Leadership is not as mystical and magical as many make it out to be. Whatever else you might believe about leadership, the bottom line is that leadership becomes manifest in behavior – things we do and say. Our behavior follows patterns, those patterns are driven by our assumptions, and our assumptions are learned.
Want to learn how to behave effectively when you are given the privilege to lead others? Learn how to behave effectively as you engage with those that you grant the privilege of leading you.
How you follow is exactly how you will lead. We learn our assumptions as followers about the roles and responsibilities of leaders and followers. The assumptions about what is acceptable and not acceptable drive what we do and never dare to do as we interact with our leaders. When we become leaders we impose those learned assumptions on our followers by sending them clear signals about what is acceptable and not acceptable as they interact with us.
Dependent followers do their jobs but their learned paradigms of power and authority keep them from providing issue focused suggestions, challenge, and dissent to their leaders. Dependent followers believe and behave as if “you are the leader, I’m not.” If you are a dependent follower, you will force dependency on your followers when you become a leader. You will not encourage interdependent followers as a leader because you never have and still do not practice that as a follower yourself.
Interdependent, partner followers assume full responsibility for their assigned duties but also assume full responsibility for the constant improvement of how those duties are performed. Interdependent followers come forward with suggestions about what they can do to help improve the processes that govern their jobs, challenge the leader to improve ineffective policies and procedures, and dissent when the leader’s behavior violates the shared purpose.
Don’t kid yourself. You will NEVER be an interdependent, partner leader if you are not an interdependent, partner follower. You might think you can be a chameleon as a leader, but over time, people will see your true colors.
Be careful how you follow.
Related Posts:
What Type of Followers Do You Have?
Do Your People Ever Tell You No?
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Great post, Bret. We all follow someone. The interplay between following and leading is fascinating to watch in an organizational or community system, and leaders don’t lead without following.
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Bret L. Simmons Reply:
November 13th, 2009 at 8:05 am
We learn by doing, MJ. Most of us do a lot more following than leading, so what we learn as we perform this role is critical. When it is time to switch hats and step into a leadership role, how we have followed affects how we wear that hat. Thanks! Bret
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Thanks for that post Bret, well said. This gives me a lot to think about today. It is very true that most people are leaders and followers in different areas of life. How I act at work is a good indication of how I will act at home.
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Bret L. Simmons Reply:
November 13th, 2009 at 12:06 pm
Welcome, Jonathan! Thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts. See you Monday! Bret
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Hi Bret,
Thanks for the post. This essentially boils down to taking personal responsibility for your own growth as a leader if that’s what you want to be. I also believe “who” you follow plays a role in the type of leader you will become. If you have no other leadership reference, the behavior of leaders that you do follow (both good and bad) can be adopted into your own leadership tool belt.
An engaged follower who actively participates can learn a lot from an exceptional leader but can pick up bad habits from a poor leader.
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Bret L. Simmons Reply:
November 13th, 2009 at 4:29 pm
Paul, I think you nailed it. I agree you can learn from both good and bad followers, but it is how you enage each that matters. Also, would strongly suggest spending as little time as possible working for the asshole boss. Thanks!! Bret
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Strong organizational leaders recognize that healthy dissent is essential for growth and improvement. You stated so well that followers have an obligation to voice their loyal opposition to policies and practices that hold the organization back and offer suggestions for improvemenet. Good leaders provide a safe environment to make this constructive criticism possible.
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Bret L. Simmons Reply:
November 13th, 2009 at 7:49 pm
Concur 100% with all your observations, Susan. What continues to mystify me is even though how many of us know this, how often we continue to fail in our responsibility to engage our leaders with our concerns. Thanks!! Bret
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Bret, I can see why you enouraged us to check out this blog…awesome view and awesome topic! I think that most companies miss the boat when it comes to developing effective followers. So many companies spend alot of time and money training leaders to lead…I wonder what today’s corporations would look like in the future if they took just a little bit of that “leadership” money and spent it on transforming Individualist and Implementer Followers into Partner Followers?
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Bret L. Simmons Reply:
November 14th, 2009 at 12:44 am
wow, that is a great question. I usually assume the follower is on her/his own, but you are correct, it might make a huge difference to train followers. Thanks, Sharon! Bret
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Wonderful post and one that makes me nervous. I’m afraid I might be more of a dependent follower in that I *think* it requires quite a bit for me to offer a dissenting opinion. You are reminding me to look for ways to improve not just in leading, but in following. Thank you!
