We’ve heard a lot in the business world about the importance of good leadership, attributes of a good leader, the importance of being a (fill in the blank) type of leader, etc. But we’ve not heard much about the attributes and importance of good followership. Since by definition there will always be more followers than leaders, don’t you think this is an important skill to explore? In this week’s article, Great Leaders Are Great Followers we look at what it takes to be a good follower and the importance of good followership to good leadership.
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- February 4, 2012
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Followers recognize the value of loyalty and integrity keeping in mind that this should not be confused with BLIND devotion
Hi Steve,
Great article on the attributes of followership. Years ago there was an article inb the Harvard Business Review on this exact topic. I don’t have a reference, but you might want to check it out.
It’s taken a while to get to this one, but what about the concept of “not loving your idea too much”? I really like this one and try to take it to heart these days. Group work, “following” if you will, is about sharing an idea because it might spark the next idea and eventually lead to the answer, but it may not. Being willing to move on is a great attribute for a follower.
To do either, to follow or to lead, requires me to step out and be a witness. I must be able to sense what the group needs and who is best to lead at any moment. Being the witness gives me humility, humility to offer my gifts quietly when the group needs them and to allow others to offer theirs when needed.
Thanks Steve. I like the comment about being active rather than passive, but what do you do when you’re labeled as a troublemaker if you question why things are being done a certain way? In many circles I travel in I find leaders pay lip service to wanting active followers but at the end of the day anything that rocks the status quo is viewed with suspicion and suggestions are rarely if ever implemented. When you get knocked back long enough you finally give up and like Winston at the end of 1984 learn how to “love Big Brother”