Why Follow Me?

Let's be honest, we all love social media and getting 'likes'. It's proven that it's an an instant dopamine hit, so we're dealing with powerful stuff!

However, this article (which, btw, is the first 'LinkedIn Article' I've written) isn't about how to get more followers, or even why you should follow me! Sorry guys. In fact, it's not about social media at all. It's about leadership and followership. Something that has fascinated me for a long time. So much so that I've recently enrolled on the Oxford Executive Leadership Programme with Sa?d Business School, University of Oxford .

I first experienced leadership in sport. I played a variety of sports growing up but more often than not it was rugby - I played at school, university and for clubs in London. My parents would often have to ferry me and my teammates between school games and club games on a Saturday. Two games in a day, we couldn't get enough! I look back now and think "Really? it's a wonder your body held up!".

Studying leadership more recently got me thinking back to the various teams that I've played in, specifically it's made me reflect on:

"Who and what decides who the captain is? Building on that, what makes a great captain?"

Surely they should be the best player? Sometimes they were, although often they weren't. Whilst being good was important, the captain needed to display crucial attributes which the coaches thought were best suited to lead that group of players and get the best out of them. These characteristics typically included:

1. Leading by example and always giving 110%. Week in, week out, giving their all and motivating everyone else to do the same.
2. Commitment - during the wettest and darkest days of winter, they'd be there for mid-week training.
3. When the chips were down they could motivate the team. They could get the best out of the team regardless of how daunting the challenge might be. (I have vivid memories of our first season in youth rugby - the 16-19 age group. Aka the 'boys to men age' group and our whole team were 16 and still very much boys. We travelled to most rugby pitches in the South Wales valleys with a 'Once more unto the breach dear friends' roll from our coach before the 'bigger boys' invariably put 50 plus points on us most weeks.....)
4. Consistency and Dependable - If they weren't the best player they were often a close second or third. More importantly they consistently had good games. In team sports consistency allows us to produce repeatable outcomes which can improve our performances and, ultimately, our ability to win games.
5. More often than not they were the glue that brought people together. People wanted to play for them and in their team. They could also break down any cliques that might develop in the team - nowadays we'd say they have great EQ.

The symbiotic relationship between leaders and followers

When I reflected on these attributes I realised that in every team the captain chosen was intrinsically linked to: that particular group of players; the team's abilities, and; the unique circumstances. In any other situation or sport, the captain could quite easily have been someone else. Equally as important as who the captain was, were the team players (the followers) around them. In the successful teams I played in the captain and their followers were a cohesive tightly knit group. The followers allowed the captain to lead them (Kelly, 1992). How did they do this? First and foremost by being excellent at their respective roles. They also fully bought into the coaches, the captain and the belief that the team was something greater than the individual players. When the time called the followers could also lead sub-groups or specific tasks and, if necessary, fill in for the captain if they were injured or couldn't play that week.

Sport is a great way to test people's leadership and followership credentials. We also see leadership and followership every day in our working lives and through all sections of society.

We've all heard the phrase 'too many chiefs and not enough indians'. How many graduates start their career thinking 'I want to be CEO'? I imagine many have very little idea what the role entails but they feel 'being the boss' is the holy grail. Perhaps that's partly how our society has conditioned us 'if we're the boss then there's nobody to boss us around'. That being said, anyone who's occupied any position of leadership will know that it isn't easy, it's both a huge honour and responsibility. You should expect to be tested. Not only are you accountable to your followers but also any other stakeholders there might be too.

Everyone wants to be a leader - however, for teams to function at their best we also need committed and engaged followers

In the companies I've worked at I'm grateful for managing and being managed by inspirational and committed colleagues. Both have helped shape my perspectives and ultimately have helped me progress and continue developing. I always tried to do my best for them and I hope most of the time they'd think I got the balance right. Where I didn't, I'd try and own any mistakes and use it as a learning opportunity.

I've realised that both leading and perhaps more importantly following is something that all of us need to constantly work on. In any situation we should try and think 'Who's the right person to lead this group of people to get the very best out of them?' Sometimes it won't be us and, crucially, we need to realise that in many circumstances that's perfectly ok. You can help the team or initiative succeed and achieve its goals by being the very best follower you can be.

References

Kelly, R. 1992. The power of followership. New York, NY: Doubleday