The Principle of Followership

In today’s professional world, people are craving effective leadership. What maybe misattributed as generational gaps is that everywhere, middle level managers and their team members are overburdened and uninspired by individuals holding titled positions of leadership providing neither effective leadership nor effective management. The issue is not change resistance. Peter Senge said it well, “People do not resist change. They resist being changed.” Knowledge based workers desire true leadership that capitalizes on collaboration, communication and connection to accomplish their work related goals and objectives.

One of the strongest ways an influential leader can connect with others is by practicing the principle of followership. Followership is a leader’s willingness to listen to those for whom they are responsible. “Listening to me” is the highest rated attribute for an effective leader by direct reports. Effective listening creates a connection between the leader and the legitimate needs, wants, and desires of team members. By paying attention to members of the team, through active listening, a leader gains insight and information to the factors that drive performance. Peter Drucker said, “Everybody writes books about leadership. Somebody ought to write a book about followership, because for every leader there are a thousand followers.” Although followership is an age-old concept, and several books have been written about it, the concept is still a novelty to many in titled positions of authority.

In order to ‘hear’ others, you first must quiet the non-stop conversation that exists in your own head. You have to learn to be in the ‘present’ – completely focused on the present. For many this is not an easy feat because much of our self-talk originates below the surface of awareness. The skill of Positive Presence builds the skills you need for being in the present. The skill of Positive Presence teaches you how to focus ‘within’ first and then enables you to be responsive to others’ needs. You know how to manage your emotions and are keenly aware of the need to be highly skilled in social management – creating and sustaining highly effective interpersonal relationships. Using your skill of Positive Presence you are empathic and can sense the emotional states of other people, and compassionate in your acknowledgement and response to both the verbal and emotional messages coming from your followers.