"If the United States is faltering now, it is because of a failure of followership more than a failure of leadership. The fate of the United States. and particularly U.S. industry, depends on a return to our roots – a belief in the power of the follower, that we are the ones who ultimately make the difference whether it be at home, at work, in our communities, or in our nation." Robert Kelly
This quote reminds me that being a good follower is just as important as being a good leader. Whether you or I like to admit it, we often find ourselves in the role of follower, regardless of our title or position. It is a responsibility that we have, and it is no less important that that of leadership. The truth is, we can become more effective leaders by learning to be a better follower. This is true because effective followers share many of the same characteristics as effective leaders.
But it is not cool to be a follower, even on Twitter. Many Tweeters suggest that in order to be considered a person worth following, it is important to have more people following you than the number of people you are following. We even have developed cool names for followership – we call it "leading up," "managing up," or "leading from the middle." We go out of our way to avoid the use of the word follower – because we know it is not as glamorous as leading.
You Will Lead – So Learn To Follow
You and I will most likely be followers, much more often than we will be leaders. As the call for self-led teams and collaboration increases, the person who understands the basic rules of followership will be considered by others to be a more effective team member. Kelly's quote also reminds us that regardless of our position in our organization or society we are accountable. We must understand that responsibility for results rests with each of us, no matter where we find ourselves in the organization.
Understanding what it takes to be a good follower is no easy task. It is just as complicated a subject as understanding what it takes to be a good leader. The big difference is that very few people write about what it takes to be a good follower. It is projected that there are at least 300 leadership texts for every one on followership. I did a google search this morning and found 140,000 hits for followership and 157,000,000 for leadership. That is quite a staggering difference.
So What Does It Take?
I often find myself thinking about what it takes to be a good follower. I have my own thoughts, but rather than share them now, I would like to invite you to think with me on this one. What do you think it takes to be a good follower? What are the characteristics that you have developed? I said earlier that being a good leader is closely connected with being a good follower. Do you agree with that? What have you learned through your leadership experiences that has helped you to be a better follower? What have you learned from your followership experiences that has helped you to be a better leader?
I look forward to hearing your thoughts. As always, you can answer via comment here with the blog post or directly to me via email.
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