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Leadership Tip of the Month

April 2003

Copyright 2003 ã weLEAD, Inc.

Good Followership Qualities – Part 1

This month, we will discuss some of the individual qualities of good followership. These qualities help the follower to be more effective and prepare them for future positions of leadership. Learning to serve and follow others helps one to develop the empathy and humility needed for superb leadership. These followership guidelines are based on taking personal responsibility, maintaining trust and credibility and remaining true to your deeply felt convictions.

Know what you are expected to do. You cannot appear to be reliable and competent if your role is vague or ambiguous. Make sure your job tasks have been clearly communicated to you by the leader(s). What are your responsibilities, performance standards, and range of authority? Establish and maintain contact with your leader to minimize inconsistent or unclear messages. Your first major task is to be diplomatic but fervent to resolve any ambiguity or conflict about your role with the leader. You can only be a successful and beneficial follower if both you and the leader know exactly what your tasks are, and what perimeters you have to achieve them.

Take initiative and keep the leader informed. You are expected to take the personal initiative to solve problems that block the achievement of goals and objectives. This initiative may take different forms including solving the problem yourself, pointing out difficulties to others and suggesting ways to solve various problems. There may be times when it is expedient to initiate a “pilot project” to prove the validity of an idea or different approach before presenting the concept to the leader. It is also important to keep the leader informed about the important actions and decisions you are making. It is embarrassing to a leader to find out from others what you are doing and why! Mutual trust and respect is built upon good communication and positive relationships.

Provide accurate information and feedback. Good followers know it is their responsibility to provide clear and accurate information to their leader. In reality, the follower has extensive power over what the leader knows and this may positively or negatively affect the quality of their decisions. Good decisions are based on timely and sound information. Your responsibility is to relay both good news and bad news. A leader will not respect or appreciate distorted or erroneous information provided by a follower who has a “hidden agenda”. Make sure you verify the information you receive, and if you cannot, be sure to acknowledge it as questionable or limited.

Support the leader’s efforts to generate positive change. Lasting and productive change requires the cooperative effort of many individuals in an organization. It is a myth that a single heroic leader can initiate change. All change meets with resistance and the leader needs support and encouragement during this time of additional stress. Offer to provide additional emotional and task support to a frustrated leader who may be struggling with an immediate crisis or may feel overwhelmed with organizational change.

Challenge the leader’s flawed plans or strategies. This is perhaps the most valuable contribution of a loyal follower and the most difficult because it risks the displeasure of the leader! It helps if you have the right approach. Begin by expressing your respect for the leader and your desire to be a helpful associate and team member. Present your disagreement as an honest concern about the existing situation and the decisions that led up to it. Describe the problems in specific terms rather than vague concepts. Do not make this a personal attack or critique of the leader’s skills or ability. If the leader is skeptical of your genuine concerns, suggest a broader discussion with other credible followers to encourage reconsideration of the original decision.

Next month we will examine more valuable qualities of good followership!

For weLEAD, this is Greg Thomas reminding you that it was Robert Burton who wrote the following quote regarding followership, “I light my candle from their torches.”

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!