Like this:

Leadership and Followership has a “circular effect”, which continually feed off each other.  Better the followership, better the Leadership and vice versa.  We are all Leaders and all followers (always reporting to someone higher: Boss, Board of Directors or following someone).  Followership is just as important as Leadership and is an art in itself.

Excerpt from the “Inclusion of Hope in the Servant Leadership Model” that helps reinforce the Leadership and Followership circular dynamic:

 ”Kelly (1992) states, organizations and leaders need to pay attention to people who follow as disciples.  Outcomes of this servant leadership behavior include an effective multiplication of the leadership style and organizational achievements exemplified in the follower can serve as valuable conduits of organizational culture and knowledge.”  

“Bass (1990) points out, “leadership and followership are mutual activities of influence and counter-influence”, since both stimulate and reinforce the other’s behavior.   As an extension of this model, hope is a virtue that is reciprocated in the followers’ response to the leader. Hope contributes a dimension to the servant leadership model that adds value to the organizational environment as well as contributing in a positive sense to the outlook of leader and follower alike.” 

In essence, good followership makes the Leadership shine, which in turn, the credit should be deflected back upon the followers.  Leaders, remember that your followers are a reflection of YOU.  Followers, remember your role is to support your Leaders.   Supporting does not mean blindly following, but you do everything in your power to set your Leader up for success.  Remember they also are reporting to another Leader.  The circular effect applies: Leaders also do everything in their power to ensure followers have resources necessary to carry out their decisions and tasks. 

I will end this with thoughts on followership because it does not  get as much emphasis or focus as Leadership does, even though it is just as vital.  All of us are in Leadership and followership roles.  If you do not learn the art of followership, you are not doing any good to yourself and the organization.  You will be viewed as a liability in whatever capacity in which you serve, if you do not understand and practice good followership.  One aspect of followership is loyalty.  One of the most blatant violations I have seen in followership is not supporting a Leader’s decision.  Good followers make a Leaders decision look like it was their own.  Poor followership is seconding guessing a Leaders decision in front of others, which only causes dissention and lack of confidence in other followers. 

Written from a military point of view, but applicable to any organization and is a great article on followership–> The 10 Rules of Good Followership ; picked most of the 10 rules that I liked: 

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

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

5.  Tell the truth; your boss will be giving advice to their boss based on what you said.

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

7. When making a recommendation, remember who will probably have to implement it.

8.  Keep your boss informed of what’s going on in the unit.

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

© 2010 Ben Larson (aka TheLeaderWay). All Rights Reserved.

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