Category: reflections

How do you promote a clone?

by A.H., posted in analogies, reflections, study07, study12

I’m a fan of the Star Wars saga; as a boy who grew up in the 1980’s, I could hardly escape it.

While I will always treasure the original trilogy for the quality of their storytelling and special effects, I do appreciate the more recent films for the additional backdrop they create for this grand space opera.

Episode II, which was released in 2002 and entitled “Attack of the Clones”, has stirred up in me some recent thinking about followership. (And also taken me back to some of my original inspiration in considering followership: the rodents known as lemmings.)

In the film, a genetically engineered army is created. What caught my attention is that this army, composed entirely of soldiers cloned from a single original, consists of a wide variety of units and ranks. There are pilots and artillery specialists, tank drivers and special forces commandos. And there are captains and cannon fodder.

It made me ask the question, “How do you promote a clone?” Continue reading “How do you promote a clone?” →

Followership is Not New

by A.H., posted in reflections, study01, study12

I had a recent interaction with a website editor that made me smile.

In creating the content tags to be used for future posts, the editor didn’t want to include ‘followership’ as one possibility because it’s too new of a term and thus needs further development and explanation; he posited that readers will need instruction and understanding before they’ll connect with the concept.

Being personally passionate about the topic of followership, I must admit that my initial reaction was umbrage, a bit annoyed and aggrieved that something so intrinsic to life, work, and relationships could be thought to be too new to highlight. But eventually, as I reflected on the journey of ‘followership’, I smiled. Continue reading “Followership is Not New” →

At Our Best When We’re Out of Sync

by A.H., posted in analogies, reflections, study02, study03, study07, study10

My wife and I are currently expecting the birth of our first child. As a result, we’re taking more walks than usual, in order to encourage our little one to make her arrival (see my video on the author page). We enjoy walking while holding hands, and my wife has made a keen observation: it’s most comfortable for us to walk together when we’re exactly out of step with one another. Continue reading “At Our Best When We’re Out of Sync” →

Encouraging Ownership

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

One sentiment that has led to unhelpful division between leadership and followership is to believe that leaders are the ones who have (and sell) the vision, while followers are the ones who work to fulfill it.

When the organization’s leadership is setup as the only ones through whom vision can flow (I was part of one such organization), there is an inherent disempowering of followers, and an implicit message that vision–and thus the ultimate driving force behind any endeavor–is the purview of the leaders alone. Continue reading “Encouraging Ownership” →

A Critical Oversight in ‘Team’

by A.H., posted in reflections, study01, study12

It’s often said: There’s no ‘I’ in ‘team’. When we think about team, we’re supposed to think about the collective unit, a group joined together, without individual ambitions getting in the way.

But, we don’t actually do that.

Nor should we. Continue reading “A Critical Oversight in ‘Team’” →

Significance: From Potential to Participation

by A.H., posted in reflections, study02, study12

In our exploration of followership, we have oftentimes addressed the aspect of identity: followership is not merely an occupation, but a deeper part of who we are and what we have to offer.

Having a firm grasp on one’s identity is extremely valuable; being able to clearly answer the question “Who am I?” provides an important resource for participating with excellence and making your necessary contributions.

But there is an additional question to address. Continue reading “Significance: From Potential to Participation” →

No Ambition for Position

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

As 2016 closes out, it’s a common consideration to look ahead at 2017 and to think about plans, desires, and dreams for what next year will bring. Opportunities, changes, achievements…the clean slate of a new year seems to welcome them all.

“New Year’s Resolutions” are part and parcel of this season as well. What commitments will we make in order to best position ourselves to take advantage of the possibilities for the new calendar year? How will we motivate ourselves to be what we know we can be and do what we hope we can do? Continue reading “No Ambition for Position” →

What does it mean to be excellent?

by A.H., posted in reflections, study02, study06

I write frequently about the idea of excellence. Throughout my book Embracing Followership, I emphasize that what we’re after is excellent followership—not mere followership, or mediocre followership, or satisfactory followership. Excellent.

Let’s consider for a moment this idea of excellence. Continue reading “What does it mean to be excellent?” →

Leadership Lesson for Encouraging Excellent Followership #4

by A.H., posted in excerpt, reflections, study06, study09

What is the ultimate aim of your leadership? There are a variety of tasks that fit under the classic definitions of leadership–making decisions, exerting influence, improving efficiency, increasing profits–but none of these capture what I believe to be at the heart of excellent leadership.

Excellent leadership fosters excellent followership. Continue reading “Leadership Lesson for Encouraging Excellent Followership #4” →

Leadership Lesson for Encouraging Excellent Followership #3

by A.H., posted in excerpt, reflections, study08, study09

Question: do your followers have a seat at the table? Is their potential for contribution being inhibited by always receiving their information through your personal filters? Are the gaps in your perspective leaving out relevant details, dismissing valuable courses of action, and leading to missed opportunities to anticipate needs and take next steps? Continue reading “Leadership Lesson for Encouraging Excellent Followership #3” →

Leadership Lesson for Encouraging Excellent Followership #2

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

As a leader, there are a number of things one can do to facilitate excellent followership. We previously looked at “displaying dependence” as one critical aspect for opening the doorway to trust and soliciting the best contributions from your followers. Today, we consider establishing the environment.

Establishing the Environment. Teams and organizations have their own cultures, and one of the values of culture is in providing norms for interaction and expectations. Culture operates on a number of levels: broad national cultures create one layer of expectation, but those expectations and the nature of relationships become further refined (for example) at the state level, the organizational level, the department level, etc. There are layers and layers of culture that feed into the environment within which a given team operates.

It is the duty of the leader to intentionally establish that environment in such a way that it promotes, expects, and relies upon excellent followership.

What are some environmental/cultural factors that a leader needs to consider? Continue reading “Leadership Lesson for Encouraging Excellent Followership #2” →

Leadership Lesson for Encouraging Excellent Followership #1

by A.H., posted in excerpt, reflections, study10, study11

In my personal journey of exploring followership, one of my early frustrations was that much of the writing on following was actually aimed at leaders, instructing them in how to make good followers. As a non-leader (at the time), I was looking for a resource that had someone like me as the intended audience.

While I believe that excellent followership begins in the followers themselves, in my journey of serving on various international teams and working groups, I’ve certainly seen that leaders do indeed have an important role to play in facilitating others’ followership. The cooperation of leaders and followers is a relational dynamic, a two-way street of influence, and thus the actions and characteristics of the one greatly impact the quality of the other to fulfill his/her role.

Looking at leadership through the lens of followership, what can a leader do to facilitate and encourage excellent followers? Continue reading “Leadership Lesson for Encouraging Excellent Followership #1” →