Leader Characteristics, Follower Characteristics, and Situational Factors

 

Introduction

An effective leader has to understand the interactions between leader characteristics, follower characteristics, and situational factors. Some of the well-known leader characteristics include effective communication, accountability, humility, vision, positivity, and confidence. Others are decisiveness, delegation, empathy, integrity, influence, and commitment. A leader may be called upon to apply some of the characteristics more than others, depending on follower characteristics and situations. For instance, an organization with demotivated employees requires a leader to show empathy and positivity rather than delegation and accountability. Hence, leadership is influenced by leader qualities, follower characteristics, and situational factors.

Leader, Follower, and Situational Characteristics

The form of leadership that considers follower characteristics and environmental factors is known as situational leadership. Its models were created by Kenneth Blanchard and Paul Hersey in their theory of situation leadership (Meier, 2016). The theory does not consider any style of leadership to be better than the other. Instead, this model suggests that leaders should be adaptive and flexible. Hence, leaders should adjust their style according to the competence and commitment of their subordinates (Northouse, 2019). A similar view was maintained by Goleman, Boyatzis, and McKee (2013), who identified six distinct leadership styles. These include: Authoritative, Coaching, affiliative, democratic, pacesetting, and coercive. These styles should be used interchangeably according to follower qualities and environmental factors.

The relationship between leader qualities, follower characteristics, and situational factors can be explained using the above scholarly works. In Blanchard and Hersey’s theory, a leader is confronted by four different situations, each having different follower characteristics. Telling is one of the situations. This is where followers are incompetent but show commitment and enthusiasm (Northouse, 2019). This kind of situation calls for a leader to be visionary, commanding, motivating, and self-confident. These are also characteristics of authoritative leadership. The second situation is where the followers have some level of competence but show unwillingness and demotivation. This is referred to as a selling situation and calls for a coaching type of leadership. In this scenario, the leader should possess qualities such as team-building, empathy, motivating, positivity, and listening skills.  The third situation is referred to as participating or supporting. In this case, followers have high competence but lack self-confidence. This situation calls for a democratic leader with characteristics such as participative, effective communication, and innovation (Goleman et al., 2013). Finally, there is the situation where followers are highly competent and willing to perform their tasks. This calls for a delegating type of leadership.

Additionally, other situations may call for extreme leadership styles. For instance, a leader may be confronted with a situation where high-quality results are required quickly. If the followers are highly motivated and competent, the leader may employ a pacesetter type of leadership. Such a leader leads by example and lacks patience (Goleman et al. 2013). Every follower is held to high standards and great accountability. Such a leader may also work extra-hours to encourage followers to do the same. Another strict leadership style is coercive leadership.  This is applied in a crisis where, for instance, a firm needs a complete turnaround in performance (Landa & Tyson 2017). It calls for both the leader and the followers to perform well under high pressure.

Challenges

The interaction between leadership, followership, and situations is not without challenges. One of these is the difficulty in attaining flexibility. An effective leader is expected to adapt to different situations. However, this can prove to be challenging especially in cases where a given type of leadership goes against personality. For instance, it may be difficult for an empathic leader to adapt to a coercive type of leadership. Such a leader is better suited for affiliative leadership. A democratic leader may find it challenging to transition into authoritative leadership. The former requires participation and accommodation of different views while the latter calls for assertiveness.

Another challenge is the confusion that may arise among the followers.  If followers are used to their leader being democratic, they may not understand why they suddenly turn authoritative or coercive. A different scenario might see a leader with a lot of charisma change from an affiliative to a pacesetter type of leadership. In such a case, the employee will not enjoy the empathic and rewarding atmosphere they were accustomed to. Instead, the leader portrays an impatient demeanor that may throw followers into confusion.

Solutions

These challenges may, however, be solved. The issue of flexibility of the leader requires one to gradually learn. This is a skill-set that cannot be acquired in the short term. Leaders who desire to be flexible should embrace different situations even though they may not be in their comfort zone. A growth mindset is important as well as an eagerness to learn (Pant & Sinha, 2016). There may also be a solution to the challenge of confused followers. Similar to the leader, flexibility should be cultivated in them. Also, effective communication needs to be facilitated to help followers understand why there is a need for a change. For instance, workers in a non-performing organization should be informed of the need for a coercive type of leadership.

Conclusion

There is an interaction between leadership characteristics, follower characteristics, and situational factors. This relationship must be put into consideration if one is to become an effective leader. This calls for great flexibility which might throw an organization into confusion. However, with effective communication and a growth mindset, these challenges may be overcome.

References

Goleman, D., Boyatzis, R. E., & McKee, A. (2013). Primal leadership: Unleashing the power of emotional intelligence. Harvard Business Press.

Landa, D., & Tyson, S. A. (2017). Coercive leadership. American Journal of Political Science, 61(3), 559-574.

Meier, D. (2016). Situational Leadership Theory as a Foundation for a Blended Learning Framework. Journal of Education and Practice, 7(10), 25-30.

Northouse, P. G. (2019). Leadership: Theory and practice. Sage publications.

Pant, G., & Sinha, S. (2016). Developing flexible leaders flexibly. Springer, 85-102.