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Bret L. Simmons Reply:
November 16th, 2009 at 6:15 pm
Welcome, Kiki! I think MOST of us are more dependent that we realize and certainly more than we should be. The good news for you is that if you see it in yourself and can be honest, you CAN work to change your thinking and then your behavior. Thanks!! Bret
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Great post Bret. Last week I read about the rules of survival in Outside magazine while flying from ATL to Portland. Per the article, in any crisis you have 3 types of people – 10% who lead others to safety, 80% who wait for instructions, and 10% who freak out. Putting that article together with your own really lends some insight into how people work and think in an office environment. I also believe, like you, that people can change their ways and “style.”
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Bret L. Simmons Reply:
November 16th, 2009 at 7:17 pm
Welcome, John! Thanks for sharing this great additional information. I DO believe that people can change, but you have to first be aware of what is going on and take purposeful action. do you know the parable of the boiled frog? Thanks! Bret
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Thank you for explaining to me why I get in trouble in some of my groups. I’m a partner follower (and leader) and I’ve been expecting the same sort of leadership from others. Mystery solved. Now I’ve got a new way to evaluate groups and leaders before I sign on. You’ve added to my personal toolbox.
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Bret L. Simmons Reply:
November 17th, 2009 at 9:03 am
Welcome, Charlene! If you are a partner follower, be encouraged! You are where you need to be even if those around you are not. Stay responsibile for your own behavior. You cannot control how people will respond to you – that is their responsibility. Thanks for sharing! Bret
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You article gave me a new insight as to why I feel 180 degrees out of sync with the others I work with. I am obviously a partner follower since I am always looking to finding inovative ways to improve our procedures and processes and challenging the status quo with leaders but it is often a lonely place to be.
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Bret L. Simmons Reply:
November 17th, 2009 at 1:24 pm
The key to partnership, Pam, is a focus on process and procedures. Partners offer purposeful challenge and they also offer solutions. So true it can be lonley, but you know you are doing the right thing. Be encouraged! Thanks for sharing! Bret
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I really enjoyed this article – thank you!
I’ve been in business for myself since I was 18, but I definitely see lags in my leadership skills along the way – mostly in terms of effortlessly generating initial enthusiasm around a project, but not being able to sustain it over time.
Where does that fit into your follower/leader scale?
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Bret L. Simmons Reply:
November 17th, 2009 at 6:32 pm
Welcome, Gennipher! I think it is way cool that someone that has been in business for herself since 18 can still be driving to improve her leadership skills. Without the right mindset, improvement is almost impossible, and you seem to have the right mindset.
I actually have a similar problem to the one you describe. For me it is a personality issue and I suspect it may be the same for you. But as a leader you want your followers to keep their enthusiasm for the ideas they bring to you, so you need to model the same for them. Do your followers come to you with complaints? I hope so. Do they come with suggestions for improvement? Even better. Do they come with offers to help implement their suggestions? That is what you really want.
Thanks!!
Bret
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Thanks so much for the reply.
I’m very approachable and my followers do come to me with complaints, but I’m often very busy and trust them to be intelligent enough to handle a lot of them on their own. I always ask for improvement from them, but I seldom get the kind of honest feedback I’d like. I need to do some things differently to get them to come to me with suggestions about my own leadership and practices, and offers to implement them.
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Bret L. Simmons Reply:
November 17th, 2009 at 7:41 pm
Good for you that you can see your opportunities for improvement! GREAT that you trust them, but don’t get to busy to ensure they know that you really care about them – or they will not fully trust you. Don’t take their suggestions as tasks for you to complete. View yourself as their resource, there to enable them to take autonomous action to implement the suggestions themselves. I bet you are a great leader, Ghennipher! Thanks, Bret
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Nice post that reminds my to monitor my follower approach.
I have also written that the transition between following and leading is like a dance where you step between roles. Your post reminded me of the analogy. My additional takeaway is, “watch how you follow.”
Thanks for the insight.
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Bret L. Simmons Reply:
November 19th, 2009 at 8:29 am
Don, that is a great analogy of leadership being like a dance. I would encourage others to read your post. Thanks!!! Bret
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Bret, I was so jazzed by your post that I blogged on your topic and embedded your video blog post.
http://blog.crowinfodesign.com/2009/11/17/leadership-vs-follower-styles/
Thanks again for the inspiration.
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Bret L. Simmons Reply:
November 19th, 2009 at 8:28 am
Wow, that was very kind of you! Love your post. Thanks!! Bret
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