To Be an Effective Leader/Follower

As time passes and I gain experience, I realize that in order to be an effective leader, I must also be an effective follower. I’ve learned that, at times, I’ve focused on leading the way up the mountain more than listening to the direction my organization was telling me to go. I thought that was what I was supposed to do.

Is it any wonder? How many courses are taught in business schools about being a good follower? Zippo. Nada. None. And while thousands of books and articles have been written about leadership (some even by me), little has been written about being an effective follower. In fact, the abridged dictionary has several definitions of leadership, and Dictionary.com even lists the word in multiple languages, including Estonian, Icelandic, and Slovenian. But there’s not one definition listed for “followship.”

I suppose nobody wants to be called a follower because it conveys weakness or blind faith. Images of the children’s game of “Follow the Leader” come to mind, in which whoever copies all the actions of the leader perfectly wins the game. Gee, does any American businessperson in his or her right mind want to be thought of in that way? An organization of androids blindly following a leader is rarely a successful organization.

Perhaps the only good advice about being an effective follower can be found in the world’s best-selling book of all time: the Bible. I certainly don’t believe that I could improve upon that subject matter.

The truth is that it takes both effective leadership and followship for an organization to accomplish its goals. It’s impossible to be a leader without a following. Put simply: To get things done, a leader must point the way to a common goal and the rest of the organization must follow. By the same token, a leader must earn the right to a following. It’s a two-way street, a complex dance, an equal partnership. So, because followship is equally as important as leadership, I’m offering up these 10 ways to improve your followship.

Leaders gain a following by clearly envisioning the future state of the organization and communicating it to all employees. Effective followers understand that vision, ask questions about it, and know how their daily responsibilities fit into accomplishing the common organizational agenda. In other words, they know where they’re going and how to get there.

Some leaders aren’t good communicators, and sometimes they don’t have a clear vision for the future. If that’s the case, followers must ask questions and offer input that is helpful for moving their organizations toward a defined vision.

Effective followers don’t just do their time—they spend their time doing. Rather than complaining about what’s not right, they get involved in helping the cause. Good followers are loving critics. If they don’t like the way things are being done or the direction the company is headed, they get engaged in new ideas and solutions. They maintain an active role and are clear about what they can do to make a difference, and then get on with doing it.

Make Yourself Valuable

We all have coworkers who only do what’s asked of them and rarely take the initiative to take on a project that they simply know needs to get done. Too many people wait for a leader to tell them what to do, instead of having ideas themselves or being creative and resourceful on their own. They say, “Why hasn’t anyone trained me on this?” or “Why doesn’t anyone value what I contribute to this organization?” Good followers ask, “How can I learn how to do this?” or “How can I make myself more valuable?” There’s a difference.

Talk About Tough Stuff

It’s the followers who are closest to operations and customers, and who really know what’s working and what’s not. Unfortunately, too many organizations have a corporate culture that doesn’t allow for the bad news to get to the top. Unless, of course, the person at the top asks for it; then it becomes a game of hot potato over who delivers the bad news. Effective followers get beyond the “It’s not my problem” problem and understand that it’s everyone’s problem to make the organization the most productive and efficient it can be. They aren’t afraid to tell the boss about major issues and they continually ask tough questions to learn what can be done to resolve them. And they aren’t afraid to disagree and defend their position if they have information that backs up their point of view.