Leadership and

Followership
Dua’a Alwawi, PhD
Are you ready to be a
leader?
Leadership

+ Leadership is a much broader

concept than is management.
Although managers should also be
leaders, management is focused on
the achievement of organizational
goals. Leadership, on the other
hand:
Leadership

+ “occurs whenever one person attempts to

influence the behavior of an individual or
group—up, down, or sideways in the
organization—regardless of the reason. It
may be for personal goals or for the
goals of others, and these goals may or
may not be congruent with organizational
goals. Leadership is influence”(Hersey &
Campbell, 2004, p. 12)
 Influence

+ Mechanism for using power to change behaviors or

attitudes.
+ It produces an effect without direct command or force.
+ Process of acceptance and mutual agreement that results in
commitment and good work.
+ People feel that decisions made are their choices.
+ It is a two-way rather than top-down process.
Leadership
competencies
(1) ability to diagnose or understand the
situation you want to influence
(2) adaptation in order to allow your
behaviors and other resources to
close the gap between the current
situation and what you are hoping to
achieve
(3) communication.
 Leadership

What Makes a Person a Leader?

Leaders are born, not made?

Can a leader and a manager be the same person?

 Leadership Theories
Trait theories
+ “Leaders are born, not made.” In other words, some people are
natural leaders, and others are not.
A 5-year study of 90 outstanding leaders identified four common traits shared by all of these
leaders.
1. Management of attention. These leaders were able to communicate a sense of goal or
direction to attract followers.
2. Management of meaning. These leaders created and communicated meaning with
clarity and purpose.
3. Management of trust. These leaders demonstrated reliability and consistency.
4. Management of self. These leaders were able to know self and work within their
strengths and weaknesses (Bennis, 1984).
 Leadership Theories
Behavioural Theories
+ Autocratic leadership (also called directive,
controlling, or authoritarian). The autocratic leader
gives orders and makes decisions for the group.
+ Democratic leadership (also called participative).
Democratic leaders share leadership. Important plans
and decisions are made with the team.
Democratic leadership is characterized by guidance from rather
than control by the leader.
 Leadership Theories
Behavioural Theories
+ Laissez-faire leadership (also called permissive or
nondirective).
+ (“let someone do”) leader does very little planning or decision
making and fails to encourage others to do so.
+ It is really a lack of leadership. For example, when a decision needs
to be made, a laissez-faire leader may postpone making the decision
or never make the decision.
+ leaves people feeling confused and frustrated because there is no
goal, no guidance, and no direction.
Leadership Theories
Behavioural theories
 Leadership Theories
Task Versus Relationship
+ Another important distinction is between a task focus and a
relationship focus
+ Some leaders emphasize the tasks and fail to recognize that
interpersonal relation
+ Others focus on the interpersonal aspects and ignore the quality
of the job being done as long as people get along with each
other.
 Leadership Theories
Motivation Theory
+ Would motivation have an impact on the way leader deal with
employees.
+ Would motivation have an impact on employee's productivity
 Leadership Theories
Emotional Intelligence
+ The relationship aspects of leadership are a focus of the work on
emotional intelligence
+ Part of what distinguishes ordinary leaders from leadership “stars” is consciously
addressing the effect of people’s feelings on the team’s emotional reality.
+ Recognize and understand your own emotions, and learn how to manage them,
channel them, stay calm and clear-headed, and suspend judgment until all the
facts are in when a crisis occurs
+ The emotionally intelligent leader welcomes constructive criticism, asks for help
when needed, can juggle multiple demands without losing focus, and can turn
problems into opportunities.
 Leadership Theories
Emotional Intelligence
+ Second, the emotionally intelligent leader:
+ listens attentively to others,
+ perceives unspoken concerns,
+ acknowledges others’ perspectives,
+ brings people together in an atmosphere of respect, cooperation, and
helpfulness so they can direct their energies toward achieving the
team’s goals.
 Leadership Theories
Situational Theories
+ Instead of assuming that one particular approach works in all situations, situational
theories recognize the complexity of work situations and encourage the leader to
consider many factors when deciding what action to take.
+ understanding all the factors that affect a particular group of people in a particular
environment.
+ The appeal of this model is that it focuses on the task and the follower.
+ Match the readiness of the follower with the task behavior at hand.
+ Readiness: the extent to which a follower demonstrates the ability and
willingness to accomplish a specific task
+ The leader need to spell out the duties and responsibilities of an individual and a
group
 Leadership Theories
Situational Theories
Followers’ readiness levels can range from:
+ unable and unwilling (or insecure) →able, willing, and confident.
Leader behaviors ranges from:
telling, guiding, and directing → delegating, observing, and monitoring.

