Followership

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Followership

• Karin Klinger
• Baylor University

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Followership

• What do you think of when you hear the word
  Follower?
• In what arenas of your life are you a follower?
• We are all followers. Not all of us are leaders.
  But all of us are followers in some arena of our
  lives.

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Followership

• What do we want to accomplish today?
• Understanding the role of your followers/members
• Understanding the complexities of leading people
• Respecting the power that members/followers have
  in our organizations

"The final test of a leader is that he leaves
behind him in other men the conviction and the
will to carry on." Walter Lippmann
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Followership

• What are some of the challenges you face with
  your membership?

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Followership

• Group Development
• Tuckman, 1965
• Forming
• Purpose goals may be unclear
• Varying degrees of commitment
• Members are cautious, dont initiate, avoid
  responsibility
• Members are dependent on directive leadership

"Leadership is the art of getting someone else to
do something you want done because he wants to do
it." Dwight D Eisenhower
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Followership

• Group Development (Tuckman, 1965)
• Forming
• Storming
• Differences arise over goals and roles, direction
  control
• Members react with counterproductive behaviors
• Organization is uncertain about how to deal with
  issues
• Communication issues arise
• Members act from independent stance

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Followership

• Group Development (Tuckman, 1965)
• Forming
• Storming
• Norming
• Sense of momentum as organization gains
  confidence
• Infrastructure is developed
• Relationships are built with external
  stakeholders
• Interdependent relationship-building within
  membership

The ultimate leader is one who is willing to
develop people to the point that they eventually
surpass him or her in knowledge and ability.
Fred A. Manske, Jr.
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Followership

• Group Development (Tuckman, 1965)
• Forming
• Storming
• Norming
• Performing
• Members take responsibility
• Tasks, goals, etc. are accomplished with
  satisfaction
• Members are proactive
• Membership moves easily through stages

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Followership

• Group Development (Tuckman, 1965)
• Forming
• Storming
• Norming
• Performing
• Adjourning
• Though this stage refers to the termination of a
  group and organizations rarely encounter thisit
  is important! Why?

"The wicked leader is he who the people despise.
The good leader is he who the people revere. The
great leader is he who the people say, 'We did it
ourselves.' Lao-Tzu
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Followership

• How would you categorize your organizations
  group dynamics based on Tuckmans stages?
• Nowwhat can you do with this information?
• Action steps for moving your organization

Forming Storming
Norming Performing
Adjourning
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Followership

• Valuing the Follower (Member)
• People rise to your expectationsso increase your
  expectations of your members!
• Your organization is built upon a common purpose
  use it to develop a sense of shared ownership

"Leaders are the ones who keep faith with the
past, keep step with the present and keep the
promise to posterity. Harold J. Seymore
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Followership

• Valuing the Follower (Member)
• The best organizations are humble its not
  about you as a leader its about the
  organization
• Share your successesand your failures
• Create a culture of Courageous Followership

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Followership

• Creating a Culture of Courageous Followership
  (Chaleff, 1995)
• The Five Dimensions of Courageous Followership
• 1. The courage to assume responsibility
• As a leader, you must give opportunities to your
  members to assume responsibility! Delegate, pass
  on ownership, listen, and recognize the
  contributions of your members

"Good leaders make people feel that they're at
the very heart of things, not at the periphery.
Everyone feels that he or she makes a difference
to the success of the organization. When that
happens people feel centered and that gives their
work meaning. Warren Bennis
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Followership

• Creating a Culture of Courageous Followership
  (Chaleff, 1995)
• The Five Dimensions of Courageous Followership
• 1. The courage to assume responsibility
• 2. The courage to serve
• Give your members opportunities to work hard!
  Provide ever increasing expectations so your
  members can increase their investment in and
  ownership of the organization

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Followership

• Creating a Culture of Courageous Followership
  (Chaleff, 1995)
• The Five Dimensions of Courageous Followership
• 1. The courage to assume responsibility
• 2. The courage to serve
• 3. The courage to challenge
• Give your members a voice and listen intently
  to their feedback! Give them the freedom to
  question you and challenge your choices
• Note of caution you may hear things that you
  wont like! Thats okay! Just be sure that your
  members question and challenge you in appropriate
  circumstances and always with respect!

Follower is not a term of weakness, but the
condition that permits leadership to exist and
gives it strength. Ira Chaleff
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Followership

• Creating a Culture of Courageous Followership
  (Chaleff, 1995)
• The Five Dimensions of Courageous Followership
• 1. The courage to assume responsibility
• 2. The courage to serve
• 3. The courage to challenge
• 4. The courage to participate in transformation
• Your members will likely be in a position to
  recognize the need for change long before you
  will as a leader! Be open to their call for
  change and transformation!

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Followership

• Creating a Culture of Courageous Followership
  (Chaleff, 1995)
• The Five Dimensions of Courageous Followership
• 1. The courage to assume responsibility
• 2. The courage to serve
• 3. The courage to challenge
• 4. The courage to participate in transformation
• 5. The courage to leave

"Motivation is everything. You can do the work of
two people, but you can't be two people. Instead,
you have to inspire the next guy down the line
and get him to inspire his people." Lee
Iacocca
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Followership

• Questions?
• Thanks for being here!
• Karin Klinger
• Student Activities
• SUB, First Floor
• 254-710-2371
• www.baylor.edu/student_activities