Leadership and

Followership
Supervision:
Concepts and Practices
of Management,
13 th Edition

Leonard & Trusty

 Learning Objectives
1. Discuss the leadership component of
supervision.
2. Identify and describe some of the elements of
contemporary leadership thought.
3. Discuss the delegation process and define its
three major components.
4. Discuss why some supervisors do not delegate,
and describe some benefits of delegation.
 Learning Objectives
5. Compare the autocratic (authoritarian)
approach to supervision with the
participative approach.
6. Suggest approaches for introducing change to
employees and for proposing change to
higher-level managers.
Leadership (Learning Objective #1)
Leadership:
• The ability to guide and influence opinions, attitudes,
and behaviour of others toward the achievement of a
goal.
• Leadership is a process rather than a positional
relationship.
 Leadership
• Anyone who can direct or influence others toward
objectives can function as a leader no matter what
position that person holds. <>
So…
• Becoming a supervisor does not automatically make
you a leader! <>
 Leadership
• Members of a work group can assume leadership roles
• Can have a significant influence (positive or negative
• Leadership is a process rather than a position
• The real test of leaderships is how subordinates follow
• Leadership resides in the supervisors ability to get the
group to willingly follow
• The better leaders are great communicators and people
of impeccable credibility <>
 Leadership
• Leadership can be learned
• No significant relationship between ones’ ability to
lead and personal or physical characteristics
• Well rounded
• Good communicators, emotionally mature
• Rely on their conceptual and interpersonal skills
rather than their technical skills
• These are learned characteristics, not innate qualities
<>
 Leadership
• Supervisory leadership is something people can develop when
they want to be leaders and not just people in charge of groups
• Any activity that allows you to work with others towards the
accomplishment of some goal is an opportunity to develop skills.
Seize every opportunity <>
 Leadership
• Leadership as a Dynamic process
• Good communication
• The larger the group, the more effective the leader must be
• Understanding employee expectations is vital
• Act appropriately <>
What People Want From Their Leaders

1. Direction – people want leaders to have a

purpose.
2. Trust – followers want to have faith in their
leader.
3. Hope – leaders believe and foster belief in
followers.
4. Results – leaders accomplish difficult
tasks.
Key Practices and Behaviours

• Challenging the process

• Inspiring a shared vision
• Enabling others to act
• Modelling the way
• Encouraging the heart <>

(Source: Kouzes and Posner)

 Servant Leadership
• Old style Boss
• “You serve me!”
• Servant Leader
• “I serve you!”
• Servant Leadership
• The servant leader is a servant first … It begins with the
natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first….”
 The Essence of Servant Leadership:
These keys can unlock employees’ potential
Foresight
Conceptualize
Commitment to growth
of people
Awareness
Persuasion
Listening
Empathy
Healing
Stewardship
Building Community
 Leadership Style
• Most supervisors recognize that no single leadership
style is effective in all situations
• No one formula will apply in all situations and with all
people
• Contingency Style Leadership
• No single leadership style is best, the appropriate
style depends on a number of factors 
 Leadership Style
Factors affecting leadership style:

The skill of the particular supervisor

The organization
The specific type of work
The employees’ ability and willingness to complete a
task
The situation at hand and its degree of urgency <>
Leadership Style

The effective leader provides:

• Direction
• Instruction
• Guidance
• Support and encouragement
• Feedback and positive recognition
• Enthusiastic help <>
 Trust (Learning Objective #2)
• The belief that someone or something is reliable, good,
honest, and effective.
• Lack of trust is a growing concern in the workplace.
• Stephen R. Covey on trust:
…… With low trust, developing performance is exhausting. With
high trust, it is exhilarating….. <>
 Trust
A number of specific behaviors can erode trust
• A supervisor’s lack of confidence, and courage to stand up
for employees
• Operating with hidden agendas
• Unwillingness to apologize
• Bad communication
• Being self-centered
• Taking credit for other peoples’ ideas
• Inappropriate choices, inconsistent behavior
• Resistance to getting their hands dirty
• All these can lower employees’ trust <>
 Ethics (Learning Objective #3)
• Ethics:
• The system of moral principles that guide the conduct of an
individual, group, or society.
• Ethical values comprise character.
• Ethical values inform leadership and influence followers.
• Being ethical requires walking the talk.
• Leaders - know thyself and thy ethical values. <>
 Everyday Ethics
The Community and Leadership Development Center at Indiana
University suggests three things ANYONE can do to demonstrate
ethical leadership:

1.Be people-oriented: Your actions impact others. Act ethically and

your followers will see you as trustworthy.
2.Choose your values: Hold on to your values, you will be less likely
to stray from them or influence others negatively.
3.Motivate others to serve the greater good: Help others in
understanding the group’s needs before individuals.
Delegation (Learning Objective #4)
• The delegation of authority is
essential to the creation and
operation of an organization.
• Delegation empowers employees.
• The process of entrusting duties
and related authority to
subordinates
• Supervisor still accountable <>
Delegation : Accountability
• It does not mean the higher level manager surrenders
all accountability
• Accountability is:
• The obligation one has to ones’ boss and the expectation
that employees will accept credit or blame for the results
• Supervisor still accountable <>
 Delegation
• A supervisor’s strategy for accomplishing objectives
• Delegation consists of 3 components:
• Assigning duties to immediate subordinates
• Granting authority to make commitments, use resources,
and take all actions necessary to perform duties
• Creating an obligation on the part of each employee to
perform duties satisfactorily
• All 3 components must be present or the delegation process
is incomplete <>
 Delegation
• Assigning duties
• Each employee must be assigned a specific task to
perform
• Granting of Authority
• The supervisor confers upon employees the right and
power to act and make decisions. (This may also include
defining limitations)
• Creating Responsibility
• Employee must accept responsibility for what has been
delegated to them <>
 Supervisory Accountability Cannot Be
Delegated
• The supervisor’s own accountability cannot be delegated
• The supervisor remains accountable
• This may worry some supervisors, but it goes with the
position
• A higher level manager should take into consideration how
much care the supervisor has put into developing their
employees
• Many employees complain that their supervisors make all
the decisions and scrutinize their work
• A supervisor may be reluctant to delegate 
 Learning Objectives
1. Discuss the leadership component of
supervision.
2. Identify and describe some of the elements of
contemporary leadership thought.
3. Discuss the delegation process and define its
three major components.
4. Discuss why some supervisors do not delegate,
and describe some benefits of delegation.
 Learning Objectives
5. Compare the autocratic (authoritarian)
approach to supervision with the
participative approach.
6. Suggest approaches for introducing change to
employees and for proposing change to
higher-level managers.
 Excuses for Failure to Delegate
(Learning Objective #5)

• Shortage of qualified employees

• Fear of making mistakes
• “I’d-rather-do-it-myself” mentality
• If it has to be done right – I have to do it
• Fear of being replaced
• They won’t do it - Not everyone wants to take on the
responsibility <>
 Benefits of Delegation
• The supervisor who delegates expects
employees to make more decisions on their
own
• More time to manage
• Employees -given the
opportunity to learn new skills
• Employee motivation
• Must achieve balance between too much and
too little delegation<>
 Approaches to Supervisory Leadership
(Learning Objective #6)

• Which leadership styles are most consistently associated with

superior levels of performance?
• Rather than debate, general idea is that leadership can be
classified into 2 approaches
• Autocratic (Authoritarian) – Theory X
- Bureaucratic Style of Supervision
• General Supervision and Participative Management
- Theory Y
• Extremes in a continuum 
Autocratic Leadership Style
• Many supervisors still believe that the autocratic
style is the best way to achieve results
• Often uses pressure to get what they want, or
threaten disciplinary action
• Taskmasters
• Close control, supervisor issues directives and
allows little room for initiative
• Delegate very little authority
<>
Bureaucratic Style of Supervision
• Autocratic style sometimes associated with the
bureaucratic style of supervision
• Strict compliance with policies, rules, and directives
• Usually adopt an authoritarian approach
• “It’s policy!!”
• Autocratic managers work from the perception that
most employees do not want to do their jobs
• These supervisors feel they must watch their employees
closely <>
 Autocratic Leadership Style
When is Autocratic style appropriate?
• Major advantages of autocratic style is that it is quick and
easy to apply, and gets rapid results in the short term
• It may be appropriate when an employee is new and
inexperienced
• When the supervisor is under time pressure
• Autocratic is not conducive to developing employee
talents
• Employees may become frustrated rather than find
satisfaction in their work<>
 General and Participative Management

• Effective leaders who want to guide employees to higher

levels realize they cannot rely solely on their authority
• General —supervisor sets goals and limits but allows
employees to decide how to achieve goals
• Closely linked to participative management
• Directive – a communication which conveys to
employees what, how, and why something is to be
accomplished
• Both “general” and “participative management” are
grounded in Theory Y assumptions <>
 Empowerment
• A participatory style does not lessen a supervisors
authority
• Sharing ideas, opinions, and information between the
supervisor and the employee
• Empowerment – where employees are given more
responsibility to make decisions
• Empowerment is linked to the same philosophy as
participative management<>
 Advantages of Participative
Management
• Employee feels shared ownership
• The workplace can become more enjoyable
with less tension and conflict
• More time to plan, organize, and control
• Time to assume additional responsibility
• Employee confidence
• Better decisions <>
 Advantages of Participative Management

• Chance for employees to develop talents and

abilities
• Opportunity to learn from mistakes
• Pride in decisions
• Chance to advance to higher positions <>
Stretch Targets
• For General Supervision to work, employees should
know which results are expected
• The supervisor should set realistic standards of
performance
• Set high enough to present a challenge but not so
high they cannot be achieved
• Referred to as Stretch Targets
 Participative Management
• Must be viewed as a way of life
• Don’t expect sudden results
• It may take considerable time to see results
• Valid way to assess results is to observe what
happens when the supervisor is away <>
Followership (Learning Objective #7)
• Consider the role of followers
• Followership:
• The capacity or willingness to follow a leader.
• The supervisor leads and the subordinates follow,
but not all people follow in the same way 
Followership Styles
Followership
• Qualities of effective followers:
• Self-managing.
• Committed to the goals, vision, or cause of the
organization.
• Competent in their roles.
• Ethical and demonstrate courage, honesty, discretion,
and credibility
• Learning to be a good follower is excellent preparation
for becoming a good leader <>
 Key Terms
Accountability Leadership
Autocratic (authoritarian) supervision Participative management
Bureaucratic style of supervision Responsibility
Contingency-style leadership Servant-leadership
Delegation Stretch targets
Directive Theory X
Ethics Theory Y
Followership Trust
General supervision