Not all of us will be given the privilege to lead, manage, or supervise others, but we ALL have the responsibility to follow. I am convinced that if we all assumed more responsibility for following properly, we could create healthy, responsible organizations where everyone could thrive.
We need to be the follower we would want our followers to be like when we become a leader. That means above all else, we become masters of the responsibilities we have been given. There is no substitute for excellent performance - it is our fundamental responsibility at work.
As we begin to master our given responsibilities, we then think of ways to improve the work we are doing and approach our leaders with suggestions for what we are willing to do to help. We don’t dump on our leaders (this sucks, and so do you, so you need to fix it!) – we partner with them to improve our ability to accomplish our shared purpose.
Even if our leaders do not invite us to follow this way, it does NOT relieve us of the responsibility of preparing ourselves as followers to become leaders. We are responsible for our own behavior, not how others respond to our behavior.
People are watching, and our circle of influence is larger than we think. We need to be resourceful, purposeful, courageous followers because it is the right thing to do for our organizations and for ourselves.
Related Posts:
The Responsibility For Self-Engagement
Leadership: There Is No Substitute For Caring
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I think this is something important you’re talking about here Bret. It really speaks to how we can have leaders throughout an organization, regardless of the actual authority that is given.
When we follow the way you describe, we are not only practicing for the time when we become the leader, and modeling how we would want our followers to be, we are also “leading ourselves”.
When we show this ability to lead ourselves in this way, it really shows our worth to those we work for which in turn can open doors to greater leadership opportunities.
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Bret L. Simmons Reply:
December 7th, 2009 at 8:51 am
Well said, Tom, and so very true. Wish I knew how to reach out more to followers. Thanks for sharing! Bret
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