Influencing Competence
SSG Joel D. Gideon IV
Army Logistics University
SLC 92Y 17-004
Abstract
Part of being a good leader is being able to influence competence in your followers and/or subordinates. The goal of this paper is to show you how a leader is able to influence competence in others. In order to so you must first know how to influence others. Secondly, you must build real trusting relationships. Third, know how and when to be a follower. Lastly, you must have competence and confidence in yourself as a leader before you can influence other to have it. By having these four attributes you can instill competence and confidence in others.
There is more than one way for a leader to influence competence in their …show more content…
Social scientist in leadership studies, Robert E. Kelley stated, “Without followers, leadership is meaningless and leaders don’t exist” (Kelley, 1991). Up until recently, the study of leadership has been primarily focused on the characteristics of the leader themselves; however, more recently researchers have begun to recognize the concept of followership as a crucial element that can determine the effectiveness of leadership. Leaders must maintain a positive environment as the organizational climate affects the behavior of a follower. The best way to achieve this is gaining an understanding of the follower’s perspective. In 1998, Kelley created the model of effective followership which focuses on the follower’s perception of themselves as opposed to the leader’s …show more content…
According to Kelley, there are five types of followers that fall within these two aspects which are: sheep, alienated, yes-person, survivor, and effective follower. Sheep are individuals who are passive and do not appear to have high critical thinking skills. Sheep lack initiative and depend on the leader to motivate them. Unlike sheep, the alienated follower does demonstrate a high level of critical thinking; however, they do not express their ideas as they feel they are not valued. The yes-person is a follower who basically does everything the leader suggest, they do not offer any perspective or question the leader. The yes-person allows the leader to do all of the thinking. This next style of follower, known as the survivor, does possess a high level of critical thinking but they elect not to actively participate in the positive direction of the organization. This behavior could be caused by a number of factors including organizational climate. Then there is the effective follower which is the ideal individual who is a critical thinker and takes initiative to solve problems as well as actively participate in the implementation of the solution. Understanding these follower styles can not only give a leader insight on follower behavior, it can also give them insight
SSG Joel D. Gideon IV
Army Logistics University
SLC 92Y 17-004
Abstract
Part of being a good leader is being able to influence competence in your followers and/or subordinates. The goal of this paper is to show you how a leader is able to influence competence in others. In order to so you must first know how to influence others. Secondly, you must build real trusting relationships. Third, know how and when to be a follower. Lastly, you must have competence and confidence in yourself as a leader before you can influence other to have it. By having these four attributes you can instill competence and confidence in others.
There is more than one way for a leader to influence competence in their …show more content…
Social scientist in leadership studies, Robert E. Kelley stated, “Without followers, leadership is meaningless and leaders don’t exist” (Kelley, 1991). Up until recently, the study of leadership has been primarily focused on the characteristics of the leader themselves; however, more recently researchers have begun to recognize the concept of followership as a crucial element that can determine the effectiveness of leadership. Leaders must maintain a positive environment as the organizational climate affects the behavior of a follower. The best way to achieve this is gaining an understanding of the follower’s perspective. In 1998, Kelley created the model of effective followership which focuses on the follower’s perception of themselves as opposed to the leader’s …show more content…
According to Kelley, there are five types of followers that fall within these two aspects which are: sheep, alienated, yes-person, survivor, and effective follower. Sheep are individuals who are passive and do not appear to have high critical thinking skills. Sheep lack initiative and depend on the leader to motivate them. Unlike sheep, the alienated follower does demonstrate a high level of critical thinking; however, they do not express their ideas as they feel they are not valued. The yes-person is a follower who basically does everything the leader suggest, they do not offer any perspective or question the leader. The yes-person allows the leader to do all of the thinking. This next style of follower, known as the survivor, does possess a high level of critical thinking but they elect not to actively participate in the positive direction of the organization. This behavior could be caused by a number of factors including organizational climate. Then there is the effective follower which is the ideal individual who is a critical thinker and takes initiative to solve problems as well as actively participate in the implementation of the solution. Understanding these follower styles can not only give a leader insight on follower behavior, it can also give them insight