788-Article Text-2960-1-10-20220319

LEADERSHIP QUALITIES AND THEIR CONSEQUENCIES IN AN
ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT: LITERATURE REVIEW

LEADERSHIP QUALITIES AND THEIR CONSEQUENCIES IN
AN ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT: LITERATURE REVIEW
John Ngatia Githui
PanAfrica Christian (Pac) University
John.githui@student.pacuniversity.ac.ke
+254708884220
Education/Development
Name: John Ngatia Githui

Position: Principal Engineer
Department: Research, Compliance and Strategy
Contact Address: P.O. Box 48151-00100 Nairobi (Kenya)
Email: john.githui@students.pacuniversity.ac.ke
John Ngatia Githui has an over 20years experience in design, construction and management or
road project in Kenya and Sudan. He has worked in both private and public sector in the
management of roads works as Assistant Engineer, Engineer, Senior Engineer and as a Principal
Engineer. His main areas of concentration during the period have been in the role of resident
engineer in supervising project at site. During this tenure (2010-2016), he oversaw the construction
to completion of close to seven (7) road projects. From 2016 to date, he has been managing the
supervision of road projects as a project Engineer. He is currently pursuing the degree in Doctor
of Philosophy at Panafric University in the area of Leadership and organizational Development
.
Human Resource and Leadership Journal
ISSN 2520-4661 (online)
Vol.7, Issue No.1, pp 1 – 20, 2022 www.carijournals.org
Abstract
Purpose: It is argued that leadership qualities are very essential and important for the overall
performance of organizations as those leaders who possess certain qualities influence the level of
growth for organizations. This is notable in influencing decisions that concerns allocation of
resources for the existing departments in organizations. The general assumption is that all leaders
do possess the necessary and requisite qualities that would enhance the achievement of the desired
goals and objectives of organizations. The foregoing is certainly not always the case as most
individuals do have limited knowledge as regards the qualities that are important for individuals
in the leadership positions.
Methodology: The study provides the linkage between leadership qualities, followership styles or
behaviors, and their impact to the overall performance of organizations.
Findings: The study has established that various positive leadership qualities do positively affect
individual and overall organizational performance and productivity. Further, the study established
that there is a correlation between the leadership qualities exhibited by the leaders and followership
styles and behaviors. Though leadership qualities directly affect both the performance of
individuals and the overall organization, the impact is also dependent on the followership styles
exhibited by the followers/employee. Followership styles and behaviors mediates the relationship
between leadership qualities and organizational performance. The identified constructs from the
study were found to have an impact on the performance of organization which would ultimately
enhance the competitive advantage of the same. The research established that when positive
leadership qualities are combined with followership styles such as the exemplary and pragmatist,
they enhance the performance of organization in the achievement of the set goals and objectives.
The paper has further highlighted the role of followership in creating that environment for optimal
performance of organizations.
Key Words: Leadership, leadership qualities, followership, and organizational performance

1.0 Introduction
The construct of leadership originally studied or considered under the functions of directing under
general management, is taking a more central focus and attention in the life of organizations. The
foregoing is due to the strategic role it promises to play in steering organizations in the context of
highly turbulent environmental (Kurt, 2018). Even though leadership has traditionally been studied
as a component of management, yet in an era where organizations are experiencing increased
turbulent, it is becoming clear that leadership plays far much greater role in contributing to the
success of organizations (Dembowski, 2018). Organizations must therefore take into consideration
the foregoing perspective of leadership in making investments in the area so that they can also
realize the benefits which are linked to optimal organizational performance now and in the future.
The foregoing enables organizations to align their systems and properly match them with the
demands of the external environment for the achievement of the desired goals (Karamat,2013).
Leadership, therefore, would acquire a more strategic role than in the past. Practicing managers
and scholars would therefore have to ask themselves what in the aspect of leadership that promises
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potential to enable organizations balance between their internal systems and the demands of highly
external turbulent environment (Simiyu, 2015).
The practitioners, managers and scholars will have to consider the foregoing question so that the
residence potential in the construct of leadership can be harnessed. This will steer organizations in
a more strategic directions if they have to remain relevant and be able to respond to external
environmental demands (Khan et al., 2016). In considering the existing school of thoughts that has
documented a wide range of literature on diverse aspects for the construct of leadership, we find
that among the aspect that might directly contribute to the success of organizations in turbulent
environment is that which has to do with the qualities of leadership. The foregoing will ensure
business sustainability in organizations even in the turbulent environment (Mohamad & Hauer,
2017).
Out of these considerations, it is in the interest of scholars in management and leadership to
examine what are the desirable qualities that leadership must bring on board. They should also
provide a mechanism on how those leadership qualities will influence the systems and the people
in the organizations. The foregoing will ensure creation of a well-structured organization for
value creation and satisfaction of the stakeholders (Ibrahim & Cross, 2019). In such a case, given
the traditional nature of leadership, the scholars interested in highlighting the strategic role of
leadership in steering the organizations in rapidly changing context will therefore need to look at
leadership in terms of what qualities are desirable for organizations. They will also be required to
show how that package of leadership qualities can affect the systems created to produce values in
organizations (Quist, 2009). In reference to these emerging concerns, it will be necessary to
consider some of the aspect of leadership that arise out of the literature of which can be factored
into the analysis of the interaction of leadership qualities, people or followers and the
organizational performance (Muteswa, 2016).
1.2 The purpose and significance of the study

