The majority of my organization’s strategy cascades downward considering it is a large governmental agency consisting of a rigid top-down hierarchy. However, it is not uncommon for employee feedback to flow upward, which in turn plays a part in strategy development at the highest levels of the organization. This flow of upward and downward information is similar to how upward and downward leadership occurs within my organization. It is not a “vicious circle for leaders” as displayed in the diagram below, yet a healthy circle of balanced relationships doing their part equally.
Some employees are officially designated leaders, whereas others in followership roles step up to take the lead when the situation necessitates. This upward leadership can be viewed as the “process of consciously working with your superior to obtain the best possible results for you, your boss, and the company” (Gabarro & Kotter, 2005, p. 92). This also demonstrates a strong level of upward and downward leadership working together in my organization. I have yet to witness employees, whether manager/subordinate or leader/follower, display the “typical vicious circle for leaders” behavior. Quite the opposite. Although followers may ask for advice, leaders are not immediately concerned, but more than willing to provide assistance and guidance. Our leaders would rather provide employees advice and take a step back as opposed to taking a more hands-on approach. This not only improves followership knowledge and confidence but also instills trust that they can come to leaders for advice when necessary. However, I understand a leader becoming concerned if a follower is continually seeking guidance and approval. In this case, I believe the “typical vicious circle for leaders” will occur until the followership behavior is addressed. For me, personally, I have never witnessed it in my organization.
The best way to create a new circle which promotes strong followership and leadership is to change the response at the beginning of the circle. This starts when a follower asks for advice. I am not referring to someone asking for the same repeated advice over and over. I am talking more to followers having the confidence to confide in their leaders and fellow peers. For example, a leader and even other followers should not be concerned when a follower asks for advice as the “vicious circle” suggests. Yet, they should be responsive in helping the follower increase confidence in their abilities by assisting them. Sometimes a leader does not know the right advice to give and sometimes peers may be seeking the same advice but are too embarrassed or afraid to ask. This is when other followers need to step up and demonstrate upward leadership. Obolensky (2014) discusses followership ‘maturity’ or the capability of one taking the lead to get the job done without input from a leader. This upward leadership capability is usually dependent upon the state of the individual’s skill/will. According to the skill/will matrix, a follower will be in one of the following states at any point in time.
It is important to note that the matrix does not represent types of people, but various states they may find themselves in depending on the situation. Therefore, we should not fault individuals for being brave enough to want to improve by asking for advice. Personally, especially when learning a new role or task, I ask a lot of questions. I used to be afraid to ask questions because I cared what others thought about me. However, once I overcame that unnecessary fear, I quickly learned asking questions lead to improved knowledge and resources. Asking questions actually increased my confidence, skills, and gave me the tools to find answers myself if needed. Where I once found myself asking many questions, I now found myself being asked questions. I never associated asking for advice as someone lacking skills, but a willingness to improve skills. If a leader wants to fault a subordinate/follower for seeking advice, I see this as more of a leadership deficiency, not a follower flaw. The newly proposed circle is not limited to specific departments and should be exercised throughout the entire organization to strengthen followership and upward leadership.
References:
Gabarro, J. J., & Kotter, J. P. (2005). Managing Your Boss. Harvard Business Review, 83(1), 92-99.
Obolensky, N. (2014). Complex adaptive leadership: embracing paradox and uncertainty (2nd ed.). Farnham, Surrey, UK: Gower.
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