Develop "Followership"
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Whether you are a department manager, team leader or company president, your followers determine how effective you are. One of your chief challenges, then, is developing "followership" among your staff.
Followership isn't simply following orders. It's much more active and fulfilling. Good followers act with intelligence. They know to follow orders and when to come back with different ideas; when to operate as individuals and when to act as members of a team. They operate interdependently with courage and with strong ethics.
In short, the best followers act as if they own the business.
It's up to you to set the conditions for good followership. If someone has more ability than you to complete a job, become that person's follower. Your example will show everyone that leadership flows among people as the situation warrants. As people understand their leaders' strenghts and weaknesses, they'll fill in the gaps to make all sides whole. The result is an organization with fewer hierarchicial layers, an orientation toward actions and productive dialogue.
Once you've created follwership, you'll have a critical mass of people willing to address changes eagerly, honestly, and openly. For more on this topic, see our Product Store for Ralph Jacobson's book "Leading for a Change."
