Tag: communication

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” →

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” →

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” →

Resolved! Contribute Something…

by A.H., posted in reflections, study02, study10

We’ve come to that peculiar time of the year…when we think about next year. Although there’s nothing magical about having to hang up a new calendar, the change from one year to the next always seems to bring an incentive for change, for new commitment. All those good ideas we’ve had along the way for some reason can’t be implemented immediately; they always have to wait until January 1st…and then usually fizzle out by the 15th.

When I’m asked to summarize my thoughts on excellent followership, I often boil it down to one simple commitment: contribute something. Continue reading “Resolved! Contribute Something…” →

New Free Resource: Culture Combination Considerations

by A.H., posted in news, resource, study03, study07, study10

As we consider the quality of our followership and our experience of pursuing following with excellence, there are two facets that we certainly can’t ignore as part of our relational dynamic: our personal culture, and the culture(s) of those we work alongside—our peers and our superiors. Continue reading “New Free Resource: Culture Combination Considerations” →

A Followership View of Servant Leadership: Ch 8

by A.H., posted in reflections, study02, study04, study10, study12

Continuing our reading of Robert Greenleaf’s classic work, from a followership perspective…

After exploring the topic of servant leadership (and followership) through the various spheres of education (chapter 5), foundations (chapter 6), and churches (chapter 7), Greenleaf now reflects on the lives of two people that he sees as examples of “Servant-Leaders” (the title of chapter 8). Continue reading “A Followership View of Servant Leadership: Ch 8” →

New Free Resource: Surfacing Expectations

by A.H., posted in news, reflections, resource, study07, study10, study11

If you’ve tracked with this blog over the years, or spent time with the Embracing Followership books, you’ll likely have noticed that there are several significant threads which continually arise as we explore following with excellence.

Relationship and Communication are two of these essential themes. If you flip through the Subject Index at the back of the book, and use the number of page references as one indicator of most significant ideas, do you know which topic comes in as next most important? Continue reading “New Free Resource: Surfacing Expectations” →

Enhancing Excellent Followership as a Distance Leader: Part 3 (feedback)

by A.H., posted in reflections, study06, study08, study10, study11

In our previous two posts, we looked at trust and clarity as two essential aims that a distance leader can undertake in order to encourage excellent followership among remote followers. For our final exploration in this series, we consider feedback. Continue reading “Enhancing Excellent Followership as a Distance Leader: Part 3 (feedback)” →

Enhancing Excellent Followership as a Distance Leader: Part 2 (clarity)

by A.H., posted in reflections, study10

We looked previously at how a distance leader can establish trust as a core aspect of encouraging excellent followership. We now turn to the importance of clarity.

Throughout Embracing Followership, the thread of communication is an essential component of the leader-follower dynamic. Certainly if that dynamic is to be maintained across a geographic distance, the investment in communication becomes all the more critical, and the leader must be intentional to address the particular challenges to be found within distance communication. Continue reading “Enhancing Excellent Followership as a Distance Leader: Part 2 (clarity)” →

Enhancing Excellent Followership as a Distance Leader: Part 1 (trust)

by A.H., posted in reflections, study07, study09, study10

I wrote previously about the challenges inherent in the common contemporary dynamic of leaders and their followers often working together without being co-located (see “Does Distance Leadership Beget Virtual Followership?“). How do we follow well amidst the temptations and challenges of laboring out of site of our superior (and our colleagues)?

This question also needs to be examined from the other side of relationship: what can distance leaders do in order to facilitate following with excellence? What are the unique challenges and opportunities that they can address in order to make the most of being remote? Continue reading “Enhancing Excellent Followership as a Distance Leader: Part 1 (trust)” →

New Free Resource: Satisfying Communication

by A.H., posted in news, questions, resource, study02, study08, study10

At the heart of excellent followership is relationship—with one’s leader and with one’s peers. And at the heart of relationship is communication.

If we’re going to follow well, if we’re going to contribute well, we have participate in—and contribute toward—a positive communication environment.

The challenge comes in that each member of a group will tend to have personal preferences that define what it means for them to engage in a positive, satisfying dialogue. Continue reading “New Free Resource: Satisfying Communication” →

Important Or Accessible? Why Not Both/And

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

I enjoy watching political dramas from time to time (The West Wing, Madam Secretary) and have made an observation: the people that are the most important tend to be the least accessible. Continue reading “Important Or Accessible? Why Not Both/And” →