Followership – why is it important to all Leaders

I love the concept of being a Leader, but I also love the concept of Followership.

There are 2 parts for me about the Theory of Followership

Firstly, there needs to be Leaders who inspire you to follow them and secondly there needs to be the environment in which you want to follow a Leader.

To define Followership is not as easy as it sounds – To me it is about a Leaders ability to create a compelling and inspiring vision that is powerful and takes people along with it. This creates Followers, believers who will deliver because they see the Vision and what it could mean to them all. There are also at least 2 types of Follower

• Someone that follows – This for me is acceptance of the role of follower (powered by inspiration and challenge) and it is crucial to the success of the goals set by the leader
• Some Followers also have specific skills required to meet the organizational/Leader goals. These Followers are enablers, as they positively support the Leader through actions and activities.

It goes without saying that a Leader with inspired Followers who are ready to support the delivery of the key goals, work well in the team, promote a healthy work ethic and deliver the Outcomes desired will not only perform at a high standard but also shows very positive development of the team as well as the individuals within it. So Followership is a term that people shun away from but in reality it is alive in many businesses.

Where there are Great Leaders delivering outstanding results, the chances are there are Followers doing an amazing job. Surely it is the minimum standard for high performing teams?

So if you are a Leader or a Business Owner and I took away your ability to Lead, took away the ability to reward people, coach people – would people still follow you? It’s a great questions to ask yourself and reflect on.

If not then what can you do to adjust your style, your Leadership way, to inspire those around you and start to build the team you need to follow you and achieve your goals.

So if you want to create more Followers within your teams, or want to deliver your Goals in this way then lets talk.