Kevin Bemel ·
Learn About Leadership by Being a Better Follower
Service members can attest that it is popular in the military to call everyone a leader. Although this idea has some merit when it comes to creating a safer working environment, the essence of military life is still one of commander and commanded. Much of a service member’s success depends on being a good follower.
About a year after I was stationed in Okinawa, Japan I was asked to join the staff of the battalion responsible for taking care of the largest Marine Corps base on the island. One of the most interesting aspects of the weekly meetings was to observe the interaction of the staff members, most of whom were junior officers, with the colonel in charge of the battalion. At first, it appeared that he favored those who invariably agreed with him. Unfortunately, this left me out of what I perceived to be his inner circle.
However, after a while, I realized what I had read as approval was really resignation by the colonel to having to look elsewhere for candid input. His continually questioning or outright rejecting my recommendations was his way of deliberating their merit. Often I found later he adopted suggestions. Among the greatest compliments I have ever received was his telling me he highly valued my work as a chaplain and as a loyal staff officer.
Here are the qualities that will make you a loyal follower:
- Give your candid viewpoint: Even, or perhaps especially, when you know your leader will disagree you must be honest and forthright. As important, you must convey your dissent in a way that your leader will hear.
- Constantly work to keep your leader from being blind-sided: Every leader is a follower too. You must properly prepare your leader to brief and/or make recommendations to the person to whom he is responsible, including customers and clients.
- Seek out diverse opinions to prevent your becoming myopic: To keep your leader from being shortsighted you have to maintain a broad perspective. Your recommendation for a particular proposal is only as good as the arguments against those options you think are ill-advised.
- Insist your leader treat you and others with respect: To allow your leader to act inappropriately or abusively, even when you are not affected, fosters disloyalty that eventually undermines your leader’s agenda. If a team member is not competent enough to fill his role, better to urge that the person be replaced or his duties re-assigned rather then compromising on mutual respect or worse getting a vicarious thrill from someone else’s humiliation.
- Tolerate no disloyalty behind your leader's back: Discussions sincerely endeavoring to identify ways your leader can improve are appropriate. Your true heartedness is questionable if you take part in or sit idly by when your leader is disparaged. A good rule of thumb is if you are comfortable talking with your leader about the results of a conversation about him you are on solid ground.
The point I made above is worth repeating. Every leader is a follower. Similarly, many followers are or will become leaders. How can you reasonably expect loyalty that you are unwilling to give?
Question – What qualities do you think a loyal follower has?
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