The purpose of this paper is therefore to review the extant literature on leadership with a view of
highlighting the nature of construct of leadership qualities. This will assist in explaining the
potential these leadership qualities bring out for suitable and desirable organizational outcome
within context of the people or followers in that organization. The paper therefore examines extant
theoretical, empirical and conceptual literature, guided by the following set of objectives: to review
the conceptual literature for the three study constructs (leadership qualities, followership, and
organizational performance), to review the empirical literature for the three study constructs
(leadership qualities, followership, and organizational performance), to develop conceptual
framework and propositions from the study and to document the causal/model effects of leadership
qualities to the followership styles and the overall performance of organizations. The authors
consider an undertaking to respond to this call by deciding the literature on leadership qualities to
be significant not only to scholarship but also to practice among practicing managers and leaders.
From scholarship, the outputs of this paper contribute first to consolidating the scattered literature
on leadership qualities to give it a more integrated perspective and to spread the multidisciplinary
bracket to capture input from more relevant disciplines. The foregoing can contribute towards
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enriching the extant knowledge in the construct of leadership. Secondly after consolidation of the
desirable leadership qualities, the authors are of the view that the contents of the paper lead to
understanding of the phenomenon likely to emerge from the construct of leadership qualities which
will contribute toward theorizing in leadership. We are therefore of the view that discovering and
consolidating the set of leadership qualities is a step further for the study of leadership specifically
in this neglected area. Thirdly the paper contributes in the advance on the knowledge of leadership
in the area of leadership qualities as the same will inform the direction that the empirical works
need to take so as to validate the generated set in away that informs the practice of leadership.
From the standpoint of practice, the documented set of leadership qualities will benefit practicing
managers in diverse sectors of economies in ensuring that they develop them for ultimate optimal
performance of organizations. In proposing a concrete set of leadership qualities, we find that this
is a move that informs practice in that it creates clarity in what managers need to lay emphasis on
when hiring, deploying, and evaluating performance of leaders. In addition, these documented
leadership qualities, will aid in the process of development of potential leaders in organizations.
Organizations are known to spend huge amount of payment in leadership development with a clear
set of concrete areas to focus on when developing their upcoming leaders, the paper makes it
possible for managers to plan, budget and be able to project on possible outcomes that result from
set of leadership qualities.
1.3 Methodology
As documented in the foregoing section, the two main and specific objectives of the study were to
review the conceptual literature for the three study constructs (leadership qualities, followership,
and organizational performance) and to review the empirical literature for the three study
constructs (leadership qualities, followership, and organizational performance). The study
therefore adopted qualitative methods of study which involved desk top review of all the
conceptual literature and the empirical literature that would provide the requisite details and
information regarding the identified study constructs. The choice of the study method was
informed by several factors which included time limitation, resources and the type of study that
was basically literature review. The findings of the reviewed literature have been presented in the
subsequent section detailing the construct of leadership qualities and their impact to the
organizational performance. Other findings on organizational performance and followership have
been equally presented in the same section with their relationship clearly documented.
2.0 Conceptual Literature Review

