Good Followers

Qualities of Excellent or Good Followers

Photo courtesy of SBU OnlineOpens in new window

How well the followersOpens in new window follow is probably just as important for leaders to understand for organization success as how well the leaders lead.

Good followers have a number of qualities, as described below:

1.     Judgement

Followers must take direction but they have an underlying obligation to the organization to do so only when the direction is ethical and proper. The key is having the judgment to know the difference between a directive that a leader gives a follower on how to proceed that they do not agree with and a directive that is truly wrong.

No one disputes that good judgment is critical to being a good leader. It is just as important in the follower. If a follower shows enough good judgment they usually end up getting a chance at being the leader.

2.     Work Ethic

Good followers are good workers. They are diligent, motivated, committed, pay attention to detail, and make the effort.

Leaders have a responsibility to create an environment that permits these qualities but regardless, it is the responsibility of the follower to be good worker. There is no such thing as a bad worker who is good follower.

3.     Competence

The follower cannot follow properly unless competent at the task that is directed by the leader. It is the obligation of the leader to assure that followers are competent. Sometimes things go wrong because the follower is not competent at the task at hand. When this happens, leaders should blame themselves, not the follower. A sign of poor leadership is blaming followers for not having skills they do not have.

4.     Honesty

The follower owes the leader an honest and forthright assessment of what the leader is trying to achieve and how. This is especially the case when the follower feels the leader’s agenda is seriously flawed.

Respect and politeness are important but that said, it is not acceptable for followers to sit on their hands while an inept leader drives the proverbial bus over the cliff.

Good leaders are grateful for constructive feedbackOpens in new window from their teamOpens in new window. Bad leaders do not welcome feedback and here followers have to tread carefully. If the situation is serious enough, consideration should be given to go above the leader in question for guidance.

5.     Courage

Followers need to be honest with those who lead them. They also need the courage to be honest. It takes real courage to confront a leader about concerns with the leader’s agenda or worse, the leader themselves.

It is not for naught that Churchill called courage “The foremost of the virtues, for upon it, all others depend.” From time to time, it takes real courage to be a good follower.

6.     Discretion

A favorite saying in World War II was “Loose lips sink ships.” Sports teams are fond of the expression “What you hear here, let it stay here.” Followers owe their organizations and their leaders discretion. Talking about work matters inappropriately is at best unhelpful and more likely harmful.

Discretion just means keeping your mouth shut. It should be easy but many find it next to impossible. Bluntly, an individual cannot be a good follower and be indiscreet. Everybody who works at an organization has a duty of care; indiscretion is not care, it is careless.

7.     Loyalty

Good followers respect their obligation to be loyal to their organization. Loyalty to the organization and its goals is particularly important when there are problems, interpersonal or otherwise, with a particular leader.

Followers who are not loyal are inevitably a source of difficulty. They create problems between group or team members, they compromise the achievement of goals, they waste everybody’s time, they are a menace. Loyalty is not a synonym for lapdog. Rather, its essence is a strong allegiance and commitment to what the organization is trying to do. Followers should remember that their obligation is to the organization, not a given leader at a given point of time.

8.     Ego Management

Good followers have their egos under control. They are team players in the fullest sense of the concept. They have good interpersonal skills. Success for good followers relates to performance and goal achievement not personal recognition and self-promotion. Sounds too good to be true and often it is. It is difficult but the best organizations tie advancement and reward to performance and goal achievement as hard as that may be to do.

As evidenced by this brief look at good or excellent followers, there is no shortage of advice for those who aspire to be effective leaders.

One piece of advice may be particularly enticing: If someone wants to be a successful leader, they should understand that leadership is about influencing followers and that also means having an understanding of power and influence tactics as discussed in the next literatureOpens in new window.