Leadership through followership

Litzinger, William J.; Schaefer, Thomas E.

doi:10.1016/0007-6813(82)90067-2

Cited by 20 publications

(12 citation statements)

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“…When asked how they approached the task of developing the leadership of their students, staff at the prestigious West Point Military Academy said: ‘We begin by teaching them to be followers’ (Litzinger & Schaefer, ). From the perspective of the existing literature, this would seem to be a rather paradoxical approach, because in encouraging students to see themselves as followers the academy is failing to promote the leader identity that motivates the acquisition of leadership skills and positions.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

I follow, therefore I lead: A longitudinal study of leader and follower identity and leadership in the marines

Peters

Haslam

2018

British J of Psychology

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It is acknowledged that identity plays an important role in a person's leadership development. To date, however, there has been little consideration of the possibility - suggested by the social identity perspective - that individuals who identify as followers may be especially likely to emerge as leaders. We test this possibility in a longitudinal sample of recruit commandos in the Royal Marines. Recruits rated their identification with leader and follower roles five times over the course of their 32-week training programme. Recruits' leadership and followership were evaluated by their commanders, and their leadership was assessed by their peers. Analysis indicated that while recruits who identified as leaders received higher leadership ratings from their commanders, recruits who identified - and were perceived - as followers emerged as leaders for their peers. These findings suggest that follower and leader identities underpin different aspects of leadership and that these are differentially recognized by others.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

I follow, therefore I lead: A longitudinal study of leader and follower identity and leadership in the marines

Peters

Haslam

2018

British J of Psychology

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“…Barnard (1987) theorized that the subordinate held the power to a leader's authority: Without a subordinate's cooperation and assent, the leader had no authority. Extending Barnard's idea, Litzinger and Schaefer (1982) theorized that because followers could withhold or grant their obedience to a leader, the leader was constrained to act in ways that the follower found consistent with organizational goals. They argued that the leader must therefore be a follower-of the organizational goals as understood by his or her own followers-and further that being a good follower helped to prepare one to be a good leader.…”

Section: Followers Are Active Not Passivementioning

confidence: 99%

Followership

Baker

2007

Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies

172

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This article presents the theoretical foundation of followership. The words follower and followership are increasingly used in discussions of leadership and organizations, and many think that the field of followership began in 1988 with Kelley's “In Praise of Followers.” Followership research began in 1955, and literature in the social sciences discussed followers and followership for decades prior. By examining why leadership rather than followership is emphasized; discussing antecedents, early theory, and research about followership; and identifying common themes found in the literature, this article provides the foundation that has been missing in contemporary discussion of the followership construct.

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“…Trade journals and newspapers advertise leadership training programmes daily, and leadership literature is readily accessible, yet although a considerable amount has been written about followers there is little that focuses on followership per se or followers' views on followers (Carsten et al, 2010;Crossman and Crossman, 2011). A search for "follower" in the scientific databases shows that the leader-follower relationship is the prime concern: the need for leaders to develop a better understanding of followers (Gilbert and Whiteside, 1988;Heller and Van Til, 1982;Hollander and Webb, 1955;Litzinger and Schaefer, 1982); the impact on followers of leadership styles in general (Collinson, 2006;Nelson, 1964), or of specific forms of leadership such as servant leadership, authentic leadership, or transformational leadership (Brown et al, 2005;Gardner et al, 2005;Kelley, 1991;Vecchio, 1987). Admittedly, a discussion of the relationship between followers is to be found in studies of group relations (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The roles of followers: an exploratory study of follower roles in a Swedish context

Danielsson

2013

Leadership &Amp; Organization Development Journal

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Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to draw a more nuanced picture of what characterizes followership in an organization. Design/methodology/approach -This exploratory study including seven depth interviews conducted with Swedish armed forces personnel at various levels -both officers and civilians -on what characterizes followers. Additional two group discussions were conducted with employees; one representing followers and one representing middle management. Findings -The paper provides empirical insights about three follower roles -workmate, colleague, and co-worker and how they correspond to individual-related and organization-related categories. The most prominent feature of the role of workmate is work solidarity. The characteristic of the colleague is professional loyalty. Finally, the co-worker is looked upon as exercising leadership by extension. Research limitations/implications -Because of the chosen research approach, the research results may lack generalizability. Researchers are encouraged to test the proposed propositions further, and to further investigate the relationships between other followers' roles -such as temporary agency worker, flexible worker, and expert. Practical implications -The paper includes implications for the leader-follower relations, first, how management should lead subordinates in an organization. Second, there are ramifications for how followers' work is best organized. Finally, the paper verifies the importance of individual-related categories, not only between leaders and followers, but also between followers. Originality/value -The paper argues that followers should not only be seen in terms of traits or labels, but as the product of relations within organizations. Followers' actions are restrained by the frame of their positions. This has an impact on the development of the followers' roles.

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Leadership through followership

Cited by 20 publications

References 0 publications

I follow, therefore I lead: A longitudinal study of leader and follower identity and leadership in the marines

I follow, therefore I lead: A longitudinal study of leader and follower identity and leadership in the marines

Followership

The roles of followers: an exploratory study of follower roles in a Swedish context

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