The Idea of Following

    What?

    Growing up influential in my life have always told me to be a leader and stand out from the crowd. On the other hand though what is wrong with wanting to be a follower? I think to be a great leader, first you must understand the importance and necessity of followers in the leader-follower relationship. Having been in both leadership and follower positions ranging from school, sport, or business, I have viewed many different characteristics and traits from each side.

So What?    

    When thinking of what it means to be an effective follower, a few traits and characteristics are mentioned across many different organizations including self-management, credibility, and commitment. According to Ward, followers are not so different from leaders in that they both need self-motivation and responsibility of their work. Active followers are not a yes man who do anything their leader tells them to do blindly. An active or empowered follower is willing to challenge ideas or actions in that they can influence over. The idea of followers is also important because they act as moral agents and act as checks and balances to authoritative roles. Followers can eventually become leaders so it is important for those future leaders to understand what it means to be a follower and the significant role they play in an organization.

Now What?

    Followers have historically always played second fiddle to their leader counterparts as expected, but in the future, I believe that the follower-leader relationship should be viewed more as a collaborative effort rather than a one-way street of influence and authority. For me personally, in the future, I will use what I learned to create an environment where active followers are more recognized and are able to collaborate more efficiently. On the other hand, I should still be cautious because not all followers are willing to take on a higher role or responsibility and just want to complete their role at a minimum. I should look to build a culture of people where they are willing to build up themselves and the organization.