Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to review research, especially that of John Gaski, that suggests there are limits to the power a leader has over followers, based on how much power followers will accept.

Design/methodology/approach

By first reviewing the existing literature on power, leader–follower attachment, leader–follower distance and followership, an exploration of John Gaski’s (1984) Volume of Power, are challenged. This is accomplished through execution of a phenomenological qualitative research study.

Findings

Survey responses identified 61 themes that were then pared down to six resulting themes, each including positive and negative words (tones) implying variances in responses to leaders. From this, two latent codes emerge: transformational leadership approach; and follower response.

Research limitations/implications

The author determined that power acceptance by followers is not symmetric as exhibited by the willingness to follow a leader in one area but not fully in another area leading to a volume of power that is not a symmetric cube.

Practical implications

The results can provide organizations with insights into individually directed training and education focusing on leader–follower relationships, courageous followership and transformational approaches to leadership.

Originality/value

This research builds on John Gaski’s work regarding follower responses to power. This research presented in this paper supports the hypothesis that follower’s responses are not symmetric.

中文翻译：

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评估领导者对追随者的权力限制

目的

本文的目的是回顾研究，尤其是 John Gaski 的研究，该研究表明领导者对追随者的权力是有限的，这取决于追随者会接受多少权力。

设计/方法/方法

通过首先回顾现有的关于权力、领导者与追随者依恋、领导者与追随者距离和追随者的文献，对约翰·加斯基 (John Gaski) (1984) 权力卷的探索受到了挑战。这是通过执行现象学定性研究来完成的。

发现

调查回复确定了 61 个主题，然后将其缩减为六个由此产生的主题，每个主题包括正面和负面的词（语气），暗示对领导者的反应存在差异。由此，出现了两个潜在的代码：变革型领导方法；和追随者的回应。

研究限制/影响

作者确定追随者对权力的接受是不对称的，表现为愿意在一个领域追随领导者但在另一个领域不完全追随导致权力量不是对称立方体。

实际影响

研究结果可以为组织提供有关个人指导的培训和教育的见解，重点是领导者与下属的关系、勇敢的追随者和领导的变革方法。

原创性/价值

这项研究建立在约翰加斯基关于追随者对权力的反应的工作之上。本文中提出的这项研究支持了追随者的反应不对称的假设。