Followership

Unless you are the president of the United States, pretty much everyone - even those who we consider as great leaders - must also be followers. Smaller units, led by capable leaders, follow the lead of the higher organization. Company leaders take orders from the board of directors. Quarterbacks listen to their coaches...who answer to the owner/GM...etc. And when you think about it, even the President must, to some extent, be a follower of those who elected him!

In a military full of great leaders, everyone answers to someone. Squad leaders follow the orders of platoon leaders, who answer to company commanders, who are accountable to battalion commanders...and so on. Three-star generals report to 4-stars. General Petreus reports to the Commander in Chief of the Central Command -- and to the President. All leaders, while terrific in their own right, must be able to follow commands as well as issue them.

So...leaders must also be able to follow. What makes a good follower? The ability to think less of themselves and more of the team. The ability to maintain humility (not thinking less of themselves but thinking of themselves less). The desire to do whatever it takes to make the team successful, regardless of who gets the credit.

Good followers understand that it is still possible to be a leader in completing assigned tasks (exercising initiative, building subordinate teams, etc.) while still acknowledging that someone else is calling the shots. Good followers know that it matters less how many points they score but whether the team wins the game. Good followers deflect praise to the team when things go well and accept criticism on behalf of the team when things do not. Good followers offer suggestions, participate in the generation of ideas and solutions, and then allow the leader to make the final decision. And then they execute...as if the plan was theirs from the beginning (even if it was not)! Good followers support their leaders and enable their success.

It's great to be "the man," to be in charge, to be a leader. But all of us still are accountable to others. At any given time, only one person can call the shots. The rest of us -- make things happen -- and wait for our turn to be in the spotlight! Good leaders must also be good followers. That's Leader Business. Hooah!

Leaders need Followers

I was thinking some more about the topic of taking care of people and the quote I used in a recent post from a retired Army General:

If you are a leader, every once in a while you need to stop and look over your shoulder to make sure people are still following you.


Leaders must constantly be performing a balancing act between time and energy applied forward (looking ahead, anticipating change, providing vision, strategic alignment and planning) and the effort necessary to take care of the team. Clearly we must do both. But without taking care of people and their families, without listening and connecting to our teammates, we risk losing those we intend to lead. And we can never lose sight of the fact that without followers we are not leaders.

I am learning that the higher one goes in an organization, the more one must look to the future. Even in small companies, leaders cannot be consumed by immediate, tactical issues. To do so risks a short career and organizational irrelevancy. It is clear that someone must be looking at the market, investigating new opportunities, and bringing in new business. The critical leader functions of determining purpose, drive, and direction are the necessary focus of the strategic leader.


But we cannot forget those whom we lead. We've got to keep looking over our shoulders and checking on the troops. This is the art of leadership - a delicate balancing act of future and present, planning and execution, then and now.


Examples of those who struggle to do both are all around us. In politics, elected officials quickly forget who they are really working for. They quit listening and become disconnected from their constituents (and soon become "unelected" officials). We see this in churches with clergy who fail to recognize their shrinking congregation (but man are their sermons good...or so they think). We can see it in schools with teachers who focus more on education issues and less on connection issues. And we can see it in the many failed businesses (many with great business plans) whose downfall began when the talent started walking out the door.


It's a balancing act: time and energy invested to the front and to the rear. We all must ensure that the people who are necessary to execute our "brilliant" plans are still engaged, inspired, and connected. Take a look over your shoulder. Are your "troops" still marching behind you?


That's...Leader Business.