The Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation, the International Federation of Air Traffic
Control Associations, the International Air Transport Association and the Civil Air Navigation
Services Organisation agree that professionals in the Air Navigation Services Provider
Sector require successful organisational leadership to facilitate and manage transformation
within the highly regulated Air Navigation Services Provider Sector. Detailed organisational
leadership requirements and associated leadership training and development needs are,
however, not specified by the Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation. An opportunity
therefore existed to investigate leadership traits and behaviours within a specific context.
This research project is contextualised within a safety-conscious, highly regulated and
technology-driven industry (the South African Aviation Industry), a safety-critical sector (Air
Navigation Services) and specifically the Air Traffic and Navigation Services Company. It
was found that little academic research has been done to address the role of followers in the
leadership process and to determine what followers expect and require from their leaders.
The research problem statement, in response to this research necessity, is: “How can
follower experiences and expectations of leadership behaviours in a safety-critical
commercial environment be collected, analysed, understood, structured and utilised to aid
leadership development?”
An ethnographic research case study approach allowed the researcher to investigate the
multifarious phenomena that constitute the current views (experiences and expectations)
held by followers with regard to leadership behaviour qualities. A mixed methods approach
was followed. Data collection was facilitated by means of individual interviews, focus group
interviews, field notes and a structured questionnaire. Qualitative data were inductively
analysed to identify the recurring patterns and common themes and quantitative data were
deductively analysed to assess the nature of existing conditions and relevance. Data and
method triangulation was implemented to determine whether multiple sources of data
agreed, and to obtain better, cross-checked insights.
Findings from this research study provided academic, industry, process and methodology
insights into views held by followers regarding leadership and followership constructs.
Definitions and perspectives held and reported by followers regarding leaders and
leadership, characteristics of preferred and undesired leadership styles, relational and
emotional bonds between followers and their leaders acknowledged the presence, value and
influence of follower mental models. In this case followers contextualised leadership roles
and responsibilities and suggested a transformational leadership style as a desired state.
Findings also emphasised a need to appreciate the importance of the social exchange and
social contingency theories of leadership in order to create a better understanding of
leadership by emphasising the importance of context when studying leaders and leadership
from a follower perspective. Obtained follower insights resulted in a structured leadership
training and development needs analysis process framed within the specific context.
Future research efforts in this regard may be aimed at determining the necessity to educate
followers to critically appreciate and evaluate leadership performance and creating a better
understanding of how followers’ mental models internally represent complex, dynamic
systems and how these representations change over time. / Business Management / DBL
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:unisa/oai:uir.unisa.ac.za:10500/18687 |
| Date | 07 1900 |
| Creators | Joubert, Christiaan Gerhardus |
| Contributors | Feldman, J.A. |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | 1 online resource (1 volume (various pagings)), application/pdf |
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