CHAPTER

12
LEADERSHIP AND
FOLLOWERSHIP
 LEARNING OUTCOMES
• Debate the importance of leadership in South African
organisations,.
• Compare and contrast leadership and management.
• Provide an overview of traditional perspectives of leadership and
their application in the workplace.
• Explain the influence of leader-member exchange on
effectiveness.
• Give an overview of the motives and behaviours of a servant-
leader.
• Discuss the influence of transformational leadership behaviours
on followers.
 Learning outcomes continued

• Explain value-based leadership

• Present a model for the development of ethical leadership
• Give an overview of the main components and behaviours of
authentic leaders
• Argue the role of women leaders in South Africa
• .Debate the suitability of the various leadership perspectives and
theories of the South African situation.
• Discuss the development of a leadership model that reflects an
African perspective.
• Describe the characteristics and behaviours of effective
followers.
• Present a leadership development strategy for developing South
African leaders.
 SIGNIFICANT CONCEPTS

• Authentic
• Contingency
• Hubris
• Initiating structure
• Impoverished leader
• Servant-leader
• Transformation
• Value-based leader
 INTRODUCTION

• Characterised by radical change, immense volatility and

international dynamics.
• Leadership is a key factor in organisational success.
• Leadership is not the prerogative of only a few people
• Followership is also important to leadership success.
 WHAT IS LEADERSHIP?
• A social process of influencing people to work enthusiastically
and voluntarily towards a purposeful group or organisational
goal.
• Organisations are trying to establish a broader leadership culture
by introducing team-based structures, developing leadership
competency and empowering employees.
• Leaders should be able to manage, and managers should be able
to lead.
• Chapter focus:
– Traditional leadership approaches
– Contemporary leadership
– Leader training and development
 What is leadership? continued

Table 12.1 Leadership and management

 What is leadership? continued

Effective leaders:
• create a clear path for how the organisation will move from its
current position to the desired destination
• identify what steps are needed to reach the incremental
objectives that lead to the desired destination
• mobilise all the organisation’s resources (people, processes,
products, services, partnerships, and customer relationships)
toward goal attainment.
• continuously navigate and manoeuvre these resources to
achieve the ultimate goal.
 TRADITIONAL PERSPECTIVES OF
LEADERSHIP

• Leadership perspectives have evolved over the years and a

number of theories or models have been developed within them.
• Traditional leadership perspectives focus on personal and
behavioural characteristics, leadership behaviours and
leadership as a product of the situation.
 Traditional perspectives of leadership continued

Table 12.2 Traditional leadership perspectives

 Traditional perspectives of leadership continued

Leadership characteristics Trait theory

• Assumes leaders are born
• Characteristics:
– Intelligence; knowledge; confidence
– Good interpersonal skills: emotional, social and cultural
intelligence
• Competencies:
• Personal competencies (self-confidence)
• Social competencies (influence)
• Cognitive competencies (conceptual thinking)
 Traditional perspectives of leadership continued

The behavioural leadership perspective

• Two dimensions:
– Consideration
– Initiation structure
• Blake and Mouton’s leadership grid
• Concern for task (production)
• Concern for relationship (people)
• The five leadership styles in the leadership grid:
– Impoverished leader
– Task manager
– Country-club leader
– Middle-of-the-road-leader
– Team leader
 Traditional perspectives of leadership continued

The behavioural leadership perspective continued

Figure 12.1 Blake and Mouton’s leadership grid

Source: Adapted from Blake & Mouton, 1978.

 Traditional perspectives of leadership continued

The contingency leadership perspective

• There is not one ‘best’ leadership style
• Contingency means “it depends” (on the situation)
• Contingency leadership theories
– Fiedler’s contingency leadership model
– The path-goal leadership theory
 Traditional perspectives of leadership continued

The contingency leadership perspective continued

Fiedler’s contingency leadership model

• Everyone has a preferred leadership style, which is linked to
one’s personality
• Situation-orientated or task-orientated
• Three dimensions of situational control:
– Leader-member relations
– Task-structure
– Position-power
 Traditional perspectives of leadership continued

The contingency leadership perspective continued

The path-goal leadership theory

• The leader affects the performance of the followers by clarifying
behaviours (paths) that will lead to desired rewards (goals).
• Situational factors:
– Follower characteristics (task ability, self-efficacy and
experience)
– Environmental factors (task complexity)
 Traditional perspectives of leadership continued

The contingency leadership perspective continued

The path-goal leadership theory continued

Figure 12.2 The path-goal theory

 CONTEMPORARY LEADERSHIP
PERSPECTIVES

• The leader-member exchange (LMX) model of leadership

• Servant leadership
• Transformational leadership
• Value-based leadership
• Ethical leadership
• Authentic leadership
 Contemporary leadership perspectives continued

Leader –member exchange (LMX) model

• Focus on the relationship the leader has with followers
• In- and out-groups
• Self-fulfilling prophecy
• Implications for a diverse workgroup
• When leaders build unique yet positive relationships with each
employee, they should expect exceptional results
 Contemporary leadership perspectives continued

Servant leaders
• Less self-interest
• Unleash potential in others
• Associated behaviours: interpersonal support, community
building, and moral integrity
• Associated impact: citizenship, team potency, commitment to
the supervisor, self-efficacy and perceptions of justice
• Team potency: belief that the team has above average skills and
abilities
 Contemporary leadership perspectives continued

Transformational leadership
• Demonstrates the crucial role that dynamic leaders play in
creating an adaptive organisation
• Visionary leadership/charismatic leadership
• Differs from transactional leadership, the leader offers contingent
rewards for gaol attainment and uses punishment for failing to
achieve goals
• Transformational leadership behaviour
– creates a shared vision
– creates momentum in the organisation
– has an effect on followers
– portrays charisma
– inspirational motivation
– individualised consideration and intellectual stimulation
 Contemporary leadership perspectives continued