2.1 Leadership Qualities
Effective leadership is regarded as the main motivator for employees and the same is used in aiding
achievements of the desired competitive advantage of organizations (Kemal, 2015). According to
Yazdanifard & Hao ( 2015), operations in organizations are controlled and guided by the prevailing
leadership as leaders are able to develop goals and objectives that are optimistic and also steer
organizations towards achieving the set goals through appropriate strategies. Leadership role is
very crucial in any organization as the same helps in creating the vision, mission and aiding in
determination of objectives, goals and strategies that are geared toward positive performance of
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organizations. The mission and vision of organizations can only be achieved through top quality
leadership and the same assists in coping with the changes that are associated with the external
environment (Al Khajeh 2018). Leadership qualities are those characteristics that a leader is
expected to possess for effective leadership and excellence performance of the organization. There
are several leadership qualities that have been identified to be inherent with a good leader. These
qualities include confidence, toughness and inspiration, ability to communicate the vision and
values, establishment of the right culture in organizations, honest, integrity and transparent,
humility, learning from failure and bad experience, commitment and the ability to identify and
attract talent (Muteswa, 2016). A leader must always possess those qualities that would ensure
environment of trust, openness and communication that is based on honest and ultimately ensure
that there is optimal performance of the individuals and organizations at large (Leonard, 2010).
Leadership qualities that are requisite for the purpose of inspiring others to achieve great
performance are overly critical and therefore leaders must ensure that they possess these qualities.
The overall performance of an organization will greatly be affected by those qualities that leaders
themselves work hard to develop and at the same time demonstrate that they possess them
(Hossain, 2015). The main role of leadership is to keep coordinating the work and the members of
groups in organizations. They should also enhance the building of the relationships between one
another in organizations. It is very critical for a leader to influence his followers in demonstrating
that he or she possesses qualities that would ensure achievement of the desired results (Kumar,
2018). When leaders can develop influences that are external in term of careers experience and
environment, their leadership perceptions, skills, and traits are shaped which ultimately affect the
overall achievement of the organizational outcomes and goals. Leadership traits that are considered
common are not universal for all leadership situations (Smalley et al, 2016). A good leader is
made-up of diverse qualities which are unique for different organizations and environment. Some
of the qualities that have been categorized as being important for effective performance of
organizations are confidence and honest demonstrated by the leaders. Leaders are therefore
required to cultivate those qualities that would improve on the productivity and the operational
efficiency of organizations they are leading (Olanrewaju & Okorie, 2019). The second perspective
of leadership qualities is regarding behavioral which gives great emphasis on the leadership
behaviors that a good leader must have, or exhibit. Michigan and Ohio State university revealed
two types of leadership behaviors which are the consideration and the initiating structure. The
other perspectives of leadership behavior is as depicted in the model of managerial grid which
focuses on the aspect of people oriented (concerned with developing trust and ensuring good
working conditions) or the task oriented (concerned with production) behaviors (Northouse,2019).
The contingency perspective of leadership is based on the comprehension of the context of leader’s
behavior as being operational and more less as context specific. This perspective of leadership
behavior concluded that there is no leadership style that is superlative than the other and any style
will be based on the context and the prevailing conditions. (Northouse, 2016). Some of the
leadership qualities examined in this study include:
i) Honesty and integrity
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It is expected that leaders at whatever level must always have and hold themselves to the highest
level of honest. It is argued that human relations are founded on the centrality of honesty and
truthfulness at all levels of association. Human choices can be considered as rational and free and
are all dependent on what can be termed as false or true. Due to the nature of information that is
received by leaders either from their subordinates or any other source, there is a high possibility
of the same being distorted through dishonesty (Wells & Molina, 2017). For a leader to exert the
meangiful influence to the employees, he or she must demonstrate ethical and leadership that is
full of honesty and integrity. That forms the credibility of leaders who will ultimately have
influence and that generates trust between the leaders and the followers. The quality of integrity is
that part of adherence to moral behaviors and principles that can capture the essence of ethical
values and the same is the driver of ethical leadership. The level of trust is greatly influenced by
the impact that is caused by the integrity of the leaders as followers will only consider having high
level of confidence to a leader who is perceived to have high level of integrity (Engelbrecht et al,
2017).
ii) Good communicator

Efficient and successful leaders can only be identified by their ability to communicate effectively
and accurately to their followers. Leaders and their teams must learn the art of communication as
the foregoing will facilitate in growth and attainment of the desired success for the organizations
they lead. A leader must therefore be that person who takes charge, directs, encourages, and
stimulates others and have that ability to communicate and convince others and make them follow
their goals or those principles that are defined by leaders (Luthra, 2015). Individuals who make
world class leaders are always considered to be great communicator as they have clear set of values
and ideas which are set in promoting and inculcating those values in others. Great communicators
speak in confidence and they do not get confused because of the knowledge they possess. While
communicating their ideas with others, they are able to connect with the passion and ambitions of
the followers (Luthra & Dahiya, 2015).
iii) Visionary.
Leaders are expected to assist organizations in achieving the sense of purpose in having the same
linked to the successful outcomes. Visionary leadership is a form of transformational leadership
that offers opportunities, enables fostering of the capacity of organizations in meeting the needs of
the followers in organizations. The foregoing is considered to take place in a creative way
regardless of the complexity of the uncertain times by providing that framework that is considered
as the beginning of setting goals and determining the priorities, aligning structures, policies and
beliefs with principles and assessing the progress (Taylor et al, 2014). Organizations require
leaders who can drive the agenda and vision to the followers they can be able to achieve the desired
competitive advantage. Visionary leaders are required to focus on the aspects of communicating
and inspiring the desired vision to followers in organizations so that the same can sustain the
desired superior performance. Visionary leaders use effective communication in changing the
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followers’ attitude and outputs which ultimately leads to organizational transformations

