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We read scores of articles about leadership in management magazines, but where are the articles about followership?
TEACHER HAD BETTER KNOW a lot about students, a doctor a lot about patients, and a leader a lot about followers.
How much do you know about followers? If you don't also pay attention to followership you are studying half of a subject; leadership and followership are two parts of one dynamic relationship. Senior executives are both leaders and followers. Do you report to a chairman, CEO or VP? If so, you both lead and follow. In this dual role, you may find that you cannot be an effective and ethical leader if you are not first a courageous follower.
For example, suppose you work as a marketing VP. Your organization's mission is clear. You exert strong leadership to implement your piece of the strategy. But the EVP is a micromanager who fires off instructions that distract from the strategy. You are left with three choices: follow the EVP literally; become a chaotic leader who constantly changes your team's priorities (passive followership); or confront the EVP about his or her counterproductive style and be an influence for positive change. The last choice constitutes courageous followership and is necessary if you're going to, in turn, be a good leader.
Or suppose your mission is to develop a highly skilled, motivated, flexible workforce which can help your organization transform itself into the 21st century. You have clear programs in place to achieve this. But the CEO repeatedly insists on further headcount reductions which go well beyond what budget realities demand. You watch morale and motivation plummet as you implement the CEO's dictates. It's clear that repeated downsizing is destructive to the company's well-being. What do you do and how can you do it effectively? This requires a very different model of followership.
I'm Not a Follower!
Most "leaders" don't like to think of themselves as followers. In our culture being a follower connotes weakness, passivity or mindlessness. But this...