Dr. Jeffery David Whippo’ Take on the Relationship between Leadership and Followership

Dr. Jeffery David Whippo’ Take on the Relationship between Leadership and Followership

Dr. Jeffery Whippo Explains What Formal and Informal Leaders Are • Dr. Jeffery David Whippo, a successful business educator and leadership expert, explains that leaders are both formal and informal within organizations.

• He says that formal leaders are those that have been sanctioned by power and authority, usually through position or title.

• Informal leaders, on the other hand are those that the members of the team look up to within the organization.

• In either case, leaders are those that guide and direct the behaviors of others within the work environment.

Whippo Describes What Differentiates a Leader from a Manager • Jeffery David Whippo says that the term leader is not necessarily interchangeable with the term manager. While managers may have the ability to be leaders, managers do not necessarily make good leaders.

• Whippo articulates that managers are focused on directing the work of others through actions such as the Task Cycle (Wilson, 2003) on tasks such as making goals clear and important, planning work and solving problems, facilitating the work of others, providing feedback, exercising control, and reinforcing good performance.

• On the contrary, leadership, as defined by John P. Kotter (1998), is responsible for three key functions which include setting direction, gaining alignment, and motivating and inspiring people.

Whippo’s Take on the Importance of Followership for a Leader • Jeffery Whippo feels that leaders cannot accomplish the organizations’ goals without having followers.

• Followership, Jeff says, is the process of being directed and guided by a leader.

• He describes that in recent years, the views of the follower have changed from passive or autonomous to be more dynamic due to new concepts of empowerment and self-managed work teams.

More on the Importance of Followers‌ • Jeffery D Whippo clarifies that effective followers have been shown to be more committed to self-management and self-responsibility along with a high level of commitment to the organization as a whole.

• According to him, leaders should never underestimate or forget about the importance of having followers that trust their direction and that will act in an effort to accomplish the set goals and objectives.

Thank You Jeffery David Whippo