(Nwachukwu et al, 2017).
iv) Delegation
Delegation is the aspect of one person being empowered by their superior in taking the
responsibility for certain activities which are ordinarily the responsibility of the superiors.
Delegation is taken as a very essential element of effective management and when the same is
effectively practiced the same offers several potential benefits for both the leader and the followers.
The delegation of tasks by the leaders to the followers helps in improving the team’s self-worth
and at the same time motivates the team to work effectively (Zhang & Egan, 2009). Delegation is
also considered to be the assignment of new responsibilities to the followers while giving them the
authority to carry out those responsibilities. The same implies to the aspects of different power
sharing with individual subordinates with the main reason being to enhance the leaders’ skills and
confidence. Other considerations of delegation include but not limited to variety and the magnitude
of responsibilities, the level and amount of discretion or range of choice allowed while deciding
how to carry out the delegated tasks.
2.2 Roles of Leadership Qualities
Leadership abilities and qualities are said to bring variable assets to the organization which ensures
improved growth and increased revenue for the organization. Leadership is the ability to influence
others to follow and achieve the required goals and objectives for the organization and the
foregoing is achieved by leaders who possess certain forms of qualities as depicted in the preceding
section (Surji, 2015). Leaders have qualities that are necessary for the determination,
unselfishness, and motivation and the ability of having individuals pay attention to them. Leaders
also are said to inspire the followers in the aspect of achieving their potential and demonstrating
to them that working as a team and achieving the whole is more important than that which is
performed by an individual. Through the qualities and abilities supported by the leaders, they are
to make good judgement and spot the talent that are possessed by the followers and also fit the
needs and requirements of the organization (Notar, 2008). The role of leaders or managers can be
categorized into different roles which include the interpersonal role where the leader or manager
plays that role of the figurehead in the organization or the unit. Secondly under the interpersonal
role the leader is the person in charged and is expected to motivate the followers and encouraging
them to perform their duties as expected. The second role of a leader is the decisional role, where
the leader or manager is expected to play that critical role of decision making in the organization
committing the organization to the expected course of action and the role is only performed by the
leader or the unit managers. These roles of the leaders include but not limited to entrepreneur,
disturbance handler, resource allocator and negotiator. The final role of a leader is the
informational role, where the person in charge is expected to play the role of monitoring,
dissemination of information and acts as a spoke person for the organization (Mintzberg, 1989).
2.3 Organizational performance
The effects of leaders can be categorized into two categories. Effects on the systems of
organization and secondly on the people in the organization. The systems of the organization will
include efficiency, cohesiveness, team spirit that leads to increased productivity. The performance
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of organizations is mainly determined by comparing the actual output and the intended output,
goals, and objectives. The performance of organizations is used in determining the success of any
business and the same is measured by the ability of the same organizations in implementing the
plans and strategies that would assist in actualizing the set objectives of the same. The skills and
abilities possessed by leaders and the management of the organization greatly determine the
performance of organizations (Almatrooshi et al., 2016). Service delivery is utilized by many
shareholders as the indicator of performance. Operational efficiencies, mergers and acquisition,
diversification levels and the structures of organizations, top management team composition and
the styles of leadership are some of the factors that are used to measure performance of
organizations (Mafini, 2015). Factors such as the outcomes, the goals achieved, quality and the
economic aspects of efficiency and effectiveness largely determines the concept of the
performance in organizations. (Elena-Iuliana & Maria, 2016). The performance of organizations
that are within any country is considered as the determining factors for the social and economic
progress in those nations. It is a dynamic process which requires judgment and interpretation and
the same can be understood by different people at different positions which provides information
on the degree of achievement of objectives and results (Gavrea, & Stegerean, 2011). Performance
is the achievement of the set goals and the missions that are developed at the workplace regarding
the job carried out by the employees (Al-Tit, 2017). For organizations to achieve their set goals
and objectives, they do perform several activities and these activities that are repeatable are used
as the basis for measuring and ascertaining the performance of organizations. The foregoing
therefore points to the fact that there is a close colleration between the set objectives of
organizations and their performance. Organizational performance can be argued to be that aspect
of evaluating the constituents that are used in trying to assess the potential and the ability of
organization in process of achieving the constituents and levels of aspiration where the same is
stimulated by the efficiency, effectiveness and other social related factors (Jenatabadi, 2015).
Organizational performance is therefore based on the aspect of voluntary association of productive
assets which include human beings, physical and the capital resources which eventually lead to
the achievement of the shared purpose. The essence of performance is creation of values and in
this case the created values must be more or greater that what is expected by those contributing to
the assets of that value creation(Carton, 2004). Individuals’ behaviours, thoughts, feelings, and
action are said to be influenced by the organizations where they work. The performance of
organizations is also affected directly or indirectly by those attributes or behaviors demonstrated
by the individuals working there. In the workplace, emotions, moods are said to be some of the
behaviors that are key to the performance of individuals and organizations in general (Brief &
Weiss, 2002). According to Essa (2019), there is no leadership that can exist without the presence
of the followers. The conducts of the organization are directly or indirectly affected by individuals’
differences and the same affect the behaviours that are portrayed by individuals in those
organizations. Personalities of individuals working in organizations are also considered to affect
performance of organizations and other members of the group (Nuckcheddy, 2018).
Employees in organizations are supposed to give their best as human bahaviors are overly
critical in the organizational performance. When there are well designed systems and processes
that are based on facts that are known about individual behaviors organizations the same can
greatly influence performance of the organizations (Ludwig & Frazier, 2012).
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2.4 Followership
This is considered as a compulsory process for any form of leadership where the following
behavior/s is a compulsory and a vital component of the leadership process. The followership
process is considered from two different approaches which are the role-based approach and the
constructionist approach (Khan et al., 2018). Everyone cannot be a leader and there are more
followers in any set up or organization than there are leaders, and it is argued that followership is
not in any form of competition with leadership. Followership is the role that can either be
considered as formal or informal and that can exist under the contexts of directions of leaders in
organizations. It is argued that it is that process that involves the pursuits of shared purpose through
participation and the same can be considered as the exchange of influence between people that
share common purposes. It is further argued that followers and leaders relationship centres on
shared purpose where the general characteristics of an exemplary follower is the perspective of
courage (Rook, 2018). The literature of leadership has consistently identified followership as an
important area that is emerging in most current leadership studies. Effective followership is overly
critical for the performance of the organization. It is argued that negative followership can and, in
most cases, hinders the positive performance of the leaders. The leadership that is geared towards
developing leaders is very critical in the organization as the same ensures growth and continuity
of the organization(Hoption, 2014). There are two main followership behavioral dimensions
developed by Robert Kelley which explain why one follower is effective than the other. One of
the dimensions is which determines the degree of critical/uncritical thinking and the independence
that is associated with the followers while the other perspective is on the ranking of the followers
in terms of active and passive engagement. There are five main classes of followership styles which
include the exemplary, pragmatists, conformist, passive and the alienated followers and they are
determined by the two behavioral followership dimensions (Ntiamoah, 2018).
i) Alienated Followers
These are the followers who are extremely critical in the way they think, but also very passive in
taking the required action although they are also independent. This type of followers are considered
to have been exemplary at certain point but when something about the organization or the leader
happened, they started focusing their energy and strength in confronting those issues rather than
work(Ntiamoah, 2018). These followers are competent independent and critical thinker, but they
have the sense of “not belong” to the organization due to the perceived feelings of ignorance and
underappreciation. In most cases, they have low levels of job satisfaction which leads to lose of
job loyalty and low motivation thus leading to under performance(Essa & Alattari, 2019).
Independent Critical Thinking
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Allienated Followers Exemplary Followers
Active
Passive
Pragmatic Follower
Passive Followers Conformist Followers
Dependent, uncritical thinking
ii) Conformist followers

