To Be an Effective Leader/Follower

Be Accountable

Do you ever play the blame game? It looks like this: Everyone stands in a circle with their arms crossed in front of them, index fingers pointing at the people on either side, saying, “It’s not my fault, it’s their fault.” Good followers have the courage to deliver what they promise, when they promised it. They do what they said they were going to do, and when they mess up, they face up to it. Responsible and dependable followers get more respect and appreciation from their coworkers and managers, and in turn they respect themselves more.

Tell the Truth

Warren G. Bennis, pioneer of the contemporary field of leadership studies and chairman of The Leadership Institute at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, said: “What makes a good follower? The single most important characteristic may well be a willingness to tell the truth. In a world of growing complexity, leaders are increasingly dependent on their subordinates for good information, whether the leaders want to hear it or not. Followers who tell the truth and leaders who listen to it are an unbeatable combination.” What a novel idea! Listening to the followers who are closest to the customers, the operations,  and the distribution. No wonder Bennis sells so many books!

Build Enthusiasm

Enthusiasm cannot be faked. It’s the responsibility of a follower to make a conscious choice to either have a positive, enthusiastic attitude at work or to leave the organization. If you are constantly grumbling and complaining, what are you accomplishing for yourself or your organization? Don’t be dead weight. Choose to build enthusiasm or else choose to go somewhere else that offers something that you can be enthusiastic about. Life’s too short to be unhappy every day.

Challenge Ideas, Support Decisions

Leaders rely on their followers to have a critical eye on new ideas and, if they are courageous leaders, will welcome healthy debate about new strategies, product ideas, and operational improvements. But after the debate is over and the decision is made, it’s time for followers to get behind the leader and drop the debate. Don’t sabotage the idea by dragging your feet, missing deadlines, and putting up obstacles. Put your own agenda to the side, move on, and get the job done. Don’t disrespect your leader behind his or her back, but believe that your long-term interests are best served by serving the team, not yourself. When the play is called, you must run the pattern or get off the team.

Have an Open Mind

Effective followers also realize that while they may have been with an organization for a long time and have “been there, done that,” it just may be possible that they don’t know it all. They don’t criticize new ideas as unworkable, unusable, or just plain stupid. It just may be that your leader has a few good ideas, too. Accept direction and instruction, training, and constructive criticism.

Be a Good Human Being

So this leadership-followship thing is really a full circle. You probably have realized that the characteristics of an effective follower are also the characteristics of an effective leader. That’s because the line between leader and follower is constantly being blurred: leaders giving direction while listening to what their people are telling them, followers defining customer needs and wants while the leader defines the vision, and leaders earning the right to their following. It’s a constant, complex give-and-take dance that we step through every day, isn’t it?

In the end, being an effective leader or follower is about being a good human being. It’s about being self-reliant, cooperative, honest, responsible, and engaged enough to care about making your organization and community a better place.

Followers lead by example within their companies, and are often leaders in their families and religious organizations. Both require loyalty, dependability, and unselfishness.

Whatever position you find yourself in—leader, follower, or, at times, both—make sure it’s about improving the lives of the stakeholders in your company and the people in your community.