Interpersonal Communication- A Mindful Approach to Relationships, 2020a

Have you ever been disrespectful in your communication towards coworkers?
Why?
• Why do you think it’s essential to take personal responsibility and avoid excusing
making in the workplace? Have you ever found yourself making excuses? Why?
13.2 Leader-Follower Relationships
Learning
Outcomes
leadership theory, including the four types of leaders.
the three stages these relationships go through.
When you hear the word “leader” what immediately comes to your mind? What about when you hear
the word “follower?” The words “leader” and “follower” bring up all kinds of images (both good and
bad) for most of us. We’ve all experienced times when we’ve followed a fantastic leader, and we’ve had
times when we’ve worked for a less than an effective leader. At the same time, are we always the best followers?
This section is going to examine prevailing theories related to leadership (situational-leadership
theory and leader-member exchange theory), and then we’ll end the section discussing the concept of
followership.
One of the most commonly discussed models of leadership is Paul Hersey and Kenneth Blanchard
Situational Leadership Model (https://www.situational.com/). The model is divided into two dimensions:
task (leader directive behavior) and relational (leader supportive behavior). 14 Hersey and Blanchard’s
situational leadership model starts with the basic idea that not all employees have the same needs. Some
employees need a lot more hand-holding and guidance than others, and some employees need more
relational contact than others. As such, Hersey and Blanchard define leadership along two continuums:
supportive and directive. occurs when a leader is focused on
providing relational support for their followers, whereas involves overseeing the dayto-day
tasks that a follower accomplishes. As a leader and a follower progress in their relationship, Hersey
and Blanchard argue that the nature of their relationship often changes. Figure 13.2 contains the basic
model proposed by Hersey and Blanchard and is broken into four leadership styles: directing, coaching,
supporting, and delegating. 15
Directing
Hersey and Blanchard’s first type of leader is the directing leader. Directing leaders set the basic roles
an individual has and the tasks an individual needs to accomplish. After setting these roles and tasks,
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Interpersonal Communication