They are continually active but also very passive in the independent thinking and taking the
initiatives. They consider the critical thinking and decision-making process as a sole responsibility
of leaders, but they are ready to take orders. They do not want to bear any burden that comes with
the freedom and they portray anxiety when they are on their own and are expected to live with
their choice and in most cases they try to escape the uncomfortable feeling that comes with making
choices and the transfer all of them to the leader(Ntiamoah, 2018). These are the yes people in the
organization and very active in the activities of the organization while following orders, They can
also be dangerous if their orders are not in line with the standards of the society and the
organizational desired behaviors (Walia, 2017).
iii) The pragmatist followers

They are between the active and passive independent critical thinking and the dependent uncritical
thinking and they more often ask questions on certain decision made by the leader. They only
perform those tasks that are assigned to them and they would in certain cases not go beyond
them(Ntiamoah, 2018). They are considered to be average in their independence, level of
engagement and the overall contribution to the organization performance and they tend to exhibit
the characteristics of the other four followership styles and they are said to always portray the style
that is appropriate to the situation that is prevailing at the moment and that is beneficial to them
but not organizations (Oyetunji, 2013).
iv) Exemplary followers

They are considered to score high on both dimensions and they are actively of followership
behaviors as they are actively engaged in the assigned task and are also independent critical
thinkers. Due to the major contribution they offer to organizations and the leaders, some of them
are greatly attracted by leaders in those organizations. They wear out their brain power to work
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serving the organization and other stakeholders while ensuring that they utilize the talent they have
maximumly (Ntiamoah, 2018).
v) Passive Followers
This is the opposite of the exemplary they are dependent and uncritical thinkers and rank
exceptionally low in the level of engagement. They are not enthusiastic about their assigned work
and they do not do any thinking on their own. Due to their lack of sense of responsibility and the
inability of taking initiative, they always need that constant direction in most cases(Ntiamoah,
2018).
2.5 Leaders’ role in developing followers

