Articulate

Good leadership is very important, especially in difficult times. No one will argue with that. However, much of the reflection on leadership in mainstream and social media has focussed on individual leaders and what they are, or are not, doing well. Leaders need followers or they are not leading anyone. Leadership is a relationship and a process beyond something individual leaders do or are. Leadership and followership go hand in hand.

What does good followership look like in a crisis?

• Followership is not following blindly. Followers choose to follow, so they need to make this choice wisely and with good judgement. Here are five ways to identify effective followership:
• Keep the big picture in focus. Effective followership adjusts to (significant) changes in detail while remember why we are following.
• Be ok with change and uncertainty. In a crisis we look to leaders for direction and reassurance. When a situation is unfolding rapidly we also need to be flexible.
• Allow leaders to adjust course. This requires us to recognising that leading and following requires decision making on the basis of the best information available at the time. As more is known things may change.
• Take advice from those with expertise. We’ve seen leaders take on followership when relying on advice from experts and feedback from the community. While we rely on leadership that communicates truthfully and clearly, listening is also part of communication.
• Followership takes responsibility. Good followership is as active, and as important as, good leadership.

What good followership are you experiencing?

This post was sparked in response to Michaela Kerrissey and Amy Edmonson’s excellent HBR article https://hbr.org/2020/04/what-good-leadership-looks-like-during-this-pandemic