LEADERSHIP: LET A THOUSAND FOLLOWERS FLOWER

Published: 2010-04-15   please add a comment below

“Increasingly, followers think of themselves as free agents, not as dependent underlings. … A confluence of changes – cultural and technological ones in particular – have influenced what subordinates want and how they behave, especially in relation to their ostensible bosses.” I like that expression: ostensible bosses. Are we ever much more than that? Each day and in each situation, we have to win our followers to the cause or journey, for which we’re responsible. So, how are we to do that?

In her recent article, Barbara Kellerman highlights the lack of research and articles about followers and suggests her own typology: isolates are completely detached; bystanders observe but do not participate; participants are engaged in some way; activists feel strongly one way or another about their leaders and organisation, and they act accordingly; and, diehards are prepared to go down for their cause – whether it’s an individual, an idea or both. As I reflect on my career, I recognise a range of experiences: both severe setbacks and exciting outcomes. Particularly notable was my time as CEO of a Government agency, where the activists didn’t like the reorganisation I was pushing through. And, they won; as they should have! And, I learnt huge lessons – about both leadership and followership. What’s your leadership experience been like? How are you travelling at present? Any isolates, bystanders or diehards on your team? We all have them. But, what do we do? From my observation over many decades, leadership (and hence followership) are less about typologies and understanding problems, though that’s a good start. The core is the actions you take? To this end, I’ve developed my V|E|C|T|O|R Leadership® framework. In an hour, you can have a printable plan of personal leadership commitments. And, what distinguishes V|E|C|T|O|R is the following. First, you have a plan, not just a diagnosis or categorisation of your follower types. Second, it covers both “hard” market and technical issues and the equally important but so-called “soft” ones of people and culture. Then third, and crucially, it does all this from the perspective of what your followers need – whether they’re isolates, activists or whatever. In the end, it’s what they need and what you do (not the typology) that counts.

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Dr. Timothy Pascoe AM
PhD (Cambridge), MBA (Harvard), BE & BEc (Adelaide)
Creator, V|E|C|T|O|R Leadership^®

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