Why Followership is so important?
People often talk about Leadership, but not Followership. It stands to reason that if leadership is important to performance, followership must have something to do with it too. Training and coaching yourself and your team in Followership should be considered
- First, judgement: Followers must take direction but they have an underlying obligation to the enterprise to do so only when the direction is ethical and proper.
- Second, work ethic: Good followers are good workers. They are diligent, motivated, committed, pay attention to detail and make the effort.
- Third, competence: The follower cannot follow properly unless competent at the task that is directed by the leader.
- Fourth, honesty: The follower owes the leader an honest and forthright assessment of what the leader is trying to achieve and how.
- Fifth, loyalty: Good followers respect their obligation to be loyal to their enterprise. Loyalty to the enterprise and its goals is particularly important when there are problems, interpersonal or otherwise, with a particular leader.
- Sixth, ego management: Good followers have their egos under control. They are team players in the fullest sense of the concept. They have good interpersonal skills.