Edverdas Vaclovas Bartkus
Kaunas University of Technology
Donatas Pilinkus
Vilnius University
Keywords:
leadership, leaders, followers, the dyadic relation, an inside group, an outside group, the process of creation of leadership, mature partnership
Abstract
Most of the leadership theories emphasize characteristics of leaders (Kirkpatrick, 1991, Katz, 1995, Stogdill, 1963), followers, context (Blanchard, 1985, Fiedler, 1974) or their combination (House, 1974) and leadership is considered from the point of view what leaders give to their follower by treating them as a group. Theory of leadership evaluating leadership from the point of view of relationship is the theory of leader-member exchange (LMX) (Dansereau, F., Graen, G. B. and Haga, W., 1975). This theory considers the influence of subordinates on the leader to be of the same importance as the influence of leaders on subordinates. LMX theory presents the model of the creation of leadership which proposes leaders to search for the methods of creation of mutual trust and respect with all subordinates, thus changing the whole wok unit into an inside group. LMX theory prompts leaders to create relationship of mature partnership with every subordinate and to avoid any inequity. We raise the hypothesis: the quality of interaction between a leader and a follower and the process of the creation of leadership at the same time are influenced by the age and sex of subordinates, therefore while creating leadership these aspects should be taken into account.The research of the interaction between the leader and followers performed among the higher medical staff of stationary departments of Kaunas county hospital and its branch Kaunas psychiatry hospital showed some differences among sexes in the process of the creation of leadership and some influence of the age of a follower to the quality of interchange with the leader. The analysis of the interaction between a leader and followers allowed us to make the final generalization as follows: 1) the more aged, the more often high quality interchange is formed with a leader and mostly this tendency is exposed among respondents aged 41-60 who already have some work and life experience; 2) despite the fact that the major part of the investigated group consisted of women, even twice more men in comparison to women group create high quality interchange with the leader; 3) men trust their leader more than women and are ready to protect and to explain his/her decision. 4) women feel less understood by their leaders, considerably less than men trust them and more seldom are ready to protect themselves and to explain their decisions; 5) however, despite the quality of interchange with the leader, women who form the major part of the members of the dyad are not less pleased in their relationship with the leader than men. Therefore it could be stated that despite a prompt attempt of leaders (by LMX theory) to create relationship of mature partnership with every subordinate avoiding any inequity, it is necessary that such aspects as age and sex of followers should be taken into account.
