Leaders-and-Followers (Chicken-and-Egg)
“Both leaders and followers are involved together in the leadership process. . . . Leaders have an ethical responsibility to attend to the needs and concerns of followers.” [1]
In Peter G. Northouse’s leadership textbook, “Leadership: Theory and Practice”, the author explains various leadership theories incorporated into practical applications for aspiring leaders. Each chapter includes theory and practice, including an application section that discusses aspects of the leadership approach and case studies to illustrate issues and dilemmas. The questionnaires provide readers with a chance to contemplate their individual leadership styles and viewpoints, offering a beneficial exercise in developing self-awareness as a leader. I gravitated towards leadership approaches and styles intricately linked with the paradigm of the transformational servant leader.
Transformational leaders inspire and motivate others to achieve exceptional outcomes, while transactional leaders focus on exchanges, rewards, and punishments to influence. As I serve others in my role as a coach and pastor, I find that much of my work emphasizes a follower’s needs, values, and morals, utilizing skills such as listening, empathy, healing, awareness, conceptualization, community, stewardship, and commitment to growth. With a commitment to inspire and motivate others, it is crucial that I listen to the Voice of One so that my leadership is kingdom-seeking, God-honoring, and biblically rooted. As Jules Glanzer stated, “Leaders must lead from a divine center with a heart in tune with the heart of God, forming a holy partnership that results in fulfilling the purposes of God on earth.” [2]
Northouse highlights the importance of emotional intelligence in servant leadership and its impact on interpersonal relationships. He quotes research from the Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, “Emotional intelligence, or the leader’s ability to monitor the feelings, beliefs, and internal states of the self and followers, has been identified as an important attribute for a leaders implementing a servant leader ideology.” [3] The book also explores leadership ethics, emphasizing the ethical responsibilities of leaders and the importance of making principled decisions.
I conclude with a couple of personal reflections on leadership.
I’m grateful for the cultivation of leadership that begins in the womb. I am God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for me to do. (Ephesians 2:10). From the moment I was being formed in my mother’s womb, God knew me and had kingdom purposes for my life. The experiences, pains and triumphs, bruises and scars, abilities and gifts, all are being recycled for God’s glory. My mind and heart experience deep gratitude as I think of the people that have influenced me over the years and have had a leadership role in some capacity in my life. The earliest leaders being my parents, who loved God, loved me and introduced me to Jesus, my Lord and Leader. I think about the teachers, pastors, coaches, Sunday School teachers, professors, authors, spiritual directors, life coaches and more. Each one uniquely crafted to lead and I am so grateful to be the beneficiary of their leadership, whatever the style. Leaders make imprints, lasting impressions on the lives of followers. As Peter Northouse pens, “leadership involves influence. . . without influence, leadership does not exist.” [4] As names and faces of leaders who have made an imprint on me come to mind, I immediately remember Mr. Wachveitl, who quietly served as an usher every Sunday at my church as a kid, handing out pieces of gum to me and my friends when we came to church. Others have led boldly from a distance without even knowing who I am or their influence on me like Andy Stanley during a Catalyst Conference in 2016, John Maxwell during a Leadership Summit in 1998, Rick Warren during two Purpose Driven Life Conferences, Christine Caine, Priscila Shirer, and most recently J.D. Walt, Sower-in-Chief at Seedbed, during a one-to-one interview last week. As a follower, I needed leaders to help in the pruning process of my own leadership identity.
Leading out of who I am is to be natural. In the book The Sound of Leadership, Glanzer states that “leading out of who you are is natural and does not require a set of goals or a personal plan. It just happens”. [5] I am a goals oriented person who likes making lists, timelines, calendaring and goal setting. When I was a Kindergarten teacher, each day I met with one student, during our quiet time after lunch recess, to check-in with them to see how much they had grown and work together on setting new goals. Many progressing from recognizing zero letters and sounds to reading CVC books. They loved coloring in simple bar graphs charting their growth as we celebrated together for a few brief moments in their time with Mrs. Glei. It is good to be reminded that while goal setting is a valuable practice, there exists skills, traits and abilities that are activated as we lead.
While leading out of who I am is to be natural, my mind quickly shifts to taking an inventory of the numerous flaws, shortcomings and obstacles, that the Lord is pruning. As Simon Walker states in his book, Leading Out of Who You Are, “He had used weakness. . .There can be no shadow of doubt whatsoever that at the heart of God’s purposes to transform the world is the way of vulnerable self-offering.” [6]
Leaders and followers seem to represent a chicken-and-egg relationship where it’s unclear which event causes the other. Each dependent on the other while having profound influence and impact in the development of one’s leadership style. Leaders need followers, and followers need leaders. [7]
[1] Peter G. Northouse, Leadership: Theory and Practice, (Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE Publications, Inc., 2019), 7.
