Followership
There is a lot of emphasis in our
society on leadership. It seems to me that about half a jillion books have been
written by coaches, and military officers about leadership. After all, who knows more about
leadership than men and women who sit on the sidelines and send others into the
game or into the war? Some such
authors were obviously leaders and others, despite their conceit, were not.
I have long believed that the value
of helping others achieve their goals has been under-valued way of
co-operatively working toward my own goals. I’ve worked with a number of people
who thought they were leaders because they were loud or abrasive and who were,
in my opinion, more of a hindrance than a help in getting anything actually
done. I’ve also worked for bosses who appreciated my efforts to make them look
good, which, in turn, helped me look good. Sometimes in jobs people with little or no executive power
in their job description such as secretaries or assistants, are the ones who
keep the enterprise going.
I have been impressed by writers as
a group. Well-known authors and
agents have been very helpful to me and generous with their time. I try to pass the favors on to
others.
I don’t know of much research on
followership. It is reported that on
the eve of the battle at Waterloo, the commander of the English forces, the Duke
of Wellington and his aides walked through the English campgrounds. He pointed
toward an individual soldier saying that one soldier would have more effect on
the outcome of the coming battle than Wellington, himself, would.
Has supporting others helped you
attain your goals?
