Show courage, follow

Every time I see a meme or article celebrating how good leaders are not followers, I cringe and shake my head. There is an ongoing assault on those that follow and I think it’s misguided to say the least. Followers are the cornerstone of?every?movement and organization. “Follower is not a term of weakness but the condition that permits leadership to exist and gives it strength” (Chaleff, 2009). Followers are the people who actually get things done and many are very courageous while doing it. That courage is something to celebrate and honour.

Courageous followership is the 3rd model in this series exploring different ways of appreciating the contribution of the masses in achieving common goals. The perspective was developed by Ira Chaleff who wrote the literal book on the subject called?The Courageous Follower. Chaleff looks at the dimensions of support and challenge to classify followers. First, what level of support does the follower give the leader? Second, how willing is the follower to challenge their leader when they see something that goes against the goals and values of the organization? Here is how they can be defined. You will notice a mix of these types around you, and even changes in types over time. Hopefully, your organization is building more partners than resources.

Of course, supporting a leader doesn’t mean blindly doing whatever is asked. There is a balance depending on the situation and what is required. For example if the leader is doing something unethical or dangerous, the followers need to be able to question and be the voice of reason. Also, questioning the leader isn’t challenging every decision. There will be an element of judgement that should always come back to the values and purpose. Is the challenge bringing value or just time-consuming arguments? We can look to?Socrates’ triple filter test?of asking if our comment is true, good and kind before expressing it.

I highly recommed reading the book since it is filled with precious gems of insight. To give a little taste, here are the very revealing and beneficial 5 dimensions of courageous followership.

The courage to assume responsibility.?Good followers take action without waiting for orders. They know the goals of the organization and create opportunities to learn, grow and contribute to the common vision. We want our teams to take on accountability to bring to life their part of the story. Don’t think for a minute that this is about handing off our own accountability. It is about giving our people the autonomy to show what they are capable of and supporting their growth while delivering on the common goal. Interestingly, these are also basic building blocks for motivation and engagement. Our teams are not only responsible to deliver for the organzation, but to develop themselves in ways that serve the broader values of not only the company, but their place in society. People are part of communities inside and outside of work. By assuming responsibility to help, we create better places to work, and also better places to live.

The courage to serve.?A great follower will figure out how they complement the team and step up to deliver. They are the fervent defenders of the cause and sometimes difficult decisions needed to make the right things happen. They also do their best to take burdens off their leaders as much as leaders do the same for them. There is an element of being the leader’s interpreter for the team and even being a buffer. I once had a senior project manager as a partner who did her job really well, keeping us on time and on budget with a fervour I appreciated, but that same passion made some people hesitant to go to her with bad news or delays. My job became being the champion for my people who’s ultimate goal was to deliver high quality solutions, which sometimes meant pushing back on the schedule, and giving them the support they needed. Other times it was pushing them to accept a “good enough” solution instead of getting to perfect. I was serving not only my team, but the organization as a whole by defending the balance in quality, time and budget. The senior PM and I were complementary in achieving the objective and knew that challenging each other brought us success. We didn’t always agree, but we always aligned on the way forward and supported each other in getting to the goal. Our collective success was evident and brought our team the recognition they deserved through it all.

The courage to challenge.?Courageous followers voice their concerns, stand up for the group and individual values. They are willing to create conflict that will improve the team, including with leaders. They “value harmony and their relationship with their leader, but not at the expense of their integrity”. Or as my leader would say it “valuing the perception of harmony over clear alignment”. (I am sure I quoted that a little wrong, but I think I hit the essence.). We do have an obligation to be supportive of the vision and orders that are intended to help move that along, so while debating can be good, there is also such a thing as too much. I have to admit to being guilty of going overboard on debate from time to time. I love to argue and see it as a way to develop knowledge and skills, but I have learned that not everyone sees the world through the same lens I do, so I try to reign it in, with various levels of success.

The courage to participate in transformation.?Change is hard. But, it is also necessary. The courageous follower helps in the struggle to tackle the need to be better, adapt to new realities and shift our way of thinking so we can collectively be successful. The transformation is also about our inner selves. In life, we change all the time as we learn and have new experiences. One of my favourite quotes is by Muhammad Ali who said “The man who views the world at 50 the same as he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life”. Age is certainly not the arbiter of wisdom, but time and exposure to all that life throws at us does shift our perceptions, biases and thoughts. How we use that to be better versions of ourselves for all parts of our lives is entirely up to us.

The courage to take moral action.?Sometimes, our leaders get it wrong. When they do, they need the support and questioning from trusted advisors and team members. There is a risk in going against orders, but this is where the gut check comes in. If what we are asked to do doesn’t fit with what is right, we need to speak up and sometimes even refuse to follow. In extreme situations, good followership means blowing the whistle or leaving the organization. If you want to see real ways this courage failed, look up Enron, Bear Stearns or World War II Germany. Unfortunately, examples are all too easy to find. But, they are also a clear reminder for us and our organizations of the value of ethically and morally sound leadership and followership.

Being courageous can be scary and difficult. Together, in our teams or with our friends and family, we can support each other to rise to the challenge of being a courageous follower. This will only make our collective lives better at work and at home. I hope this will resonate with you as it has with me. I would be very happy to chat about it more. I firmly believe in the positive impact and influence we can all have as followers and leaders working together.

Have a great Monday and week ahead. And remember that People Power Everything.

John

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