So you can lead, but can you follow?

Management and MBA courses place a great deal of emphasis on developing the skills of leadership. Contemporary theory asserts that leadership can be evidenced at all levels of the organization and regardless of title or rank. But we can’t all be leaders, some of us have to be followers. We also can’t have everyone vying for the leadership seat, because nothing will get done. I am going to suggest that to be a good leader, you need to know how to be a good follower first. If you can develop the attitude and qualities of followership, you will not only become a more inspiring leader as a result, you will also put yourself in a position to be marked out as a potential leader as your career progresses. Remember that being a follower is not the same as being a ‘sheep’, these are 5 things that I think make a good follower:

#1 – Show yourself to be supportive and not undermining:

Too often the ambitious younger manager in the early stages of his or her career is keen to make their mark by showing their current boss to be inept, particularly when things go wrong. This is not a tactic that will endear you to your colleagues, or to those above you; you can be ambitious without needing to undermine. As the saying goes, “be careful how you treat others on your way to the top, because you will never know who your are going to meet again on your way back down and you may need their help." If something goes wrong, be the one that proffers a solution.

#2 – Show competence:

You need to be competent at the role assigned to you by the leader. Whilst the onus is also on leaders to ensure that they are giving roles to those who have the requisite skills and abilities to complete the task, but as a follower you need to demonstrate that you have those skills and to keep them updated. Do not pretend that you know something, lest you fear that this might be seen as weakness. Instead complete the task ably and to the best of your ability and if you don’t know how to do something, seek advice from more experienced hands.

#3 – Work hard, but keep a balance:

As a follower you will not perform to your best if you allow the all-important work-life balance to tip the scale too much either side. Don’t work so hard that you are ignoring all of your other vital commitments, personal and family, but also don’t let the outside distractions derail you from completing the task at hand.

#4 – Share the praise with the boss and the team:

If something goes well and you have had a hand in that success, share the praise with your boss and, most importantly, with the rest of your team. If you show a generosity when taking and sharing credit for a job well done, then others will be more willing to incorporate you when other projects succeed. Your boss will also mark you out as someone who is supporting and encouraging the team and you will be underlining your future leadership potential. US General George Marshall one said that there was no limit to the amount of good that people could achieve, providing they didn’t care who got the credit for doing it!

#5 – Show courage without being argumentative:

Too often the ambitious young manager can become frustrated and exhibit that frustration by become argumentative with the boss. Both Steve Jobs and Jeff Bezos are famous for prizing the managers who would argue with them, rather than supinely accept a dressing down. However, remember that leaders will appreciate those who are honest with them and come to them with reasoned and considered criticisms, whether of the leader’s mission or the leader themselves, providing that the follower is not doing so to advance their own agenda. Have courage, but do not be argumentative and certainly not in public.

Remember, don’t be a sheep, be a follower. These are just a few of my reflections on followership. With so much of the emphasis on leadership, this is often not given the attention that it so richly deserves. I believe that you can’t be a good leader until you have been a follower.

You have heard my views, what makes you a good follower?

Written by Will Trevor - Founder and Training Consultant for Windsor Training: will.trevor@windsortraining.net

Picture Credit: By Gerhard66 (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons