation, including the goals, aptitudes and desires of team members and subordinates. That means that leadership is actually a fluid concept rather than something written in stone. Today, corporate executives must be able to adjust their leadership styles to fit different situations in order to achieve the desired results.

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