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About 5 years ago, the leadership field began to explore the roles that followers play in leadership. Barbara Kellerman from the Center for Public Leadership authored Followership: How Followers Are Creating Change and Changing Leaders. That same year, Ronald Riggio wrote The Art of Followership: How Great Followers Create Great Leaders and Organizations.
Just last year, former Hewlett Packard Executive Vice President Vyomesh Joshi (VJ) was asked about the “keys to being a great leader”. He responded that it’s not about leadership—the real attribute is “followership”. He went on to say that potential leaders should always ask themselves “Why would anyone want to follow me?”
As a little brother, I naturally grew up as a follower. Blake was a great leader, and he demonstrated 4 leadership qualities that ensured my success as a follower:
1) Trust
Much has been written and discussed about the importance of trust in business and leadership success. Stephen M. R. Covey’s The Speed of Trust is a great resource. Through everyday behavior, “followership” requires that the leader provides evidence that they can be trusted. Does the leader do what he or she says? Is the leader transparent, sharing challenges, obstacles, and needs to achieve organization goals?
I trusted Blake implicitly. He’s an honorable big brother. I never questioned his motives… One funny aside that I don’t specifically recall but hear about from time-to-time shows the depth of my trust for him. Apparently, when we were little, he tied me up in the back of our truck and asked me to jump out. I ended up with a bump on the head…but continued to trust him after that… Yes, I’d jump out of the back of a truck tied up for him…now that’s followership!
2) Inclusion
Followers want their opinions to be sought and heard by their leaders. They want to be included in key decisions and strategic planning. This is easy for leaders to miss…and I’ve seen some good leaders over the years go to the Mountain top on their own (like Moses) then try to proclaim a new vision or strategy for the organization without any success.
This was a key point that I remember about Blake growing up. Even though he was 4 years older, he always included me in football games and other activities with his friends. In fact, he and I would often practice passing routes—he was the Quarterback and I was the receiver. As a father to 2 boys (and a girl) who get along well, I recognize that Blake’s level of inclusion was unique…and helped me become a better follower. After hours of practice, we reached a point where he could call out a number, and I’d run the pattern. Our timing matched that of Troy Aikman & Michael Irvin—right, Blake?
3) Competence
Blake demonstrated strong competence in everything he did. He was a strong student in school and a stand-out athlete. In some ways, it was hard following him in school because of his reputation on the field and in the classroom. Blake was a stellar baseball player who was ultimately recruited to play baseball for Texas A&M University. He was part of their great 1989 team and served as Captain the following two years.
My junior year in High School, I started baseball late due to our basketball season. The previous season, I played on our sophomore team and did well, but we had many good players on the Varsity. For whatever reason, I struggled to hit during practice, and I never broke into the batting lineup. I started at 2B that year, but they used the Designated Hitter for me. Our team had a memorable season—we finished as State Runner-up in 1989. It was a lot of fun fielding ground balls on the University of Texas’ turf field! Late that season, Blake came home and worked with me on my hitting. He gave a few key pointers that helped me get back on track. I’ll never forget the surprise of my coaches the following practice, as I was hitting better than they had seen me hit all year.
The following season, I started…and after hitting over .500 for much of the season, steadily moved up the lineup. Our team finished in the final 8 teams, just missing a return to the State championships…but I was named an All-State Infielder my senior year. I don’t underestimate my brother’s coaching and impact on that accomplishment. His competence was key to my followership.
4) Hope
Leaders must demonstrate realistic optimism. Blake always did this for me. He was a great example of providing hope for the future. I watched how he studied at Texas A&M and again excelled in the classroom and on the field. I watched as he got married and started a family. I watched as he excelled in the business world. All of his hard work and accomplishments were inspiring and gave me hope…
Thank you, big bro, for making Followership easy!
How about you? Are you demonstrating Trust, Inclusion, Competence, and Hope for your followers? If not, consider what you can change today as you shoot for the stars…