So Follow Me Follow

We can’t all be leaders. Not because some of us don’t have the capability, but simply because there are only a handful of bosses in any one organisation.

The majority of employees therefore, will not end up as leaders. They will be followers, and for the most part, even the leaders will be followers.

With so few leading, it makes sense that organisations should invest in teaching their people to be good followers so that the work gets done as it should be.

Being a follower is by no means a bad thing, at the end of the day, employees need to understand that they need to be told what to do, but not in a submissive way. They need to understand that they are the ones with the skills and expertise to carry out their duties. Just because you’re a follower doesn’t mean you give up your morals and good judgment either. It just means that you are capable of taking direction from someone who has a good vision of where the organisation wants to go.

Along with this, good followers are the ones that can highlight failings in the decisions made by leaders, they hold the information and ‘shop floor’ experience that leaders need to know to make the right decisions. Good followers are active, participative individuals who contribute not only through their actions but through their ideas and thoughts. They’re not afraid to disagree.

If organisations nurture their followers correctly, they’ll end up with a more engaged and productive workforce, sparking new ways of doing things – key to every organisations success.

We at The Survey Initiative pride ourselves in the work we do in partnership with organisations to help build and maintain employee engagement levels. So if you would like to know more about how we can help your organisation, then give us a call on +44 (0)1255 850051 or contact us via our website.