Journal #8 October 31, 2021
For this journal, we read Chapter 7 and completed two assessments based on the content of the chapter. The focus on this chapter was leader-member exchange and followership.
My score on the first assessment ‘Dyadic Relationship with Your Manager’ ranged in the middle point between in-group and out-group. According to the textbook, “in-group includes followers with strong ties to their leader in a supportive relationship characterized by high mutual trust, loyalty, respect, and influence,” and the “out-group includes followers with few or no social ties to their leader, in a strict task-centered relationship characterized by low exchange and top-down influence,” (Lussier & Achua, 2016). Having said that, my score was representative of my work environment. There were times where it was a very supportive environment and able to connect on a personal level but also it would primarily focus on being task-centered only. In all, it was a very toxic environment most of the time. My score on the second assessment ‘Effective Followers’, indicated that I was ranging more towards being an effective follower rather than an ineffective follower. The textbook says an effective leader is an individual who is high on critical thinking and involvement (Lussier & Achua, 2016). I do agree with some aspects for being an effective follower but not all of them, for instance, when it comes to conflict, I would not purposely put myself at risk or in conflict with others. As a social worker, these assessments would impact me because my results showed me that I am an effective follower, which reflects my ability to be responsible and well-balanced. I am able to adapt quickly and work as a team player and this correlates with me being used to working in personal, social work environments and task-centered work places. In the field of social work, these characteristics are important especially when working with a group and or on a team.
In the field of social work, I think that it is important to have a mixture of both strong leadership skills and strong followership skills. Strong leadership skills could include but are not limited to being an effective communicator, being empathetic, having integrity, and being able to problem solve. Strong followership skills could include but are not limited to being competent, courageous, loyal, honest, and are able to take direction. Both of these skills are essential in making a good social worker because then we are able to have insight and understand human behavior but also we will have the ability to help others grow and hopefully succeed (NASW, 2017).
My opinion of leaders having personal relationships with some members of his or her group or team without creating the perception of in-groups and out-groups is that it is possible to have friends in the workforce that you would not meet outside of that. Having a social group within your environment is more than capable without merging your other social groups. I actually feel like that is the most appropriate because it seems more professional that way. In addition, I do believe that someone can have a successful career by aspiring to be an effective follower because they have the courage to initiate change and put themselves at risk for conflict with other individuals and even leaders because they want to serve the best interest of the organization (Lussier & Achua, 2016). Effective leaders are proactive and can be very successful in their field.
References
Lussier, R. N. & Achua, C. F. (2016). Leadership: Theory, Application, and Skill Development (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage
NASW. (2017). National Association of Social Workers (NASW). Retrieved October 4, 2021, from https://www.socialworkers.org/About/Ethics/Code-of-Ethics/Code-of-Ethics-English