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Still opportunities to Embrace!

by A.H., posted in news, resource

As I am about to begin my PhD research, you won’t see many new materials across our various social media feeds (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn). But that doesn’t mean that the pursuit of Embracing Followership needs to stagnate! With nearly 4000 total sales, the message is continuing to go out, and there’s no shortage of resources available to help you engage in your own journey of Embracing Followership!

With over 100 blog posts, more than a dozen free downloads, and numerous other recommended resources and links, there’s plenty to keep you equipped and reflecting on how you can make your most excellent contributions in your workplace, volunteer association, or other community!

Feel free to leave a comment or send a message if you have a question or need a little direction to facilitate your personal and professional growth and exploration! And if you’ve had your own experience of Embracing Followership, please do leave a rating/review on Amazon and Goodreads and share your experience with others.

Till we meet again!

~Allen

Top Clicks of 2020

by A.H., posted in news, resource

Whatever 2020 may have held for you–whether it was more time for reading & reflection, or less–the year has finally ended. However, our journey toward excellence in our followership and our contributions continues on.

In case you missed something that might be a help to you, here’s the busiest posts and free downloads on our site in the past year. Continue reading “Top Clicks of 2020” →

Servant ~by~ Leadership

by A.H., posted in news, reflections, study03, study10

We’ll continue our exploration of various implementations of servant leadership begun in the previous post, where we examined “serve while leading” and “lead while serving.”

whileWhereas the notion of ‘while’ indicated somewhat parallel notions and activities of service and leadership operating within one’s role, the reality we explored is that more often they meld or mask one another and so lose their respective strengths, and responsibilities.

In this post, we’ll explore the more impactful dynamic of ‘by’ rather than ‘while.’ Continue reading “Servant ~by~ Leadership” →

Servant ~while~ Leadership

by A.H., posted in reflections, study02, study07

The more time I spend with the concept of servant leadership, the more I find it to be going the way of the notion of ‘leadership’ generally: regularly defined as including nearly every positive virtue imaginable, so that it becomes an amorphous and unhelpful catch-all category which somehow still receives nods of affirmation as a worthwhile perspective. We like the sound of the term and have decided to elevate the idea, even though we usually don’t know exactly what we’re talking about. (See: Leader: the ideal human being?)

Following on from our recent 2-part series on Follower-Focused Servant Leadership, in this post and the following one, I’ll offer four additional perspectives on ‘servant leadership,’ each of which seems to be occasionally intended when using the term, and yet they are significantly different ways of leading, in my opinion. Continue reading “Servant ~while~ Leadership” →

Collaboration Requires Communication

by A.H., posted in reflections, study07, study10

I watched a TV series recently which explored various facets of the US President’s work, including his special modes of transportation (Air Force One plane, Marine One helicopter, ‘The Beast’ limousine, and even Ground Force One—the President’s tour bus!) and meeting spaces (e.g. the White House Situation Room).

Amidst all of the special technology and equipment employed in each of these work spaces, what struck me was that the most specialized and precious technology was associated with communication—keeping the President in constant contact with advisors, military, etc. is deemed absolutely vital. He must be able to talk to anybody at anytime, from anywhere.

Despite all the faults of the US government, they seem to have one thing right: communication is at the heart of all leadership and followership, all group endeavors. And it’s something to be invested in, protected, uninterrupted, and guaranteed. Continue reading “Collaboration Requires Communication” →

Mission to Multiplication

by A.H., posted in reflections, study04, study05

I attended a workshop last year on the topic of capacity. The presenter, Dr Tom Lambshead, brought together several propositions in a way that really highlighted the essential chain of elements that enable moving from a clearly defined mission to becoming multipliers and seeing achievement and expansion occur. Continue reading “Mission to Multiplication” →

Follower-Focused Servant Leadership, Part 2

by A.H., posted in reflections, study05, study07

In order to prevent ‘servant leadership’ from becoming an unhelpfully ambiguous concept, we’ll continue our discussion of what servant leadership can look like. Last time (see Part 1), we highlighted 3 caveats for would-be servant leaders. Below are a few avenues for what it might look like to lead by serving (or perhaps to serve while leading?). Continue reading “Follower-Focused Servant Leadership, Part 2” →

Follower-Focused Servant Leadership, Part 1

by A.H., posted in excerpt, reflections, study03, study07

In conversation with a colleague recently, I discovered how broad the notion of ‘servant leadership’ has become. From Greenleaf’s presentation—from which I would summarize servant leadership as being focused on the development of the organization and its followers—to simple notions of exhibiting varying degrees of humility or altruism, ‘servant leadership’ is in danger of becoming so broad and ambiguous of a concept that it will lose relevance as a helpful platform for communication and reflection. Continue reading “Follower-Focused Servant Leadership, Part 1” →

The Language of Followership

by A.H., posted in analogies, excerpt, reflections, study03, study07, study10, study12

Another of my lockdown reads has been Outliers, by Malcolm Gladwell. I found his case studies very entertaining and his observations intriguing. But from a followership perspective, I found his seventh chapter, “The Ethnic Theory of Plane Crashes,” to be the most significant. Continue reading “The Language of Followership” →

Am I Growing?

by A.H., posted in reflections, study04, study06

As I mentioned last time, although my schedule hasn’t lightened during this season, I am continuing to make certain decisions to engage in various reflective exercises with the time that I do have available.

I was gifted a copy of the book Younique, by Will Mancini, which was just released earlier this year. I’m finding it a helpful companion for personal reflection on, and articulation of, my passions, values, and other related matters.

But one portion especially struck me from the perspective of followership. Continue reading “Am I Growing?” →

The Convictions of Harry Potter

by A.H., posted in reflections, study02, study04

While my own life and work haven’t slowed down amidst covid-19 in order to allow for extra Netflix time, I have been on a quest to explore some of the modern cinematic epics. (So far, none of them holds a candle to Star Wars, though I am a child of the 80s!)

Along the way, I completed the 8-film Harry Potter series, and I came across this short bit of dialogue in the final film.

hp8Two characters are standing in a window, observing a massive horde assaulting the castle-school, and preparing to do their part to defend it. One of them, wizard Kingsley Shacklebolt remarks that it might be helpful to have one or two more defenders standing with them.

Then, Remus Lupin (who happens to be a werewolf) states, “It is the quality of one’s convictions that determines success, not the number of followers.”

When Kingsley asks who said that (undoubtedly hoping it’s some credible sage), Remus answers, “Me.” So unless we’re prepared to take a half-man, half-wolf at his word, perhaps we need to evaluate this statement before we simply assume that it’s true. Continue reading “The Convictions of Harry Potter” →

Followership according to NASA

by A.H., posted in analogies, reflections, study10, study12

With many leaders and followers operating under unusual circumstances due to the covid-19 epidemic, some expertise was sought from those who work under the most unusual circumstances of all: space-dwelling NASA astronauts.

NASA experts developed a list of 5 ‘expeditionary behaviors’ which they have found contribute to their people being “happy, productive, and successful.” While they say that their strategies “can be applied to any situation that involves working remotely as a group,” my opinion is that they are actually universally applicable, and would be good for us to keep in mind in any of our leader-follower circumstances. Continue reading “Followership according to NASA” →