Leading your followers - Understanding your ABC's

Some of the individuals reading these articles may have followers under their leadership. We cannot assume that all followers are at a the "bottom" of an organizational chart. The chances are likely that most reading these posts do have some authority over other individuals. It is for this reason that we can not just talk about the role of our followership responsibilities, but also how to build up and develop our followers.

Followership development is crucial to the success and survival of an organization. It involves, education, encouragement, empowering, and enabling the follower to do better. Robert Townsend says it best when he states, “True leadership must be for the benefit of the followers not the enrichment of the leaders.” Leadership is about drawing individuals together to get the tasks accomplished which support the organizational mission. It is not about position or power. With that position and power comes great responsibility. The responsibility to care for those under your direction and build them up.

I once had a professor who was a department chair at a major university. When he hired new faculty, he would tell them, "Okay, life is no longer about you; your students are number one now." I think the same can be applied to leaders as well. When one gets in a position of leadership, the tendency is to lead over them instead of lead under them and serve the follower. This hierarchical struggle often leads to difficult periods within the organization where people who are truly vested in the organization feel left out, not heard, or hurt. Leaders come along side and try to build up individuals to be a colleague at their level. The threat that is involved with having another individual know what you know and do what you do is what keeps followers at a distance and disabled from their full potential.

This point is laid out clearly in an article entitled, "A's Hire A's -- and B's Hire C's" by: Phillip E. Rosner, Ph.D.. An A leader is not afraid to hire someone that is at his or her level, but a B leader hires C and D level because they are afraid of competition and hiring someone better than him or herself. This is a big difficulty in followership development principles. A majority of those in leadership are B leaders, according to research. This tendency makes little room for developing followers.

But what about you? The first step is to determine whether you are an A, B, or C employee and where you fit in with what the article mentions. Even if you are not an A leader, you do not have anything to worry about if you are improving efficiency and effectiveness within your department or area of responsibility. So how can you develop your followers?

This diagram illustrates what it looks like to go from a "sheep" to an effective follower:

This is where we in leadership positions need to take our followers. This is done by education, encouragement, empowerment, and enabling them to do more than their job description. It is about serving them and looking to their needs instead of your own needs. Work together as partners teaming together to fulfill the mission of the organization. Always remember that it is not about you...your followers are your new priority. Know your ABC's and where you fit into the spectrum so that you can get over any anxieties you may have about your followers overpowering you. Do not live in fear, but live by serving others. Your fears will disappear if you are serving those under your umbrella of authority.