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Why Followership is the New Leadership

OVER TWITTER, the term “followers” is one measurement of content value. @HarvardBiz and @TechCrunch are leading sources of intelligence because they have earned millions of followers.

IN ACADEMIA, "followership" is the mastery of scholarly research and processes. Authors follow frameworks to draft new arguments and conclusions. Mathematicians, scientists and doctors follow equations to carry out critical procedures.

The most accomplished college, advanced degree and Ph.D. graduates excel because they have proven themselves as the very best scholarly followers. The best academic followers usually become the very best academic leaders.

IN ATHLETICS, followership is the ability to be coached, trained, disciplined and physically challenged under pressure. Players do not earn positions on world-class athletic rosters without proving to coaches they are excellent followers.

The films Invictus, Rudy and Miracle (and my favorite, HBO Sports’ documentary of the 1980 USA Olympic Hockey Team) portray real-life examples of excruciating followership required for competitive leadership.

IN MILITARY SCHOOLS followership is taught deliberately. I am not referring to blood n’ guts Hollywood hyperbole, but rather how West Point (Annapolis, New London, Kings Point, Colorado Springs, Citadel, VMI) actively teaches phases of followership to cadets for four grueling years.

Surprisingly, the (2009-2010) number-one college in America was not Harvard, Princeton or Yale; West Point is now #1. What’s more empowering is that gender and race have zero bearing upon followership. West Point women and international minorities master their rigorous disciplines brilliantly, proving that equal opportunities for leadership do exist for everyone –– via the mutual hard work of followership.

IN POLITICS, followership is proof of loyalty, durability and experience. Roles in politics today are excruciating and divisive. Political and religious leaders risk a great deal, including their lives. Akin to business, disloyal, flakey and inexperienced staffers can ruin years of political capital overnight. This is why steadfast political followers often make the best political leaders.

IN LIFE, those who follow rules, guidelines and laws ultimately succeed. Those who engage uncivil behavior ultimately fail.

IN THE WORKFORCE, followership is essential to efficient operations and administration. There is zero time (or extra capital) for backstabbing, drama or dishonest agendas. True teamwork and innovation require transparent, unbiased, on-point followership via every desk in the organization.

In Col. Larry Donnithorne’s classic, “The West Point Way of Leadership,” followership is expertly defined in three ways:

FIRST, followership is a form of self-mastery, control of one’s individual ego and the discipline of listening deeply.

SECOND, followership opens oneself to being remade into something more, usually via extreme circumstances that involve intense mental or physical challenges amongst peers.

THIRD, no matter what level of the highest leadership attained, there is always another higher authority, power or office that requires additional followership.

Followership proves character. Followership samples one’s ability to sacrifice for a larger cause –– a family, church, school, department, committee or company, etc. Followership also strips hubris, selfishness and dishonesty away –– three reasons why corporate America has been rife with leadership troubles.

Conversely, inexperienced politicos, prima donnas and players can only charade their way into leadership positions –– instead of honestly “investing 10,000 hours” (Outliers, Gladwell) into legitimate followership, or mastery. Nature eventually relieves wannabes of their duties, although at a considerable expense to others and the organization.

Life, work and athletic competition are not always fair. Injustices abound. Poor calls stand. Complainers still add zero value. Never mind any of these. The very best followers live up to their obligations anyway, press on anyway, and focus 100% on their leaders’ expectations anyway.

Is leadership dead? No way. Never. The very best leaders are busy, keenly on lookout for the very best followers.

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Baron Christopher Hanson, principal and lead consultant of RedBaron Consulting, LLC, a growth strategy + turnaround management firm based in Charleston, S.C. and Washington D.C. Baron can be reached via RedBaronUSA.com, 843.641.0331, and followed on Twitter @redbaronUSA.