I recently worked with two individuals who had actually worked with the same organization until recently. One was the leader, one was the follower. The follower had resigned from her role. In working with each of them it was fascinating to see the two sides of the story and the stories each individual told themselves regarding why the follower had resigned. Particularly interesting was the similarity in age and personality of the two individuals, and the fact that the leader had actively head hunted the follower.The follower shared that she had felt micro-managed and not empowered to do the job she had been asked to. This was compounded by changes in the focus and expectation of the role.
The leader shared that she found the follower to be non-communicative and challenging to manage. Ironically, the follower returned as a consultant to progress the primary task she had been appointed as an employee to do. This scenario highlighted to me the need for leaders to adopt appropriate leadership styles to suit their individual followers, and the importance of seeking to first understand and then seek to be understood.