Followership

"I can't wait until I'm the boss and don't have to answer to anyone."

We've all heard something similar, either in business, in the community, children, or perhaps in our own voices.  It's a consistent refrain echoing across all ages, from the very young to the very old:  one day I'll be in charge.  For all of us, that day never comes - no matter our upward trajectory in an organization.


Think of a typical fast food restaurant corporation.  For many of the workers in the stores, the manager is the one "in charge."  To the manager however, the district manager is in charge, checking in on store performance, profitability, etc.  This continues up the organization chart through the regional manager, the corporate operations manager, the COO, the president, and then the CEO.

Some would say the CEO is the big boss, but in fact the CEO has many bosses, reporting to the board of directors.  In turn, each member of the board is responsible to stakeholders and shareholders of the company.

Finally, consider that some of those shareholders actually work for the company as well, and may have even earned their stock as part of their compensation.

We are all in charge - and at the same time none of us are in charge.  We are all leaders, and one of the strongest components of leadership is something called followership.

Back in 2010, Warren Bennis wrote a piece called Art of Followership for Leadership Excellence.  Here is a quote from that piece:

Whether their field is politics, business, science, or the arts, leaders are at the center of the action - the envied if not enviable stars whose lives seem to burn a little brighter than our own.  We aspire to the power and perquisites, even as we take pleasure when one of them stumbles and falls.  Indeed, the moment when we realize that we are mostly followers, not leaders, is a genuine developmental milestone; who forgets that painful leap over the line of demarcation between the boundless fantasies of childhood and the sober realities of an adulthood in which we never become the god we hoped to be.

To create leaders in organizations, the gift of followership must be given.  Followers deliver power, influence, and credence to leaders.  To create great leaders in organizations, the gift of great followership must be given - delivering great power, great influence, and great credibility to leaders.

Colonel Phillip S. Meilinger, USAF and dean of the School of Advanced Airpower Studies at Air University, wrote "The Ten Rules of Good Followership," (also found here) with advice on how to be a better follower.  The last paragraph of his article contains these words:  "All of us are subordinate to someone, and learning how to serve our boss well is an important responsibility.  If we can master this task, and master it well, then we will, in turn, be better leaders when that challenge confronts us."  His ten rules are below, but I strongly encourage you to take five minutes to read the article.

1. Don't blame your boss for an unpopular decision or policy; your job is to support, not undermine.


2. Fight with your boss if necessary, but do it in private, avoid embarrassing situations, and never reveal to others what was discussed.


3. Make the decision, then run it past the boss; use your initiative.


4. Accept responsibility whenever it is offered.


5. Tell the truth and don't quibble; your boss will be giving advice up the chain of command based on what you said.


6. Do your homework; give your boss all the information needed to make a decision; anticipate possible questions.


7. When making a recommendation, remember who will probably have to implement it.  This means you must know your own limitations and weaknesses as well as your strengths.


8. Keep your boss informed of what's going on in the unit; people will be reluctant to tell him or her their problems and successes.  You should do it for them, and assume someone else will tell the boss about yours.


9. If you see a problem, fix it.  Don't worry about who would have gotten the blame or who now gets the praise.


10. Put in more than an honest day's work, but don't ever forget the needs of your family.  If they are unhappy, you will be too, and your job performance will suffer accordingly.

Strong followers help leaders lead, ultimately building the leadership capability of both the leader and the follower.

Follow on, my friend. :)

Best,

Bryan