Personal Insight for Leaders - Followership

Which type of follower is willing to work hard? -Activist -Diehard -Bystander -Participant

-Activist Rationale: An activist is an energized and eagerly involved individual who is willing to work hard.

Which example demonstrates a follower who is effectively supporting the leader? -Focuses on personal achievements -Addresses concerns with the leader as they arise -Engages professionally in indiscreet conversations -Commits him/herself to the leader, not the organization

-Addresses concerns with the leader as they arise Rationale: An effective follower will confront the leader when necessary.

The urgent care unit has been chronically understaffed on Sundays. When a staff nurse learns that all nurses will be required to rotate on Sundays, he states, "No way. It's not happening. I can't work on Sundays, and before you ask, no, I don't have any better ideas." What kind of follower is this staff nurse? -Active -Sheep -Alienated -"Yes" person

-Alienated Rationale: An alienated follower is disengaged and unhappy but does not suggest alternatives. A staff nurse who refuses Sunday rotation and offers no suggestions is an alienated follower.

A nurse manager is planning to initiate a mentoring program for staff nurses with leadership potential. Which activities should the nurse manager include when implementing the program? -Role modeling -Leveraging diversity -Cultivating political awareness -Assisting in the creation of realistic goals -Providing realistic performance evaluations

-Assisting in the creation of realistic goals Rationale: Providing assistance in creating realistic goals is an activity that nurse managers can include when initiating a mentoring program. With this activity, leaders are directly involved in the professional development of their followers. -Providing realistic performance evaluations Rationale: Providing realistic performance evaluations is an example of a mentoring activity in which nurse leaders are directly involved in the professional development of their followers.

The nurse manager is planning to launch a unit policy that the staff nurses feel is unsafe. Which followership trait would empower staff nurses in this scenario? -Risk-taking -Challenging decisions -Using freedom responsibly -Knowing when to accept responsibility

-Challenging decisions Rationale: Staff nurses should display their ability to challenge the decision of the nurse manager to launch an unsafe policy because the policy might affect their performance and well-being.

Which behavior by the follower demonstrates effective teamwork? -Serving others willingly -Engaging in a role as a change agent -Collaborating and sharing credit with others -Following the priorities and vision set by the manager

-Collaborating and sharing credit with others Rationale: Good collaboration and sharing credit with other members of the team demonstrate effective teamwork.

Which description characterizes a follower who is a contributor? -Competent but does not strive for excellence -Has ability to seek high performance and reciprocity with leadership -Effective coworker and teammate who balances work and life obligations -Skilled communicator who provides honest feedback and support to leadership

-Effective coworker and teammate who balances work and life obligations Rationale: An individual who does the job very well, is an effective coworker, embraces change, and balances work and other aspects of life is a contributor.

The nurse leader makes an intentional decision to increase the diversity of the staff. How does this leadership decision inspire and motivate his or her current followers? -Provides coaching -Provides mentorship -Cultivates political awareness -Enhances the depth and breadth of the organization

-Enhances the depth and breadth of the organization Rationale: Increasing diversity enhances the depth and breadth of the organization and inspires and motivates her current followers by allowing for multiple perspectives and voices.

Which behavior by the follower demonstrates loyalty? -Demonstrating responsibility -Showing initiative and management -Moving fluidly between leading and following -Offering creative resolutions when disagreeing with leadership

-Offering creative resolutions when disagreeing with leadership Rationale: The ability to challenge and disagree with leadership in an agreeable manner demonstrates the follower competency of loyalty.

A nurse leader asks for a volunteer to track statistics in the unit. One staff nurse says, "I can do it, as long as I don't have to take any work home with me." Which type of follower is this staff nurse? -Activist -Isolated -Diehard -Participant

-Participant Rationale: The staff nurse who is willing to do volunteer work but sets limits by not taking work home is a participant who is engaged to a certain extent but will not go overboard.

(See Case Study on previous card) Which action should Bobby take to demonstrate being an effective follower? -Stop the implementation of nitrous oxide -Take initiative to examine current evidence on the efficacy of nitrous oxide -Engage in individual discussions with staff that focus on the inefficacy of nitrous oxide -Confront the nurse manager and offer to share his misgivings about offering nitrous oxide

-Take initiative to examine current evidence on the efficacy of nitrous oxide Rationale: Doing research shows self-initiative, acceptance of challenging ideas, and recognition of others' perspectives—all of which are behaviors of an effective follower.

Which action would an effective follower take to support the leader? -Making decisions -Testing new ideas -Displaying dominance -Assigning responsibilities

-Testing new ideas Rationale: Testing new ideas is a followership trait that is utilized by followers as they provide direct patient care and contribute to organizational change.

A staff nurse has completed all the modules that were offered by the hospital as an optional course for continuing education. In which follower activity has this nurse engaged? -Displaying loyalty -Functioning well on teams -Holding integrity as paramount -Thinking independently and critically

-Thinking independently and critically Rationale: By completing an optional continuing education course, the staff nurse has demonstrated initiative and self-management, which are linked to the follower activity of thinking independently and critically.