Reflection
"The vicious
circle for leaders"(Obolensky, 2010, Figure 9.5; p.152) show below illustrates
two different types of behaviors responses within an organization, (1) how a
leader’s behavior dictates the degree of followership maturity (maturity is
determined by the followers degree of skill and will) and (2) how a follower’s
behavior dictates type of leadership response. In addition, the vicious circle provides
an example of the different actions / reactions between a manager and a
follower as a manager leads a follower through the 5 levels of followership.
Figure 9.5 – In this example, the follows skill/will is very low; the follower does not know how to do his or her job without being told what to do.
Does this happen in your organization?
Yes, the concept of the
vicious circle does exist within my organization! There have been times when my
direct supervisor has had to stop everything he is doing just to explain a
process or procedure to myself or one of my team members. It is not to say the
any of my team members, including myself are incapable of or lack the skill/will
to perform our jobs but, sometimes we disagree or have trouble interpreting some
of the federal regulations. Because each student’s situation is different and
the federal regulations are not very specific, it can be very difficult to understand
the meaning of the regulation and how to apply it to the situation at hand. However,
I can recall a few instances when my supervisor refused to tell us the direct answer,
and decided to challenge the team by asking each of us to review the
regulations and report our findings. What we found that we call came up with
the same answer. So we learned that instead of seeking approval or waiting to
be told what to do, we can work together as a team to come up with an answer. In
doing so, I think we have become more efficient.
What are the effects on the organization?
By teaching followers
to lead instead of follow, the organization will be able to move towards self-organization
allowing polyarchy to thrive, and remove the stress and strains of traditional oligarchy
assumptions.
Create a new circle that represents strong
followership.
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