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Leadership Tip of the Month

March 2003

Copyright 2003 ã weLEAD, Inc.

The Art of Followership

Leaders can only exist and accomplish extraordinary goals because they have supportive followers! Both need each other to achieve the group’s vision and established mission. Unfortunately, the term “to follow” or “follower” has gained a negative connotation in western society. Some sneeringly use the epithet “follower” to label an individual as one who is passive, inferior or without creativity. In reality, nothing could be further from the truth. Followers make things happen and thereby gain the valuable skills needed to grow themselves into leadership positions. Ira Chaleff, author of The Courageous Follower: Standing Up to and for Our Leaders, correctly argues that it is essential for our culture to change this negative perception of followers into a positive evaluation.

In the study of leadership theory, the word followership often defines those who acknowledge the central leader(s) as a source for guidance, motivation and authority. However, to a certain degree, all individuals are leaders and all are followers. Everyone in the modern workplace shares in at least some leadership role or responsibility and even a CEO may demonstrate followership within a relationship with the Board of Directors!

A team of knowledgeable and motivated followers can result in all necessary work being performed successfully. It rests upon the followers to complete most everyday jobs, maintain cooperative working relationships, share in various leadership functions and support development of present and future leaders. Effective followers are an essential element in any group’s success. They recognize that all leader’s have strengths and weaknesses. Effective followers help the leader to fully utilize their strengths and compensate or overcome the leader’s weaknesses. Followers provide constructive disagreement that helps to balance a leader’s extremes. For example, the same fine leadership qualities that help a leader to be passionate, self-confident and a person of strong opinions, may also contribute to the leader acting self-righteously, being overly ambitious and making serious high-risk decisions. Skillful followers who have developed a high level of respect and mutual trust with the leader are able to risk the leader’s displeasure by offering a balanced or differing perspective. An important role within good followership is not to simply complain about the leader, but to help them to become a better leader.

What if your organization has weak or poor leadership? Sadly, this is a common problem today in most organizations. Many formal leaders with majestic titles lack either the desire or basic skills required for genuine leadership. However, effective followers can look beyond the present leadership void by having a strong commitment to the group or organization and its mission. Actually, mentoring a weak leader has side benefits for the dedicated follower. In assisting a weak leader, the follower will also develop and learn critical leadership skills.

It is important to remember that today’s followers will become tomorrow’s leaders! For instance, most people would look upon the accomplishments of Thomas Jefferson and immediately recognize his effective multifaceted leadership skills. However, in 1776 and at the age of 33, Jefferson played a follower’s role as part of a committee established to create the United States Declaration of Independence. Dwarfed by other powerful committee members such as Benjamin Franklin and John Adams, he quietly drafted the document as a junior member of the committee. His authorship was little known outside of the Continental Congress and he received no public recognition until eight years afterward when it was revealed in a newspaper article. This significant contribution of a follower helped to change world history and the experience he gained from observing his senior committee members prepared him for future leadership responsibilities.

In the April 2003 “Leadership Tips of the Month”, we will discuss some of the individual qualities of good followership. Click here to read an exclusive weLEAD article on the “Leadership Lessons From the Life of Thomas Jefferson”

 For weLEAD, this is Greg Thomas reminding you that it was John Maxwell who has stated, “If you think you are leading and no one is following, you are only taking a walk.”

On the weLEAD Website you will find over 70 other free helpful leadership tips. They are all available in a text version or as an MP3 audio!