Leadership and Followership: Reflecting on Personal Experiences

This essay provides a personal reflection on the student's experience as a team leader in an organization. The student discusses their role in managing a team of five members responsible for product launches, highlighting their responsibilities to both superiors and subordinates. The essay emphasizes the importance of open communication, maintaining positive relationships, and adapting to changing technologies and organizational culture. The student explores their leadership style, emphasizing participative leadership, employee motivation, and the importance of collaboration and critical thinking. The essay also reflects on the student's learning as a follower, observing and emulating successful leadership traits, and the importance of diplomacy in resolving disagreements. References to relevant academic sources support the student's insights into leadership and followership.

Running head: LEADER AND FOLLOWER
LEADER AND FOLLOWER
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

1LEADER AND FOLLOWER
This essay discusses my personal experience while I was working as a team leader in
an organization. My team consisted of five members and we were responsible for managing
the product launching section of the company. In that case I was solely accountable to my
higher authority and played the role of leader to my followers simultaneously. However, the
company needed fresh and new ideas to gain high competitive advantage therefore I
maintained an open communicative as well as amiable relationship with all the team
members. I took care of my speech and action so that none of my followers think that I
played biased. However, I respected and admired my immediate boss and wanted to follow al
his traits so that I also could be as successful leader as he.
As a follower I used to observe each and every decision of my leader which he made
according to the need of the situation. I believe a good follower can be a good leader as they
apply what their leaders think (Wambugu 2014). Moreover, recent change in the technologies
as well as culture, the dynamic followers have become powerful. The leader of my company
was aware of the social circles, families, religion or other setting of the employees so that he
could manage people according to their terms.
It is important for a leader to have diplomatic decision making power while any kind
of disagreeable situation emerge. I as a follower had learnt from my leaders how to get along
with the differences without ignoring them. It is an important leadership trait because my
leader could not afford to be oblivious to the different attitude in the organization. However,
this needs enormous strength and courage to solve such problems and transform them into
energy as well as activism.
I as a leader never dominated my followers rather believed in heightening the quality
of relationship with the members. I felt myself as one of the members of my team. This
helped greatly in contributing new ideas, recommendations and perspectives in functioning.

2LEADER AND FOLLOWER
My team members were satisfied with the resources, information and support they needed to
accomplish a task successfully (Wang et al. 2016).
The most important factor of leadership I believe was keeping the fellow members
motivated through every possible way (Trujillo 2014). Through proper planning, organizing,
motivating and controlling the employees I supported my team members in every possible
way. Following the participative leadership concept, I consulted with the members and
evaluated their opinions before I made any decision. Due to this reason I was respected as
well as followed by my team members.
Collaboration and critical thinking are major factors where the leaders recognise the
accountability and contribution of the fellow team members. As a leader I believed that I
must become a good combination of ambition and patience where my vision will guide my
fellow workers but allowing them to provide best ideas for business growth. I appreciated my
fellows to support the success of the group.

3LEADER AND FOLLOWER
References:
Trujillo, T., 2014. The modern cult of efficiency: Intermediary organizations and the new
scientific management. Educational Policy, 28(2), pp.207-232.
Wambugu, L.W., 2014. Effects of Organizational Culture on Employee Performance (Case
Study of Wartsila–kipevu Ii Power Plant). European Journal of Business and
Management, 6(32).
Wang, X.Y., Hattaf, K., Huo, H.F. and Xiang, H., 2016. Stability analysis of a delayed social
epidemics model with general contact rate and its optimal control. Journal of Industrial &
Management Optimization, 12(4), pp.1267-1285.