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The Leader-Follower Connection

1997; Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; Volume: 97; Issue: 7 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1097/00000446-199707000-00002

1538-7488

Lucille A. Joel,

Leadership and Management in Organizations

(Figure 1) The "absence of leadership"' has become a convenient excuse for all of the shortcomings of the nursing profession.Leadership is about power. And it may be that we have misread the nature of power, thereby misjudging roles and relationships and compromising our ability to take charge of our own future. Power has to be understood as the product of social relationships. Power is given or it does not exist. Sometimes it is given freely, sometimes coercively; often it is withheld as a demonstration of defiance. Power may be awarded by a system, it may be a personal attribute, or it may be shared by those who possess it with those they wish to empower. The underlying principles of power and its connection to leadership are abstract, but the proofs are within the personal experiences of each of us. We have known the manager who finds it difficult or impossible to move an agenda despite being in a position of authority with access to resources, or the bully who is far more successful in controlling the behavior of others than reality warrants. Each scenario depicts leadership, if only by its absence or in a negative form. The outcome is largely dependent on the choices of the followers. And then there are the leaders who motivate you to walk that extra painful mile, who wear their power comfortably but purposefully and convince you that there is an end beyond the means. The attributes of successful leaders have been well documented. As a class they are natural role models who convey the expectation that subordinates will emulate their values. Those values include a large dose of humanism and respect for people. People skills are their forte. They are very much part of the team, yet possess vision that sets them apart. That vision is shared openly and honestly, but in a restrained fashion so as not to overwhelm those that follow. The net result is security among followers based on the fact that someone is out front leading the way through uncharted territory. To accomplish the goals they share with their followers, these leaders surround themselves with the best and the brightest people for the challenge at hand and allow them to proceed, resisting any temptation to micromanage. They comfortably straddle the line between internal and external environments, acting, looking and speaking the part of leader, eclectically educated and polished. A sometimes inordinate faith is placed in the support of one's followers, and consequently they are comfortable taking risks. In fact, anything that does not entail risk in the acquisition is probably not worth having as far as they are concerned. Such are the characteristics of effective leaders, which may come to them naturally or through the cultivation of followers. With a leadership vacuum, there is little vision, even less risk-taking, and a parochialism that reduces work to drudgery. Communication becomes incomplete and guarded. Deception and insecurity begin to dominate and paralyze. Followers are restrained in their commitment, feeling an absence of direction. There is an uneasy sense among followers that they are being held to a higher standard than their supposed leaders. Today's challenge is to achieve practical application of these observations about leading and following and their relationship to power. Honesty also moves us to question whether a leadership vacuum is any more costly than a deficit of followers. Each role requires talent and strength. One is neither more nor less than the other, but simply aligned with different talents, personalities, and lifestyles. While the prescription for leadership seems clear, the qualities of an effective follower are less well defined. Are we comfortable with open and complete communication? Are we ready to buy into a vision when some pieces are imperfectly defined? Are we willing to assume ownership of our ideas, and to tear down the fences that are conveniently erected to maintain the distance between our professional and private lives? How much personal sacrifice will we endure and how much support and protection will we assure leaders when the going gets tough for them on our behalf? Those are neither leaders nor followers who find themselves marking time in place and going nowhere. Those who show the qualities of leadership should be empowered, and it is by this deliberate and conscious action that a cohort of followers is created.