When asked whether you are a leader or follower, most people will say they are a leader, not a follower. For that reason, the ability to be seen as a leader is something very inspiring and honorable for most people. Though being a leader is a challenge, operating as a follower is also a challenge. However, Aristotle said, “He who cannot be a good follower cannot be a good leader.”
So how can you be a good leader and a good follower?
Good leaders cultivate good followers. In other words, leaders create other leaders.
In the 2020 book The New Psychology of Leadership: Identity, Influence, and Power (2nd Edition), authored by Stephen Riecher and Michael Platow, leadership is nothing without followership. The authors pointed out that leadership is a process that emerges from a relationship between leaders and followers who are bound together by their understanding that they are members of the same social group.
When leaders get their followers involved in the decision-making process, relationships are built, trust is established, people feel like they are part of the team, and problems get solved. For any given situation, followers and leaders engage in mutual agreements that constitute a relationship. Those relationships are essential for mission accomplishment!
In many cases, as you move up through your organization's ranks and become more senior, the most important thing to do as a leader and follower is to make sure you have a good working relationship with the people around you. Influential leaders know and understand how to build good working relationships with the people all around them to accomplish the mission.
Nevertheless, to lead, you must know how to follow because some of the best leaders learned from other leaders. For example, the varsity football team captain had three years to see others perform before he was eligible for the position. The street-level police officer had years to see how to become an effective Police Chief or Sheriff. The junior executive who worked for the company for many years learned what it took to become an effective project manager.
How many articles and books have you read on how to become an effective follower? What seminars have you attended to become an effective follower? Well, there are not too many books on following.
What are the skills needed to become an effective follower? The answers to these questions are simple, but many people struggle in this position of followership.
Therefore, the follower is obedient, humble, respectful, proactive, willing to volunteer, make recommendations, acknowledge mistakes, give good feedback, ask follow-on questions, and understand when to refuse to follow.
Below are some key points on being a good follower.
- Obedient – the willingness to comply with orders. If the orders are not unethical or immoral, then the best thing to do is to follow orders and accomplish the task to standard. (Being a “Yes man” is another conversation); however, being able to receive the mission and push forward to accomplish the mission makes the follower a vital asset to the team.
- Proactive – being able to create or control a situation rather than responding after the fact. Whether you are a leader or follower, good people know how to take the initiative in the absence of orders.
- Willingness to volunteer – the ability to take on the small (and sometimes) difficult jobs freely.
- Recommendations – making suggestions or proposals to your boss, especially if there are any safety concerns (allowing for the best course of action).
- Acknowledge mistakes – the capacity to humble yourself and admit that your actions or judgment was misguided or wrong. Admitting your mistakes creates trust and confidence versus trying to cover up something that just went wrong.
- Feedback or Backbriefs – when receiving instructions, you are able to give a synopsis of the instructions back to the leader. The backbrief also allows the follower to ask follow-up questions. The person originally giving the instructions can then determine whether the message was correctly received.
- Know when to refuse to follow – if the follower is given an unethical directive, then the follower has the choice of declining the directive. For example, if your boss wants you to misrepresent the data on a report to higher headquarters in order for the company to look good.
Overall, leaders and followers should hold themselves and others accountable to achieve high standards and strive for excellence. Leaders and followers must operate at all levels – as peers, subordinates, and supervisors.
No matter the position or relationship:
"A great leader, is almost always a great follower for he knows what to learn and from whom"