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Effective Leadership

What Do Followers Need From Leaders?

crisis-management Photo courtesy of SBU OnlineOpens in new window

Good followers are created partly by leaders who understand their obligations for developing people. Leaders have a duty to create a leader-follower relationship that engages the whole person rather than treat followers as passive sheep who should blindly follow orders and support the manager.

Followers want their leaders to be honest, innovative, inspiring, and competent. A leader must be worthy of trust, envision the future of the organization, inspire others to contribute, and be capable and effective in matters that will affect the organization and the people.

In terms of competence, leadership roles may shift from the formal leader to the person with particular expertise in a given area. In addition, followers need the following:

Clear goals and direction.

Followers need leaders to clearly communicate where the teamOpens in new window, projectOpens in new window, or organizationOpens in new window is going and why. Creating an inspiring image is only one aspect of setting direction. Followers also need specific, unambiguous goals and objectives, on both an individual and team level.

Having clear goals lets people know where to focus their attention and energy and enables them to feel a sense of pride and accomplishment when goals are achieved.

Providing clarity of direction enables followers to manage their own behaviors and track their own progress. In addition, it provides a basis for understanding leader decisions regarding bonuses, salary increases, or promotions.

Another aspect of clarifying direction is helping followers see how their own individual project-role jobs fit in the larger context of the team, project, and the enterprise.

Frequent, specific, and immediate feedback.

Effective leaders see feedbackOpens in new window as a route to improvement and development, not as something to dread or fear. When a leader provides feedback, it signals that the leader cares about the follower’s growth and career developmentOpens in new window and wants to help the person achieve his or her potential.

Coaching to develop potential.

CoachingOpens in new window takes feedback a step further to help followers upgrade their skills and enhance their career development. Coaching is a method of directing or facilitating a follower with the aim of improving specific skills or achieving a specific development goal, such as developing time management skillsOpens in new window, enhancing personal productivity, or preparing for new responsibilities.

Rather than telling followers what to do, directing and controlling their behavior, and judging their performance, which is a traditional management role, coaching involves empowering followers to explore, helping them understand and learn, providing support, and removing obstacles that stand in the way of their ability to grow and excel.

See also:
  1. Kelley, R. E. (1988). In praise of followers. Harvard Business Review, 66(6). 142 – 148.
  2. Garzon, J. M. (2017). Developing the next generation of followers at USAID. Retrieved from https://www.afsa.org/developing-next-generation-followers-usaid
  3. Turner, B. (2008, August 16). A leader with no followers, para. 1. Retrieved from http://pastorbobturner.blogspot.com/2008/08/leader-with-no-followers.html.
  4. Merriam-Webster, Inc. (2013). Followership. Retrieved from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/followership
  5. Kellerman, B. (2008). Followership: How followers are creating change and changing leaders (1st ed.). Boston, MA: Harvard Business, p. 213.
  6. Bennis, W. (2010). Art of followership. Leadership Excellence, 27(1), 3 – 4.
  7. Zaleznik, A. (1965). The dynamics of subordinacy. Harvard Business Review, 43(3), 119 – 131.
  8. Chaleff, I. (2008). Creating new ways of following. In R. E. Riggio, I. Chaleff & J. Lipman-Blumen (Eds.). The art of followership (pp. 65 – 71). Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, CA.
  9. Bass, B. M. & Bass, R. (2008). The Bass handbook of leadership: Theory, research and managerial applications. New York, NY: Free Press.
  10. Howell, J., & Mendez, M. (2008). Three perspectives on followership. In R. Riggio, I. Chaleff, & J. LipmanBhumen (Eds.), The art of followership: How great followers create great leaders and organizations (pp. 25 – 40). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
  11. Tracy, B. (n.d.). The key to leadership. Retrieved from https://www.briantracy.com/blog/leadership-success/the-key-to-leadership/
  12. Sims, R. R. (2002). Managing organizational behavior. Westport, CT: Quorum Books.
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