[2] Jules Glanzer, The Sound of Leadership: Kingdom Notes to Fine Tune Your Life and Influence (Jules Glanzer: 2023), 33.
[3] Ibid, 260.
[4] Ibid, 7.
[5] Jules Glanzer, The Sound of Leadership: Kingdom Notes to Fine Tune Your Life and Influence (Jules Glanzer: 2023), 49.
[6] Simon Walker, Leading Out of Who You Are (Carlisle, UK: Piquant Editions, 2007), 2.
[7] Peter G. Northouse, Leadership: Theory and Practice, (Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE Publications, Inc., 2019), 7.
About the Author
Cathy Glei
Cathy Glei brings more than 25 years of experience in teaching, leading and coaching. She currently is an Instructional Coach and loves to support individuals in discovering who God has made them to be, both professionally and personally. She has led a variety of professional development opportunities, trainings and workshops both in the fields of education and ministry. Cathy desires to support individuals in discovering the Creator's design and image within. Cathy and her husband, Steve, live in Michigan with their seven year old Springer, Otis. They have three adult daughters and two son-in-laws. Together, they enjoy the company of friends (both old and new) in their home, as well as cycling, camping, backpacking and hiking. They can be found hiking and enjoying the outdoors with Otis right alongside them.9 responses to “Leaders-and-Followers (Chicken-and-Egg)”
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Interesting that you highlighted both the leader-follower relationship and the emotional intelligence necessary to lead (I would say lead effectively under any model, but it’s interesting that Northouse singled that out under servant leadership). I wonder if we could say something about the correlation of interpersonal relationship to the impact a leader has on his/her followers.
Thanks for your post!
In my opinion, interpersonal relationships that a leader has greatly impact their leadership. For example, their relationships with their spouse, children, friends, community group, neighbors, etc. If we see the gift those relationships are in our lives as another mode of God’s gift and workmanship, then we see interpersonal relationships in a different light.
Hi Kathy,
Thanks for highlighting this…As Jules Glanzer stated, “Leaders must lead from a divine center with a heart in tune with the heart of God, forming a holy partnership that results in fulfilling the purposes of God on earth.”
I am encouraged by this statement. Rather than selecting a “style” of leadership, I can focus on my relationship with HIM to fulfill my purpose.
Shalom…
I am beginning to see more and more books emerge on “followership.” I think it’s a vital aspect to this whole discussion, and glad you drew that element out.
I also noticed how similar your blog tone is to that of Jenny Dooley. Both of you, as women (obviously), bring the “softer side of leadership.” That’s not to mean that you are soft, weak, etc. I see neither of you, nor any of our females in the program as such, but I draw from your writings, as well as our interactions, how much I value both genders in the leadership discussion. And it’s a healthy reminder of just how valued both genders are to my church and its leadership.
Thank you Cathy.
Thank you John!
Hi Cathy,
I appreciate how you brought out that our leadership journey begins in the womb as we are all God’s handiwork. We all wear a mantel of leadership and a mantel of followership. I think it is an interesting dynamic that we have to keep in mind as leaders that we are also called to be followers, not only of Jesus but in our day-to-day life. There will always be circumstances that require us to follow someone else’s lead or vision. Having the skills and mindset to be both a wise leader and a wise follower reminds me that leadership is a shared process. I point I really liked in the book. I enjoyed your post! This might be a random question but since you work with children, here it goes. How do you see leadership emerge in children? And what are tips for developing and encouraging leadership skills in children?
Thanks Jenny!
I see leadership skills emerge in children in how they work through hardship, interact with peers, set goals for themselves, and lead themselves.
From my perspective, I think leadership skills are encouraged and developed first by the simple act of noticing and naming those skills, to the child, in a positive way where their leadership assets are elevated and the child builds self-awareness of the skill(s) that they have. Noticing, naming, and then cultivating (looking for opportunities for them to practice leading and develop those skills).
Hi Cathy!
I like your writing, which shows an inspiring reflection on your life journey and self-formation.
You write, “Leaders and followers seem to represent a chicken-and-egg relationship where it’s unclear which event causes the other. Each dependent on the other while having profound influence and impact in the development of one’s leadership style.” From your writing, I can see that everyone was first born as a follower who received many upbringing and teachings that shaped him as a future leader. More broadly, we are followers of God, the true leader who weaves (read: forms and teaches) us from our mother’s womb.
Dear Cathy,
Peter Northouse’s “Leadership: Theory and Practice” offers a comprehensive exploration of leadership theories and practical applications. Transformational servant leadership, with its focus on empathy and ethical values, resonates with me as a coach and pastor. Leaders’ and followers’ roles are interconnected, and both share ethical responsibilities. Leadership begins with God’s purpose, and leaders leave lasting imprints on followers’ lives.