Followership

So why am I writing an article on followership? Aren't we all supposed to be Young Leaders here? Well yes, but the one thing that is often forgotten in discussions about leadership is the importance of good folllowership.

Lets face it, 80% of the time when you are in a group setting, at work or maybe in your community organizations, you will not be "THE leader". Of course you will have a manager or supervisor who you report to at work. In your outside organizations, you simply can't have the time or the interest to head up every single project. So if you're not "THE leader", you're a follower, but this is NOT a bad thing!

If there is anything that I can impart on you it is this: A Young Leader can demonstrate just as much leadership while being a follower as while being "THE Leader". This is because you can demonstrate leadership by working towards the shared vision and goals.

How to be a good follower:

• Be proactive - Don't wait for your boss to tell you to do something, if you see something that needs to be fixed, go fix it!
• Be a fact finder - If you don't know how to do something, try to figure it out. Expand your sphere of influence by learning more.
  
• Be an advice seeker - Be a mentee. There will always be people who have more knowledge or experience than you do. Seek out their advice.
• Be persuasive - Even if you don't have formal authority, you can still weild considerable influence.
  
• Be courageous - Do the right thing and convince others to as well.
• Be a collective follower, or plan well to stand on your own - Sometimes you have to put your own goals behind the goals of the team as a whole. However, when the time comes up that you need to go it on your own, keep things are good terms. It doesn't help anyone to storm away from a disagreement in a huff.
  

All leaders, especially Young Leaders, will have to take the roll as a follower. But learning to demonstrate leadership as a follower can be one of the most powerful lessons in being a true leader.

-Jason