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Strengthen the Leader Through Good Followership

January 31, 2000

"No good leader is good enough to take a team to high performance if the team members are lousy followers.  On the other hand, even if the leader is weak, strong followership often can overcome the problem and create a high-powered unit.

What's involved in followership?  Initiative, for one thing.  Know what to do without being told, and do it.  Think for yourself.   Give yourself permission to take appropriate action.  Good followers are people who lead themselves, freeing up the person in charge as much as possible.

Good followership also requires you to align your efforts with the rest of the group.  Commit yourself to the team's common goals.  Don't drift off in another direction and splinter the group.

Still another responsibility of the follower is to strengthen the leader.  Show your support for whoever is in charge, and you empower that person.

So what about the mavericks, rebels, and renegades - how do they fit into the followership picture?  They fit in to the extent that they make a positive contribution.  Followership is not an argument for blind obedience.  Or for mindless conformity.  Good followership can mean having enough guts to take a stand against the leader.  Sometimes you may need to argue your point, question your orders, or challenge authority when it is being abused.  The key is to do it for the good of the group and the group's goals - not for personal gain, and not as a mere troublemaker (Pritchett, 1992, pp. 57-58)."

Reference:  Pritchett, P. (1992).  The team member handbook for teamwork.  Dallas:  Pritchett & Associates.

Do you follow the leader?

* The Team Member Handbook for Teamwork is available on loan at the OSU Leadership Center.  A listing of all the Leadership Center's resources is available on our website www.ag.ohio-state.edu/~leaders

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Created: 2009-01-02, Updated: 2009-01-12