Craig E. Johnson, Organizational Ethics, Third Edition
Instructor Resource
Lecture Notes
Chapter 9
Followership Ethics
Organizational Ethics: A Practical Approach (3rd ed.)
The Growing Power of Followers
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•Followers do the most of the work and should get most of the credit for
success
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•There can be no leaders without followers
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•The voices of followers are increasingly being heard
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•Ordinary people are leading social movements
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•Information revolution has empowered employees, consumers
and citizens
Followers have important moral responsibilities
The Ethical Challenges of Followership
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•The Challenge of Obligation: meeting minimal expectations but not
giving too much
Craig E. Johnson, Organizational Ethics, Third Edition
Instructor Resource
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•The Challenge of Obedience: deciding when to obey or disobey orders
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•The Challenge of Cynicism: maintaining healthy skepticism while
avoiding unhealthy cynicism
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•The Challenge of Dissent: knowing when and how to express
disagreement
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•The Challenge of Bad News: having the courage to admit problems
and failures
Meeting the Moral Demands of Followership: Principles and Strategies
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•Strategies: Overview
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•Overcome unhealthy motivations
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•Act in an exemplary manner
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•Engage with leaders
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•Demonstrate courage and support
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•Manage up and lead up
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•Blow the whistle on unethical behavior
Craig E. Johnson, Organizational Ethics, Third Edition
Instructor Resource
Overcoming Unhealthy Motivations
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•Premise : we seek leaders for the wrong reasons
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•Strategies for avoiding dependency on toxic leaders
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•Recognize that anxiety is a fact of life
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•Learn to act independently (become proactive)
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•Demand leaders who tell the truth
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•Beware of leaders with grandiose visions
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•Don’t let a few individuals self-select for top positions
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•Recognize susceptible followers—conformers who obey out of fear and
colluders who willingly obey
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•Conformers: lost souls (needy followers)
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•Conformers: authoritarians (unquestioning belief in the leader’s
power)
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•Conformers: bystanders (passive, motivated by fear)
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•Colluders: opportunists (follow for power, status, money)
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•Colluders: acolytes (true believers who share the values and
goals of the toxic leader)
Servant (Exemplary) Followership
Craig E. Johnson, Organizational Ethics, Third Edition
Instructor Resource
Premise : servant followers seek to be followers, not leaders
Follower dimensions
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oIndependent/critical thinking
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oActive engagement with leaders
Follower Types
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oPassive—little original thought or engagement
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oConformist—engaged but have to be told what to do
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oAlienated—highly independent thinkers with minimal
commitment
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oPragmatic—moderate in independent thinking and
engagement
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oExemplary–demonstrate independent, critical thinking and
active engagement
Becoming an exemplary follower
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oLead yourself
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oCommit and focus
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oDevelop competence and credibility
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oUse your courageous conscience
o
oDisagree agreeably
Craig E. Johnson, Organizational Ethics, Third Edition
Instructor Resource
Engaged Followership
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•Premise : some level of follower engagement is better than no
engagement at all. Good followers serve the public interest, not sel8sh
interest
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•Levels of engaged followers
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•Isolates: barely followers; detached and alienated
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•Bystanders: low level of engagement
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•Participants: moderate level of engagement
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•Activists: highly engaged with their leaders in support or
opposition
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•Diehards: most engaged; willing to risk all
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•Tips for followers faced with poor leadership
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•Oppose bad leadership as soon as it appears
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•Gather information and resources and join forces with other
followers
Courageous Followership
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•Premise : followership requires courage (accepting a higher level of
risk)
Craig E. Johnson, Organizational Ethics, Third Edition
Instructor Resource
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•Five Types of Follower Courage
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•The Courage to Assume Responsibility: fulfill obligations
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•The Courage to Serve: actively support leaders behind the
scenes
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•The Courage to Challenge: confront inappropriate leader
behavior
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•The Courage to Participate in Transformation: help leaders
change ingrained bad habits
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•The Courage to Leave: depart when the follower fails or those in
leadership won’t change
Courageous Followership
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•Courage also means supporting the leader
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•View yourself as a partner with the leader
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•Types of Supportive Followers
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•Partners who provide high challenge and support
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•Individualistic followers who challenge but don’t support
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•Resource followers who do just enough to get by
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•Implementer followers who are very supportive but rarely
challenge leaders
Craig E. Johnson, Organizational Ethics, Third Edition
Instructor Resource
Authentic Followership
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•Premise : need authentic followers as well as authentic leaders
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•To become an authentic follower
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•Develop psychological ownership based on a sense of belonging,
a sense of accountability, and a sense of e<cacy (can do the job
required)
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•Foster trust by owning up to shortcomings
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•Practice transparency by being honest
Managing Up/Leading Up
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•Managing your boss = working with your superior to get the best
possible results for everyone
Understand the boss
Understand your own strengths and weaknesses
Learn how to blend working styles together
Leading up = exceeding expectations and bringing added value
Have a bias for action
Take initiative while keeping the leader informed
Craig E. Johnson, Organizational Ethics, Third Edition
Instructor Resource
Whistle-Blowing
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•Definition: remain in the organization but take concerns about abuse
to outsiders
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•Whistle-blowers pay a high price for speaking up
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•Takes both courage and careful reasoning
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•Three moral concerns for whistleblowers
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•Dissent: must determine if the benefit to society justify going
forward
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•Loyalty: must determine if breaking loyalty with co-workers and
the organization is justi8ed
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•Accusation: must determine if the charges are accurate, if the
public has a right to know, and the motive for coming forward
Organizations can encourage whistleblowers by responding to their