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Are You a Leader or a Follower?—Professor M.S. Rao, Ph.D.—21st-Century Philosopher & The Father of “Soft Leadership”
"Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it." —Dwight D Eisenhower
When you look at leaders like Obama, the Dalai Lama, Nelson Mandela, and Martin Luther King, they all have one common thing. They are all followers of the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi. These personalities excelled as leaders as they were good followers. Therefore, you need to be a follower first to excel as a leader. However, people interpret being a follower as a sign of weakness. On the contrary, it is a symbol of strength.
Plato was a follower of Socrates. Aristotle was a follower of Plato. Alexander the Great was a follower of Aristotle. Why did all these leaders succeed? It is because they were all followers of their leaders who learned the ropes and evolved as leaders in their areas.
You frequently hear about leadership. But hearing about followership appears to be strange, right? Followership helps in getting into the shoes of others and empathising with others, thus excelling as a leader. If you want to become a leader, you must first know about followership. Here are some characteristics of good followers.
Good followers never blame their bosses. They rarely blame their tools for non-performance. That doesn’t mean that they are ‘yes men’. They sort out privately whatever the differences and issues they have with their leaders.
They never surprise their bosses. They keep them informed about the developments and the actions taken. They continuously report with feedback and seek directions and solutions.
They don’t bother who receives credit for the good work done.
They take initiative and fix the problems without blaming others.
They are humble.
They are quiet doers and don’t make any noise about their achievements.
They are passionate to learn and growing and are always eager to learn the ropes.
They listen carefully and observe keenly.
In deference organisations, subordinates follow the orders of their superiors, who in turn set examples for their followers and excel as true leaders. However, we find few people in organisations who often blame their bosses and their organisations for all their problems. They rarely introspect and empathise. They prefer to criticise, condemn, and complain about others. Such people cannot excel as good followers.
Followership and Leadership
“The ultimate leader is willing to develop people to the point that they eventually surpass him or her in knowledge and ability." —Fred A. Manske, Jr.
It is unfair to assume followers as weak individuals. They follow their leaders because of the values and ethics of their leaders. They support because they are moved by the goals and objectives. It is also equally unfair to think that leaders are puppeteers and followers are puppets. In many cases, leaders are also followers as they act according to the wishes of their followers. Followership is a relationship with reciprocal responses from their leaders toward the goals. Both leadership and followership are inseparable. Once the goals are reached, then the leadership separates from followership, where followers carry certain takeaways to try and test as leaders.
As men appreciate women, the leaders appreciate their followers. However, the appreciation between the leaders and followers is that of values and principles and goals and objectives.
However, with the changing global scenario, the role of followers is drastically changing, and they need to collaborate with their leaders in achieving organisational goals. To put it in the words of leadership guru Warren Bennis, "Today's organisations are evolving into federations of networks, clusters, cross-functional teams, temporary systems, ad hoc task forces, lattices, modules, matrices- almost anything but pyramids with their obsolete top-down leadership. The new leader will encourage healthy dissent and value those followers courageous enough to say no."
Conclusion
"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
Followers are more loyal to their leaders than the leaders are loyal to their followers. In the history of mankind, we rarely see followers letting down their leaders. However, we find a few leaders letting down their followers and falling into the dustbins of history.
To sum up, behind the success of all leaders, there must be someone who laid the leadership ladder for success when they remained good followers. Only good followers can excel as good leaders, as they inculcate the qualities of leadership from their leaders.
Share if you care!
“Things You Don’t Know about Professor M. S. Rao” http://professormsraovision2030.blogspot.com/2015/10/things-you-dont-know-about-professor-m.html
Read my ‘Vision 2030 One Million Global Leaders’ URL: http://professormsraovision2030.blogspot.com/2014/12/professor-m-s-raos-vision-2030-one_31.html
Note: I had a brain haemorrhage. I was in bed for five months. My right hand has been numb and paralysed. I am recovering. Thanks for empathising with me. With gratitude. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFJrSRLHPUk&ab_channel=ProfessorM.S.Rao
Life is great!
Professor M.S. Rao, Ph.D.
Founder of MSR Leadership Consultants, India
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See the Light in You: https://www.amazon.com/See-Light-You-Spiritual-Mindfulness/dp/1949003132
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