Value-based leadership
• Value-based leaders live and work guided by core values that
create trust, inspire, and unleash potential
• Examples of values: compassion, integrity, equality and
empowerment
• Not about the personality traits of leaders, but the underlying
values and attitudes, which drive action.
• Leaders serves as a role model for his or her followers and
encourages similar values in them.
• Value-based leaders also embed values in organisational
processes, models, tools and programmes.
 Contemporary leadership perspectives continued

Ethical leadership
• Implies that the leader makes choices about which values are
most appropriate.
• Ethics speak to what is right and wrong.
• Two pillars:
– moral person
– moral manager
 Contemporary leadership perspectives continued

Ethical leadership continued

• Four conduits or channels through which ethical leadership and

decision making are expressed:
– Mindfulness
– Engagement
– Authenticity
– Sustainment

Leaders need to practise ethics by being mindful through engaging

with others, embracing diversity and reflecting on the meaning of
their lives
 Contemporary leadership perspectives continued

Ethical leadership continued

Figure 12.3 Marsh’s model for ethical leadership development

 Contemporary leadership perspectives continued

Authentic leadership continued

Authentic leadership
• The perception that the leader is genuine, sincere, honest, and
has integrity
• Leader is true to self and not emulating others
• Lack of hubris
• Authentic leaders are deeply aware of their emotions, strengths
and weaknesses, process information objectively and behaviours
are aligned with personal values
• Four dimensions of authentic leadership: a theoretical view
(Kernis and Goldman, 2005)
• Behavioural aspects of authentic leadership: a practitioners view
(Bill George)
• When they praise or empathise with followers, they express
genuine appreciation or concern.
• Positive influence on employee behaviour
 WOMEN LEADERSHIP IN SA
• Women generally stereotyped and taken less seriously in
organisations
• Research on women leaders focuses mostly on challenges
experienced
• Women leaders need to challenge masculinity and coloniality in
organisations
• Barriers experienced by women in terms of taking up senior
leadership positions”
– Conscious and unconscious biases
– lack of mentality to pursue these positions
– lack of role models
– lack of policies to assist women in balancing work life
– work-life integration challenges
 Women leadership in SA continued

• Differences found between male and female leadership

behaviour:
– Women are more relationship-orientated, while men are more
task-orientated.
– Women are unassertive and men are dominant.
– Women are more adaptable and flexible than men.
– Women have lower self-efficacy than men.
– Women use a more democratic and participative style, while
men use a more autocratic and directive leadership style.
• To understand women leadership, the political, economic,
cultural and social context of a country needs to be understood.
 AUTHENTIC AFRICAN LEADERSHIP

• Perceived against historical, social, political and economic

contexts of Africa
• Should be aimed at protecting economies, environment and
natural resources, and well-being of people in Africa
 Authentic African leadership continued

Figure 12.4 Challenges for authentic African leadership

 Authentic African leadership continued

• Ubuntu as a core value:

– Respect for the dignity of others
– Group solidarity
– Teamwork
– Service to others in a spirit of harmony
– Interdependence
• Inspire a shared vision for the community Create disciples, not
followers, through trust, integrity and reliability.
• Communicate through stories and dialogue – sharing wisdom.
 Authentic African leadership continued

• Build relationships in an informal and inclusive manner.

• Share responsibility and accountability.
• Lead by example by verbalising and modelling values.
• Foster collaboration and trust through teamwork.

Encourage the heart by creating a culture of celebration.

(Ngambi, 2004)
 Authentic African leadership continued

• An African leadership naming system:

– Isiqoko. Global master, positioned on the tallest peak of the
mountain, able to see the furthest.
– Igquma. Strategic leader, close to the tallest peak of the
mountain, with a longer timeframe and a good view.
– Enhla. Middle management, just above the foothills, with a
longer timeframe, more depth and span control.
– Esihosheni. Supervisor, with the workers, in the foothills of the
mountain, more concerned with everyday operations.
 FOLLOWERSHIP
• Leaders need followers to achieve success
• Followers are leaders in the making
• Misconception that leadership is more important than fellowship
and performance is merely the result of effective leadership
• Traditional power distance between leaders and followers has
eroded due to expanding social networks and easier access to
information
• Self-leadership implies that a person is able to apply self-
management and self-discipline in order to become effective
• Followers practise self-management and self-responsibility
• Dynamic followers are responsible stewards
 LEADERSHIP TRAINING AND
DEVELOPMENT
• To meet challenges, organisations have to give careful thought to
how they train and develop leaders.
• Leadership development cannot take place haphazardly but must
form part of an integrated strategy that is well planned,
designed, executed and measured for success.
• Best practices in leadership development:
– Leadership development strategies focus on the current and
future needs of followers and organisations.
– Leadership competencies are clearly defined.
– Future leaders are identified and earmarked for development.
– Multiple and flexible learning interventions are used.
– A return on investment (ROI) is achieved.
– Leadership capability is created in the organisation.
 Leadership training and development continued

Leadership Maturity Model

• Importance of building leadership capacity and capability
• Presents a hierarchical model of leadership development
• Lower-level practices and principles must be mastered to move
up the hierarchy.
 CONCLUSION

• Leaders should examine their behaviour from different

perspectives.
• Today value-centred, ethical and authentic leadership is
emphasised.
• Women leadership is still under-researched and under-
appreciated.
• African leadership principles provide value insight into leading
people.
• Followers are also leaders and should practise self-leadership.