The overall performance of organization is greatly influenced by the types of followers in place
and leaders must always strive in making followers the centre of their decision making for
improved performance of organization. For organizations to achieve the desired growth in terms
of performance and output, leaders must always play that critical role of ensuring that followers
are empowered and have the requisite regular improvement. Leaders must always ensure that they
understand the behaviors of followers and the vice versal is also true and leaders must always
ensure that they are understanding the type of followers they are leading (Zawawi et al., 2012). It
is argued that followers are more satisfied when the behaviors of the leader are considered to
increase the payoffs for goals and objectives attained by the workers, clarity in the paths that can
be utilized in achieving the expected goals and the capability of removing the anticipated barriers
during task completion(Ahmad & Hassan, 2018). According to Lawrence (2013), the level of
organization success or failure highly depend on how the organization is led and also how the
followers follow as leadership and followership are closely intertwined. He further opines that
effective leadership will ultimately produce employees who are effective and efficient followers.
The major role of leaders is to ensure that followers that are passive, conformist (yes-people) and
alienated are transformed to being pragmatic and exemplary followers who are effective and
perform their work with the expected efficiency.
2.6 Theoretical Review
i) Great man theory

This theory provides that great leaders are born and only those men who are endowed with heroic
potentials could ever become leaders. The theory argues that great men or leaders are born but
due to failure of “great men”, other theories were developed (Khan et al., 2016). The theory
explains why certain individuals are considered as influential leaders while others lack in this area
of individual characteristics. Secondly, the self confidence is that characteristic that helps an
individual in becoming a leader. It is also related to the abilities of a person not having the self-
doubts and having the belief that they can influence others. Decisiveness is that aspect of trying to
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struggle against obstacles and making decision to achieve certain goals and its components are the
determination, power, and the ability to initiate programs. Sociability is the other trait that a leaders
must possess where the leader is able to seek and establish the social relationships where the leader
is considered to be sensitive to the needs of others and also interested in their welfare and
wellbeing(Karadag, 2015). According to Northouse (2016), the theory has got several identifiable
strengths which include the aspect of the same being intuitively appealing as it provides the believe
that leaders are special kind of people or human being, the theory also has a rich research to back
it as it has several researches that has been carried out to back it. The trait approach also provides
that deep and strong understanding of how the leader and the traits of the leader are interrelated to
the leadership process and provide that benchmarks what to look for if we want to be leaders. The
theory has several weaknesses which include the aspect of delimiting definitive list of leadership
and has high levels of subjectivity in determination of the most important leadership traits. The
theory cannot be used as a useful tool or approach for training and development for leadership as
traits are largely fixed psychological structures thus limiting the levels of leadership and training
programmes.
ii) Contingency Theory (Situational)

The theory was developed by Hersey and Blanchard in 1969 and the same was based on the 3-D
management leadership style theory. The theory mainly focuses on the leadership under different
situations implying that different situations will require different leadership styles (Northouse,
2016). The situational theories tend to focus more on the bahaviors that the leaders should adopt
given the followers’ behavior and the contingency theories take a broader perspective that include
situational factors about leader skills and capability and other variables within the given situation.
The theory provides that leadership is composed of both a directive and supportive dimension and
the application of either depends on given situation (Predomode 2012). Some of the notable
strengths of the theory are the fact that theory has a history of usefulness in the marketplace and
the same is commonly used for training and development of leaders and followers. The theory has
the advantage of being practical in its use as the same is easy to understand, sensible intuitively
and can be applied in different situations. The theory has the has extremely high levels of
prescriptive values as many other theories are descriptive in nature and this prescriptive nature of
the theory provides the leaders with the various sets of guidelines that can facilitate and enhance
organization. The theory has several weaknesses which include lack of enough research studies,
availability of the ambiguous conceptualization of the models regarding followers’ development,
lack of availability of data in terms of lack of commitment of followers at different levels of
development in leadership and no clear empirical support for the theory in any of its version
(Northouse, 2016).
iii) Style and behavioral theory

The behavior theory was intended to recognize behaviors that distinguish leaders from non-leaders.
Behavioral theories of leadership support that a set of behaviour can be termed as a style of
leadership which refers to a unique set of behaviours adopted by a person in formal position of
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leadership. Some of the behavioral studies that were considered in the research were the
Hawthorne studies, the Iowa studies, the Ohio State Studies, University of Michigan Studies and
The Managerial Grid (Khan, et al., 2017). There are specific leadership behaviors (job centered
and employee-centered). Job centered leader pays focuses mainly on the activities of the followers
which are related to the performance by ensuring that followers follow procedures and practices.
Regarding the employees’ centered behaviors, the leader focuses mainly in developing the
cohesive and cordial working relationship which leads to satisfaction of the employees. The theory
is very critical in analyzing the leadership qualities and the implications of followers behaviors
and that leadership qualities will determine his behaviors (job centered or employees centered)
which will eventually determine the followers implication to followers’ behavior (Kumar, 2018).
It also does not provide that universal style of leadership that could be effective in almost every
situation. The theory only proposes the high-high leadership style that is very effective whereas
certain situations may require different leadership styles which may be complex from the others
(Northouse, 2016).
iv) Followership Theories- Implicit Followership theories
These are the theories that are defined as the cognitive structure (schema) of followership in the
minds of individual which include the leaders and the followers and the same address the views,
the traits and behaviors of followers. The theories have changed the leader centered implicit
theories to follower-centered implicit theories. The organizations cannot exists with leaders only
but followers must also be there for the organization to achieve the desired goals and objectives
(Yang, 2020). The theory enables the leader to understand, explain and respond to followers’
behaviors. The theory also describes the cognitive structure of employees’ characteristics,
behaviors and abilities and it refers to the expectation of the leaders to followers and the same
include effective or positive characteristics which are related to the followers. The theory captures
the perception of leaders assumptions about the characteristics and the followers behaviors and the
assumptions of the followers to their own traits and behaviors (Guo, 2018).
3.0 Case for new theoretical model