+ The leader’s behavior will focus on appropriately fulfilling the follower’s

needs, which are identified by their readiness level and the task.

+ Where did you fall in this model during your first clinical rotation compared
with where you are now?
+ How about when you move to your first therapist position?
 Leadership Theories
Transformational leadership
+ What elements were missing in the situational theories?

+ Meaning, inspiration, and vision are the distinguishing features of

transformational leadership.
+ The transformational theory of leadership emphasizes that people need a sense
of mission that goes beyond good interpersonal relationships or the appropriate
reward for a job well done
+ Transformational leaders communicate their vision in a manner that is so
meaningful and exciting to inspire commitment in the people with whom they
work
What do leaders do?

“Getting a handle on leadership is a little

more difficult than grasping the roles of
managers”
Why?
 Leaders…
+ NO job title
+ NO clear job description.
+ “Leader Wanted” is NOT typically seen in announcements
for managerial or administrative positions

However, what the employer really wants is someone who can

lead.
 Qualities of an effective leader
+ Integrity. Integrity is expected of health-care professionals. Clients,
colleagues, and employers all expect therapist to be honest and
trustworthy.
+ Adherence to both a code of personal ethics and a code of professional
ethics
+ Courage. Sometimes, being a leader means taking some risks.
+ Positive Attitude. A good attitude goes a long way in making a good
leader.
+ Initiative. Good ideas are not enough. To be a leader, you must act on
those good ideas. This requires initiative on your part.
+ Energy. Leadership requires energy.
+ Both leadership and followership are hard but?
 Qualities of an effective leader

+ Optimism. It is important not to let discouragement keep you and your

coworkers from seeking ways to resolve the problems.
+ The ability to see a problem as an opportunity is part of the optimism that
makes a person an effective leader.
+ Holman (1995) called this being a winner instead of a whiner

+ Perseverance. Effective leaders do not

give up easily.

+ Balance. How?
Qualities of an effective leader

+ Ability to handle stress.

Coping with stress in as positive and healthy a manner as possible
helps to conserve energy
and can be a model for others.
+ Self-awareness. How is your emotional intelligence?
People who do not understand themselves are limited in their ability to
understand the motivations of others.
Example ?
Qualities of an effective leader
Behaviours of an Effective Leader

+ Setting priorities.
Remember the three “E’s” of prioritization:
+ Evaluate: Continually evaluate what you need to do
+ Eliminate: Eliminate tasks that someone else can do
+ Estimate: Estimate how long your top priorities will
take you to complete.
Behaviours of an Effective Leader

+ Thinking critically. Critical thinking is the careful,

reasoned analysis to reach a decision about what to
believe or what to do (Feldman, 2002).
To avoid making assumptions and biases of your own and
those of others, ask yourself frequently:
+ “Do I have the information I need? Is it accurate? Am I
prejudging a situation?”
Behaviors of an Effective Leader

+ Solving problems.
+ What kind of problems?
+ The effective leader helps people to identify problems and to work
through the problem-solving process to find a reasonable solution.

+ Respecting the individual.

+ Although people have much in common, each individual has different
wants and needs and has had different life experiences.
+ Example?
The effective leader recognizes these differences in people and helps them find the rewards
in their work that mean the most to them.
Behaviors of an Effective Leader

+ Skillful communication. This includes:

• listening to others
listening emphasizes that communication involves both giving and
receiving information.
The only way to find out people’s individual wants, and needs is to
watch what they do and to listen to what they say.
• encouraging exchange of information
Misunderstanding? people fail to share enough information with
each other.
The leader’s role is to make sure that the channels of
communication remain open, and that people use them.
• providing feedback
Behaviors of an Effective Leader

+ Skillful communication. This includes:

providing feedback
Positive or negative?
Why some leaders fail to provide negative feedback?
+ Negative feedback can be given in a manner that is neither hurtful by the
individual receiving it.
Why some leaders fail to provide positive feedback?
+ for some people, it is the most important reward they get from their jobs.
+ Communicating a vision for the future. The effective leader has a vision for
the future. Communicating this vision to the group and involving everyone in working
toward that vision create the inspiration that keeps people going when things become
difficult.
• What is even better?
Behaviors of an Effective Leader

Developing oneself and others.

+ Effective leaders not only continue to learn but also encourage
others to do the same.
+ Sometimes, leaders function as teachers. At other times, their role is
primarily to encourage and guide others to seek more knowledge.