Assignment Task:
In the lecture notes we explored the concept of followership. Pick one of the topics covered, offer your thoughts, supported by cited evidence, that support or refute the idea that we should not be studying leadership. Need Assignment Help?
YouTube Video: The Power of Followership
Let's take about 30 minutes and look at some examples of followership from the University of Washington. I use this statement a lot especially in a bureaucratic organization. I don't have to be the leader all the time but I sure as heck won't sit back and be dominated by those who simply want to slow the process to a halt in order to get their own way.
Doug Williamson - President & C.E.O. of The Beacon Group speaks to business students about Leadership and Management at Wilfred Laurier University School of Business & Economics in 2012.
YouTube Video: Followership is Underated & Misunderstood
Followership: The Other Side Of Leadership, Ivey Business Journal,
Followership Qualities:
Judgment, Work Ethic, Competence, Honesty, Courage, Discretion, Loyalty Ego, Management.
Take a look at each of these followership qualities. Do some of them seem familiar?
Yeah, we see the same qualities in leadership as well. Does this start to sound like there are more connections between leadership and followership than you might have expected?
Competence is another important quality. You have to know how to do what is asked of you. If you don't it doesn't mean that you are a bad follower, but lying or not speaking up and letting the leader know you need help is harmful to the whole team effort and to the organization.
Along with that honesty quality you also have to have courage. If you are afraid of the leader or your security on the team you won't be a good follower. Likewise it can also take courage to be loyal to your leader when the going gets rough. Now that doesn't mean that you have to sacrifice your principles or ethical foundation if the leader is doing something wrong, but you owe it to that leader to be honest with them if you cannot agree and tell them why.
This is an area of followership that is often hard when you don't agree with what a leader is doing or when you are really close to your team members. Not everything we know or learn as a follower needs to be shared with everyone. Now I don't agree with the leader who likes to parcel out information to individuals and then see who has the ability to keep the confidence but that does happen. I like to think of myself as "Switzerland". I try to be neutral as a follower and not join factions because that doesn't help the team function. One important thing to remember is that once on the Internet either through email or social media it is no longer private so keep that in mind as you communicate and share information.
Another note on loyalty is that you have to remember that your followership extends first to the organization so this is the compass when you see a leader who is doing something that you believe violates the organizational mission or rules. Now this doesn't give you license to be the team tattletale however, I have experienced too many times when a leader pits themselves against the organization and that can lead the whole team down the rabbit hole. Be aware that this is a possibility so it doesn't blindside you.
Not only is this the funniest picture, it represents that we are followers and that means that we all have to work together and not be a prima donna even if we are the ones carrying the heavy load. Remember that diversity means that we compliment one another's strengths so you may be the bomb at one aspect of the work but you need the others for their strengths. This is one area in which I consistently hear team members dislike their fellow followers. And don't think you are hiding it because if you are leading with your ego and think you are stealth, the rest of the team will figure it out really quickly.