Leaders ---- Followers ---- Leaders ---- Followers

  After exploring both the position of leader and the position of follower in previous posts, this post will explicitly explore the relationship between the two agencies.  The dynamic between the two positions is as important as the exploration of the individual positions.  
  Situational Leadership is a theory coined by Paul Hersey and Kenneth Blanchard used to describe the relationship between leaders and followers.  It hinges on the explanation of how a leader should respond to and behave in the readiness level of followers in a given situation.  In this model, the leader must constantly remain sensitive to the follower's readiness level (Wren, 1995).  This creates a consistent tension between the followers and leaders to assess the readiness levels of the followers and the actions of the leaders.  The follower has a readiness level that can fluctuate between varying amounts of willingness and ability while the leader's behavior can fluctuate with varying levels of task-oriented behaviors and relationship-oriented behaviors.  These levels are interdependent and vary depending on the fluctuation of the opposite positions' levels.  Hersey and Blanchard label four quadrants of relationship between the leader and follower levels and give explanation to the proper relation between the leader and follower given the quadrant the relationship is found in.  
  SuperLeadership is a concept that originated with Charles Manz and is based around the concept that great leaders are not those who inspire their followers to incredible action, but rather great leaders are those who are able to lead others to lead themselves (Wren, 1995).  True leadership is then a result of internal leadership and influences, not external leadership or influences.  This idea of self-leadership is by no means novel but is vitally important as corporations grow and independence increases in many venues within society.  
  I cannot help but connect both of these leader-follower dynamic theories back to John Wooden and the stories he tells of his years coaching basketball at UCLA.  In many instances, the way he led those young men depended on their commitment and level of readiness.  What may have been the most exceptional aspect of John Wooden was that he was able to bring his players to the highest level of readiness through his behaviors so that he maximized their potential each and every year.  John Wooden sent numerous players to the professional basketball league after college in part because he taught those men how to lead themselves and constantly improve who they were.  
  As I transition into this next phase of life, I hope that I can navigate relationships and leadership opportunities with as much skill as Coach Wooden, with the ability to bring people to the highest level of readiness to achieve greatness while still enabling them to reach a level of self-confidence in which they can proceed to lead themselves.  That really should be the goal of any relationship between two individuals.  
  
Wooden, J (2004) They Call Me Coach.  New York: McGraw-Hill Books
Wren, J (1995) A Leader's Companion. New York: The Free Press