1. 2018 AHEA Conference (Red Deer) Followership
Sue L. T. McGregor PhD IPHE

2. Not everyone is a leader. Leaders need followers

3. Their futures rise and fall together.
Leaders and followers take part in a common enterprise – they are dependent on each other!
Their futures
rise and fall together.

4. Followers are so much more than non-leaders

5. Leader versus follower
Guides and directs others
In charge of others
Follower
Does what they are told to do
Believer, supporter or admirer
Disciple or devotee
Imitates or copies someone else

6. Leaders and followers are in a relationship - like a dance
“One person leads and one follows. This isn’t about superiority or dominance or submission. It’s just a practical issue of who initiates a movement, but there is always an interplay” (Ashgar, 2016)

7. Virtually everyone is a follower at some point in their life
ON ONE HAND…
It is unrealistic to assume that all home economics and human ecology practitioners are ready and willing to be leaders
ON THE OTHER HAND
those who lead in some cases, will follow in other situations and vice versa
people will often find themselves in followership rather than leadership roles
THAT BEING SAID
home economists and human ecologists rarely discuss followership in conjunction with professional development and their professional identity

8. “I am so excited to be a follower
“I am so excited to be a follower. I can’t wait to learn more about it and how it can benefit my profession and professional association!”

9. If I am not leading, is that a bad thing
If I am not leading, is that a bad thing? Am I an ineffective practitioner if all I do is follow? Should I feel guilty about this or is it alright that I follow? Is there a role for me to play?

10. Defined:
Someone who intentionally coordinates their actions and goals with others.
Effective leaders guide and direct people toward missions, visions, goals and objectives.
Effective followers support and admire the leaders, and take an interest in or pay attention to their actions. They are not just brown-nosers, slackers or criticizers.
Source:

11. One example of a followership typology:
Two dimensions
4 followership styles
Source: Follower.htm

12. Underlying psychology of the four followership styles
Self-Starter (most preferred style)
Expects the leader to hop-to-it
Lacks patience, wants things to happen, now
Brown-Noser (suck up, kiss a--)
Anything to please the leader
Has a fear of failure

13. Underlying psychology of the four followership styles
Criticizer
Faults everything the leader does
Needs to be recognized
Slacker
Entitled, work-avoider
Needs a reason (motivation) to work

14. Followership Power is POWERFUL
Followers are the horsepower of professional and organizational performance.

15. Characteristics of an effective follower (leaders depend on these):
Assumes responsibility (taking direction from leaders) and is accountable for one’s actions
Serves others
Courage to challenge the status quo
Willing to take action and bring initiative

16. Characteristics of an effective follower (leaders depend on these):
Develops capacity to self-manage (professional development and learning)
Remains strongly committed to profession, colleagues and professional associations
Exercises a strong sense of ethics (right and wrong) and morality (good and bad)
Acts with integrity (like what you see in the professional mirror )

17. A follower-centric lens
Views the followership base within an organization, profession and discipline as the resource for change and action.
Through this lens, both leaders and followers appreciate that focusing on followers ensures enhanced engagement, commitment and authentic contributions.

18. Fostering a follower-centric lens entails:
mentoring and coaching people into the follower role,
including the provision of follower-related skill-building opportunities and professional development and learning
leaders sharing why they think followers have such a powerful role
recognizing followers’ contributions

19. To wrap things up
Despite the plethora of books and training programs available on how to develop leadership skills, there is little available to teach people how to be good followers.
Assuming that followership just happens runs the risk of proliferating ineffective followers.
We have to give ourselves permission to be followers,
value this contribution to the profession, discipline and professional associations, and
then take action to socialize, educate and in-service practitioners to the followership role.

21. Key References
Asghar, R. (2016, January 17). Why followership is now more important than leadership [Web log post]. Retrieved from leadership/#bd89ac5d640b
Baker, S. (2007). Followership. Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies, 14(1),
Chaleff, I. (1995). The courageous follower. San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koechler.
Curphy, G., & Roellig, M. (2010). Followership. North Oaks, MI: Curphy Consulting. Retrieved from
Daugherty, R. A., & Williams, S. E. (2009). Power and influence. Stillwater, OK: Oklahoma State University.
Kellerman, B. (2008). Followership. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.
Kelley, R. E. (1992). The power of followership. New York, NY: Doubleday.
NOTE – unless otherwise specified, clipart used with permission of Microsoft