Perceptions and leaders Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Perceptions and leaders - Essay Example Although many scholars concentrate on the leaders and their roles only, it is important to note that both the leader and follower are equally important in leadership as they depend on one another. (Bertocci, 2009) There are two theories that talk about leadership and this are transformational leadership and transactional leadership. In transformational leadership, the follower is there to be recipients of the leaders influence and behavior while in transactional leadership the followers and leaders both take part in the leadership process. Therefore, to look at how followers’ perceptions affect the leader’s style, two types of leadership will be important in our discussion. In looking at the perception that the followers have on their leader and how it affects the style of leadership, it is important to look at the behavior of the leaders (Schumann 2011). The leader behavior is divided into two categories that is, initiating and consideration. Those who are initiating are goal centered they focus on rules, tasks and coordinating the followers. While the consideration leaders are open to followers suggestions and are supportive to the followers. From this, it is possible that some followers perform their duties because they fear the leader while others accomplish their duties because they want to please the leader and later be rewarded. Therefore, it is proper to say that the behavior of the leader and the perception of the follower can determine the leadership style that the leader uses. To assess your leadership style you need to look at the behavior of the follower. The followers always have certain expectations that they expect their leader to meet .if he meets those expectations then the followers ascribe authority to you as a leader they respect and trust you. However, if he fails to meet the expectations of the followers, the relation between them is strained, and the followers develop mistrust towards the leader. If, as a