The paper has covered extensively that literature that literature that entails leadership, leadership
qualities, followership, and organizational performance from both the conceptual and theoretical
perspectives. The study will lead to the aspects of advancing knowledge in leadership qualities,
followership and organizational performance and integrate leadership qualities and the
performance of the organization. The literature reviewed has shown that there is sufficient
argument that support the integration of the leadership qualities and performance of organization
and the same can be advanced through establishment of a theoretical model. These new theories
will assist in bridging the knowledge gap and the advancement of the same. From the review
conducted during the study, it was noted that leadership qualities which are mediated by the
followership in the organization can be applied by firms and organizations in attaining their set
goals and objectives (Muteswa, 2016). During the review of the conceptual and empirical
literature, there were three constructs that were identified which included the leadership qualities,
followership styles and the organizational performance which also had their unique indicators
12
which enhanced the possibility of modeling the phenomenon that emerges from the organizational
performance. It is also worth noting that the developed theories require validation through
empirical work.
4.0 Conceptual Framework
During the literature and empirical review carried out in the preceding chapters, there were gaps
that were identified and therefore this study proposes the model that will explain the impacts of
leadership qualities and organizational performance. The proposed theoretical model is based on
the three constructs which are the leadership qualities, followership, and organizational
performance. All the three constructs contributed to the overall phenomenon of the study and
therefore the author has proposed a new model that links leadership qualities with firm
performance with the intervention or mediation of followership. The figure 1 bellow summarizes
the proposed model.
13
Conceptual framework P1. P2, P3. P4
A) Leadership Qualities Organizational Performance/

Productivity
i) Honesty and integrity
a. Integrity i) Increased Individual output
b. Truthfulness a) Motivation
b) Straightforwardness b) Competence
c) Trustworthy c) Ability
ii) Good communicator d) Role Perception
a. Listener ii) Increased organizational output.
b. Clarity a) Organizational systems
P1
c. Concise b) Employees’ incentive systems
d. Confident c) Tools and physical
e. Respect environment
iii) Visionary d) External Environment
a. Innovative iii) Increased competitive advantage
b. Risk taker for the organization.
c. Persistent a) Marketing factors
d. Organized b) Production factors
e. Enthusiastic P4 c) Research and development
iv) Delegates d) Personnel and expertise
a. Responsibility
b. Granting the authority
c. Accountability
B) Followership
i) Exemplary
a) Active Engagement
b) Independent
P2 c) Critical thinking
d) Confident P3
ii) Pragmatists
a) Moderate level of engagement
b) Low level of critical thinking
c) Low levels of commitment
iii) Conformist -Yes People
a) Active engagement
b) Dependent uncritical thinking
c) Active doers
iv) Passive-Sheep
a) Low level active engagement
b) Dependent uncritical thinking
c) Active doers
v) Alienated
a. Highly independent critical thinkers
b. Low in engagement
c. Negative/ Skeptic
14
5.0 Discussions
5.1 Leadership qualities and organizational performance
Organization’s major goal is to survive and sustain its existence in the aspect of improved
performance which ensure that the firms can meet the needs of the highly competitive market.
The organizational performance is greatly impacted by the leadership that is in place as the same
assists in making critical decisions that may ultimately affect the overall performance. Earlier
studies have shown that leaders motivate and assist their followers with effective leadership styles
which greatly influences the level of performance for organizations. Leaders are key decision
makers in the acquisition, deployment and development of key the organization’s resources that
would affect the performance of the organization (Madanchian et al., 2016). From the proposed
models, there is an existence of correlation of all the listed leadership qualities and organizational
performance. The virtues of integrity, truthfulness, straightforwardness, and trustworthiness
increases the level of trust for the followers to the leaders thus enhancing the performance of the
followers. A leader who is a good listener, clear, concise, confident and respect other peoples’
views is considered a good communicator who can command the respect of other followers. These
kinds of leaders can communicate and articulate their visions to the followers who ultimately
comprehend the same thus translating to increased output of the organization. Visionary leaders
are innovative as they initiate and develop new ideas that are communicated to the followers for
implementation. These leaders are risk taker, persistent organized and always exude enthusiasm
that assist the follower in implementing the organizations’ set goals and objectives. Effective
leaders always delegate which taking responsibility, giving authority and being accountable for
all the actions taken by their subordinates. Other researchers have also established findings that
has shown that there is a relationship between leadership and organizational performance
(Muteswa, 2016), it is also therefore, proposed that:
Proposition 1: Various positive leadership qualities do positively affect individual and

