Leadership Part Four

Leadership Reality:  True Followership

 “Followership, like leadership, is a role and not a destination.” – Michael McKinney

So if we are talking about leaders, why do something on followers?  The simple answer is that without followers there are no leaders.  As John Maxwell says, “I you think you are leading and no one is following you are just out for a walk.”  Not only do leaders need followers but the better the followers the better the leader.

Too often people have complained that they did not like their leaders or they feel the leader is not doing a good job but they themselves have not been a good follower.  Someone has got to lead, and that someone may not be you.  In the words of Bob Dylan, “You’re gonna have to serve somebody.”  It is a fact of life, we are all followers at sometime and for most of us it is most of the time.

Get out of the thinking that followers are beneath the leader.  Followers are not flunkies or slaves.  Followers are part of the team, a very important part of the team.  Nothing that the leader needs to accomplish can be done without strong followers.  And in the words of Jack Hyles, “The wise follower will want to build strong leaders.”

I want us to look at four qualities of a follower that must be present to make a good leader.  These are things that the follower must see to, not that the leader must create.  Even a poor leader can have good followers and come out on top.  It is the responsibility of the follower to give all they have and to bring excellence to the team.

 “Followers are more important to leaders then leaders are to followers.” – Barbara Kellerman 

A Good Follower Supports the Leader.

Loyalty is a key element of followership.  A leader needs to know that when needed they can depend on you.  Loyalty is not blind obedience or compromise.  Of course you never do what is immoral or unethical.  A true leader would not ask this of you any way.  You do not have to agree with the leader all the time.  But you never criticize them to others or correct them in front of others.  You go to them privately and talk, but before the team you are supportive and loyal to the leader.

One of the key ways we can show and perform support to our leaders is to pray for them.  Jonathan Falwell, son of the late Rev. Jerry Falwell and current President of Liberty University said, “Those of us who follow Jesus Christ must seriously commit to praying for our leaders, never forgetting that even our greatest heroes are flawed individuals who need Jesus Christ, just like the rest of us.”  And as followers of Jesus Christ and this will hit hard, your commitment to following Christ is reflected in your commitment to following the leaders He has placed you under.

It is not always easy to be a follower.  As Leonard Bernstein said, “The most difficult instrument to play in the orchestra is second fiddle.”  You will learn your greatest leadership lessons by being a follower.  You can see how and how not to lead.  As I have said before, you cannot be a great leader unless you are a great follower.

 “There are two ways of spreading light, to be a candle or the mirror that reflects it.”  -- Edith Wharton

A Good Follower Contributes.

A good follower is not a yes-man.  He or she is not the person who will just do what they are told and no more.  A good follower is one who has something to add to the team.  The leader can depend on them to be creative, thinking and to contribute.  A good follower will make a leader look good.

We talked earlier in this series how we are all looking for good, true leaders.  Believe me, true leaders are seeking and praying for good followers who will add value to what the team is doing.  Theologian A.B. Simpson said, “God is preparing His heroes.  And when the opportunity comes, He can fit them into their places in a moment.  And the world will wonder where they came from.”  Good followers are the ones who make the difference.  Remember that Generals are responsible for the battle plan but it is the soldiers that win the war.

 “The world is moved not only by the mighty shoves of heroes, but also by the aggregate of the tiny pushes of each honest worker.”  -- Helen Keller

A Good Follower is Responsible.

On every level of leadership you come back to this theme, responsibility.  You cannot do a thing worthwhile without it.  You, as a good follower must be responsible to do a task each time you are asked and to do it with excellence.  No excuses, no deception, no blaming others for your failure.  A good follower always takes responsibility for themselves, every time.  The leader never has to question it.

It is a reasonable thing to expect someone to do the right thing.  For the good follower, doing the right thing comes natural, no fan fair, it is just who they are.  I love the way Edger Watson Howe put it, “A boy doesn’t have to go to war to be a hero; he can say he doesn’t like pie when he sees there isn’t enough to go around.”  A good follower is aware of the needs and will do the right thing at the right time.

“If I had to reduce the responsibilities of a good follower to a single rule, it would be to speak truth to power.” – Warren Bennis

A Good Follower Knows and Offers Their Strengths.

None of us are good at everything.  But you are good at some things, and at some you are the best on the team.  Know what those strengths are.  What do you do best?  What can you bring to the team better than anyone else?  When you know those you can offer them to the leader.

This is not a case of ego.  You are not saying you are better than anyone else, only better at something.  It is a disservice to the team if you keep your talents hidden.  It is your responsibility to bring excellence to all you do.  As Col. Phillip S. Meilinger said, “Do you job quietly, confidently, and professionally, and trust your colleagues will do likewise.”  The better you are the better the team as a whole will be.

Each person on the team has something to bring to the table.  It is the leader’s job to find those strengths and see that the people are used in that area.  You can help the leader by letting them know what your strengths are.  You also give courage to others to look at and tell what their strengths are.  Billy Graham pointed out, “Courage is contagious.  When a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others are often stiffened.”  Your willingness to state your strengths will help others to be brave enough to do the same.

Good followers are harder to find than good leaders.  This is an area we all must develop and become.  You may not be called upon to lead but we are all called upon to follow.  First and foremost, be a good follower who develops good leaders, builds the whole team and brings excellence to all he or she does.  Followership takes courage, intelligence and honor.  These qualities are what will change the world we live in and it will not all come from the leaders.  It is easier to have followers who lift leaders to a higher level than a few leaders who have to pull the rest up.

“It doesn’t take a hero to order men into battle.  It takes a hero to be one of those men who goes into battle.” – Norman Schwarzkopf

© Jack Hickey 2010

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