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Ledership Vs. Followership
| Guest post by: Stephen Blakesley |
Article Overview: A strange paradox; America wants better leaders but invests nothing in followership.
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Free Download - Words of Wisdom for Leaders and Wanna Bes By Stephen Blakesley |
Ledership Vs. Followership
When asked, “What is a leader” Willie Nelson once said,
“find a bunch of people walking in the same direction, walk real fast and get
out in front of them.” While that is a humorous and even ridiculous definition
of leadership, it is accurate, in its limited way.
American and American organizations might even think it
disrespectful to a culture that nearly worships leaders, to talk about the need to be a good follower. Most of us were raised
to respect and even be a leader.
Yet, most of the work in this country is not done by
leaders. Less than 25% of the work in America is done by leaders. The
rest? Well, “the rest” is done by that group that gets no respect, followers.
American corporations spend millions of dollars each year on finding leader and
then teaching them to be leaders when those they thought they found were not.
Few of us were ever taught to be good followers. Yet even
the greatest of leaders were followers at one time and most, if not all, must
be followers in their current leadership role. So, why do we devote so little
attention to following? Could anything get done without a leader? I am not
certain but that is what ‘self-directed teams” is all about. Could we all be
better, better leaders, better followers, more satisfied and fulfilled if we
were better followers?
I believe so. By being better followers we would be more
efficient at getting 80 percent of the work that is done, done in a more
efficient way. Than can’t be bad. And, if we learned to be better followers the
leaders that emerged would be better and more efficient about the 25% of the
work they do.
I think there are just a few important truths about
followership that we should consider:
1. Not
everyone can be a leader all of the time. If you are not the leader you can be
one of two other things: a follower or a drag. If you were not the leader, for
which one would you like to be remembered?
2. Followers
are essential and leaders could not exist without followers, be humble.
3. Good
followers don’t always become good leaders but good leaders were, at some
point, good followers.
4. Good
followers have two important traits: They can see the big picture and they like
to see other people benefit from their work.
5. Good
followers are good at giving feedback in a way that others, who need to hear,
hear.
In all there are just five essentials that, if remembered
and implemented would make you a better follower. If you want to be a part of a
real high-performing team, as a leader or a follower practice these five
essentials and share them with others.
Leadership Truth #9 - Great Leaders Foster Great Followership
Inspirational Leadership: You Go First
Inspirational Leadership: Three Ideas To Build Inspiration
Inspirational Leadership Starts With Personal Responsibility
Leader-Follower Theory and the Transformational Organization
Moving The Focus Away From The Leaders To The Followers
Inspirational Leadership: Some Resolutions
Awaken The Star Within You
Entrepreneurs Are Optimists
We Can Do This
Healthcare Leadership in Uncertain Times
Inspirational Leaders Are Great Listeners
Inspirational Leaders Are People Of Action
Are You Human?
Position your brand as category leader
How Are Your Followership Skills?
Do You Have What It Takes to Lead?
Sales Commitment and Shadow of the Leader
You Don't Need An Expert
Leading for Commitment
Article Tags: followers, leadership, strange paradox, work
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About the Author: Stephen Blakesley RSS for Stephen's articles - Visit Stephen's website Stephen is a Marketeer, Entrepreneur, Author, Speaker, Radio Show Host and the Head Headhunter at GMS Talent . GMS is a One-of-a-Kind Talent Acquisition and Performance Management consultancy. We specialize in finding people for the "hard-to-fill positions, anywhere in the world. Please visit our website: www.gmstalent.com and visit the blog about our recent book"The Target-The Secret to Superior Performance: http://www.targetthebook.com Click here to visit Stephen's website   Strategic Hiring |
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