overall organizational performance and productivity.
5.2 The role of followership styles
There is no organization that can perform as expected without the input of the employees who
are also considered as the followers. The role of the followers cannot be overlooked as they are
the people who drive the vision of the organization to the expected levels (Northouse, 2019).
Followers or employees are key players in the management of organizations and their place in
organizations must always be emphasized. Leaders cannot perform without the support of the
followers or employees as they are the one who carry out the required activities to propel the
growth of organizations (Yukl, 2013). There are different followership styles which include
exemplary followers who are considered to actively engage in the activities of the organization,
they are independent, critical thinker and confident while implementing the assigned goals. These
followers are characterized by the aspect of prioritizing the purpose of the whole group more than
the personal purposes hence improving on their performance and their overall performance of
15
organization (Rook, 2018). Other types of followership include pragmatists followers who are
moderate level of engagement, have low level of critical thinking and low levels of commitment
and it is the role of the leaders to have the pragmatist followers transformed to the exemplary
followers who would perform their work as expected. Conformist followers are also regarded as
yes people who always have active engagement in the activities of the organization and are
considered as proactive members of the team (Walia, 2017). It is argued that passive (sheep)
followers have low levels of active engagement, are dependent uncritical thinkers and are active
doers and performers of the assigned activities. The alienated followers always feel out of place in
the organization, they are highly independent critical thinkers, with high engagement and always
being skeptical of most issues. It is the role of the leader to transform the passive and alienated
followers to the level of exemplary and pragmatist followers (Ahmad & Hassan, 2018). All the
forms of followership exhibited by the followers will be highly dependent on the leadership
qualities exhibited by the leaders in organizations. In view of the above it is proposed that:
Proposition 2: There is a correlation between the leadership qualities exhibited by the

leaders and followership styles.
Proposition 3: Though leadership qualities directly affect both the performance of
individual and the organization, the impact is also dependent on the followership styles
exhibited by the followers/employees.
Proposition 4: Followers styles and behaviors mediates the relationship between leadership
qualities and organizational performance.
6.0 Conclusion
The purpose of the paper was to review the conceptual, theoretical, and empirical literature and
provide that comprehension of the constructs of leadership qualities and its resultants outcomes in
the firms and propose a proper theoretical framework that is suitable for modelling the relationship
between the constructs that were identified. The identified constructs were found to have an impact
in the performance of the organization which would ultimately enhance the competitive advantage
of the organization. The research established that when positive leadership qualities are combined
with followership styles such as the exemplary and pragmatist, they enhance the performance of
the organization in the achievement of the set goals and objectives. The paper has further
highlighted the role of followership in creating that environment for optimal performance of
organizations. The research has further demonstrated the comprehension of the understanding of
each construct on the proposed theoretical model by the identification of the indicators and relating
each construct on the developed theoretical model. Some of the notable limitations and constraints
include limited time and resources which could not allow a comprehensive research. The other
limitation was regarding the study type as the same was only but a desk study that only ensured
capturing of information and data from the literature review and not conducting interviews and
surveys that would provide real time data for the research. The propositions made are yet to be
validated empirically and therefore this paper proposes that further areas of research to be in the
validation and proper interpretation the noted propositions.
16
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LEADERSHIP QUALITIES AND THEIR CONSEQUENCIES IN AN

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT: LITERATURE REVIEW

Name: John Ngatia Githui

Key Words: Leadership, leadership qualities, followership, and organizational performance

1.2 The purpose and significance of the study

2.0 Conceptual Literature Review

i) Honesty and integrity

ii) Good communicator

followers’ attitude and outputs which ultimately leads to organizational transformations

Independent Critical Thinking

Allienated Followers Exemplary Followers

Passive Followers Conformist Followers

Dependent, uncritical thinking

ii) Conformist followers

iii) The pragmatist followers

iv) Exemplary followers

2.5 Leaders’ role in developing followers

2.6 Theoretical Review

i) Great man theory

ii) Contingency Theory (Situational)

iii) Style and behavioral theory

3.0 Case for new theoretical model

Conceptual framework P1. P2, P3. P4

A) Leadership Qualities Organizational Performance/

Proposition 1: Various positive leadership qualities do positively affect individual and

Proposition 2: There is a correlation between the leadership qualities exhibited by the

Karamat, Ullah, A. (2013). Impact of leadership on Organizational Performance.

European Journal of Business Management, 7(33), 154–163.

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