In Chapter 9 of Complex Adaptive Leadership, Obolensky introduces to readers a possible "vicious circle for leaders," in which a follower may ask for advice from the leader, and in demonstrating a lower level of skill on the service, this drives the leader to get concerned and take a more hands on approach, which leads to a follower's confidence lowering and assuming they need to demonstrate greater deference. When caught in a vicious circle, these steps continue to repeat and the problem compounds itself.
Within my own organization, I wouldn't say that it happens on a regular basis, but there are occasions for it to happen either on and off during normal activities or around larger projects that have garnered high attention from senior leadership. As our organization is in the unusual position of having relatively new officers filling roles in mid level leadership positions, although these officers are trusted to perform at an above average level there are still inevitably times when inexperience shows and higher levels of leadership will need to jump in to provide additional guidance or offer corrections. How the young officer reacts can vary based upon situation and personality...I admittedly tend to become a little more cautious and deferential, while some of my peers can continue to assume their typical role as hard chargers.
The effects on the organization as a whole can also vary and can be argued upon. If higher level leadership is called in to take a more hands on approach, this can restrict some freedom of action for junior leadership and create additional stressors. Depending upon the senior leader's methodology, the younger officer may feel put "under the microscope" and may experience something of a fight or flight response or pressure to perform, which depending upon how they process it can also make life unpleasant for their subordinates or render the officer less effective in the leadership decisions they are given. Senior leadership may in turn feel additional stress from feeling the need to more closely monitor activities, and having to move between tactical and strategic viewpoints may increase the possibility of them missing other issues. Overall, from my limited experience, the unit will continue to run although the leadership experience can become more unpleasant for the follower.
As for how to diffuse this cycle, it may simply involve replacing the hands on approach from leadership step with instead giving the appropriate response from the Level V Followership hierarchy and perhaps even giving on the spot feedback that gives emphasis on what the follower did well and what more they can do. By doing this, rather than simply intervening and possibly putting a halt to any of the follower's forward momentum or causing them to become risk averse, the follower can better comprehend what did for them and take a tailored approach to making improvements on weaker areas. This would ideally yield a follower that will steadily improve over time, be willing to take reasonable risks, and perhaps even build their confidence by having their success validated and having an interest taken in their continued development.
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