The Influence of Followership

Leaders must start to understand the various characteristics of their followers to activate their followership. This process can help them develop outstanding team members who can execute their goals and strategies. The concept of a working relationship is the main component of the foundation of leader-member exchange. Leaders create unity through their collective identity and interests.

Through role modelling and group socialization, leaders can augment their follower identification and increase their sense of ownership. This article is linked to the followership process. It involves analyzing the composition of teams made up of leaders and followers. Being able to self-promote and act like a leader is imperative to team success. Aside from exerting pressure on the leaders, followers also play a vital role in the organization's overall performance. Researches conducted in the past years advise that leaders start looking at their followers for improvement. The lack of understanding about the follower's behaviour could harm the organization's performance. The relationship between a leader and the follower is essential to both parties. Leaders must first ask themselves the question,?"Whom am I leading?"?It will help them establish their ultimate correlation. The characteristics of followers and the intensity of their follow-up need to be recognized to improve their effectiveness

?Unity is achieved when leaders make more references to the collective interest and history of the followers. This step can help enhance the follower's sense of ownership. The dynamics of teams are known to be the main factor that influences an organization's success. The composition of teams and their social conformity have also been identified as key factors. A good mental model can help teams develop a common approach to working together, which can result in faster and smoother execution of tasks. Having a good mental model is also linked to the team's behaviour.

Understanding the characteristics of your followers can help leaders identify and influence them. This idea has been around since the 1980s. The relationship between a leader and the followers is termed the dyadic relationship. This concept supports the idea that the follower-leader relationship is the fundamental element of effective leadership. The ideal of in-group dynamics states that members of in-group groups have higher levels of responsibility and are more likely to make better decisions. The follower-leader relationship is considered a dynamic state where the follower responds in varying ways to the roles and responsibilities of the leader. It makes the follower feel like a part of the in-group.

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LMX Theory states that in-group members tend to perform higher levels of citizenship than their peers. In return, the leader can grant them more recognition. Likewise, out-group members are usually bound to what's asked of them. This theory focuses on the importance of the dyadic relationship to leadership development. The relationship between a leader and the followers is significant to the success of transformational leadership. It involves guiding and transforming individuals through the application of values and ethics.

?Transformational leaders treat their followers as an end and not just a means to achieve goals. They would improve their followers' expectations and deliver the best possible results. Transformational leaders can identify and motivate their followers by studying them according to their characteristics. It helps them to develop their leaders. The concept of transactional leadership is compared to transformational leadership. Rather than focusing on goals and objectives, transactional leadership usually involves an exchange between the leader and the followers. The concept of a transaction is that a leader sells something to followers in exchange for something that the followers gave to them.

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Transformational leadership is an influential approach that draws on the collective vision of both the leaders and their followers. According to Bass (1985), transformational leadership can be seen as a positive aspect of leadership. Based on the personality characteristics of the followers, Kelley developed a typology that explains the various follower styles. The structure of his study revealed five key factors that influence a leader's follower behaviour. Kelley's Model of Followership. Kelley (1992) posited that there are five followership styles. These include exemplary, conformist, passive, alienated and pragmatist styles (Kelley, 1992).

“One particular characteristic that sets followers apart from their peers is their collective mind. They can create their group and guide their leaders in making decisions".

?According to Kelley, the best of all is the exemplary follower who can communicate effectively with others and is the knowledge champion of an organization. There is the type of follower that we want to avoid. This type of follower is not easy to follow, and they usually think for themselves. This type of follower tends to follow the leader's instructions and do what is asked of them. They are not very intelligent and lack the courage to provide challenges. Unlike those who look at followers' attribution, followers' inclinations toward supporting their leaders can be compared to their characteristics.

Some followers are very effective and can put leaders in a frightening state. Chaleff's followers' dimension can be categorized into three categories:?individuals, implementers, and partners.?On the other hand, he has two main types of followers: the implementers and the resource. The former tend to follow orders without hesitation, while the latter is very obedient. When it comes to identifying their leaders, they must be recognizable as icons in their group. Leaders who have this trait can influence their followers' actions and feelings. Leaders must also prove their charisma and self-worth to create a social identity that will allow their followers to identify with them. And serve as a motivation to act on behalf of their group.

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The article aims to identify the characteristics of the followers by analyzing their characteristics from the data collected from various research journals. It then breaks down the follower's typologies into three categories: high personality, low personality, and efficient. Most of the time, leaders want their followers to be efficient. Depending on the type of follower, training and nurturing them can be either a part of their life or avoided. For instance, followers of the sheep/yes people category are likely to accept orders. The performance and overall success of an organization are affected by the number of followers. Most of the time, the lower-ranking members of an organization are the ones who are most likely to contribute.

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The following typologies were presented in a linear framework based on the characteristics of each follower. - Alienated followers are those who are self-centred and difficult to work with. Non-productive followers tend to contribute less to a task. On the other hand, productive followers are expected to provide feedback and suggestions. The most efficient followers are those who follow orders and are known for being active and high-performers. They tend to provide helpful inputs and suggestions whenever needed. The type of followers most likely to contribute to a task's success are those with the inclination of support from their leaders. Mature followers are those that are capable of providing quality feedback and suggestions.

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Downwardly, resource followers are usually obedient and lack the courage to challenge their leaders. Most of them also follow instructions without much input. Individualists can be prone to making their own decisions and actions. This type of follower tends to move in a positive linear direction. The characteristics of followers are related to their inclination and attribution. High-degree of attribution followers has a high inclination toward leaders. A leader's actions and behaviour can affect the way followers act. It is also critical for leaders to act as prominent personalities to attract their followers. Leaders are also known to show their charisma and self-worth to attract and retain their followers. This process leads to higher efforts on their behalf. The model discussed here could be used to explain the motivations of followers and how they support their leaders.

Modern management has encouraged leaders to use people who can suit the needs of their followers. The failure of most countries to improve their followership has been attributed to the effects of the global economic crisis. Therefore, organizations and countries must institutionalize strong foundations to boost economic growth.

The best followers make the best leaders because?they view the people they lead as equals–people with the same minds, thoughts, ideas, and talents. They value the contributions of each employee and their importance to achieving the end goals.

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