Following the leader...

I (Lenny) was contacted a few months ago by the Director of Chapter Development for Phi Kappa Theta National Fraternity. Her message asked if I would be willing to do a presentation for the upcoming Leadership Institute that is to be held this August in St. Louis.

Immediately I was thinking sure, I can do a program for my fraternity. She probably wants me to do Conflict Resolution or Responsible Decision Making, two programs that I can do impromptu if needed. When I spoke with Anita, she asked me to do a 90 minute presentation on leadership. Again, not too difficult because of the numerous presentation I have attended or facilitated on this topic.

The more I thought about the topic of leadership, the more I was interested in doing something different. My audience was college men who have taken on a leadership role in their respective chapter. My guess is they have heard the leadership talk, many, many times.

I then remembered a word that I had not heard for many years but it had previously caught my attention. A word that sounded interesting but I dismissed up until this point, Followership.

A Google search pointed me to several resources on this topic and subsequently to purchase and read the book Followership: How Followers Are Creating Change and Changing Leaders by Barbara Kellerman. After explaining the importance of followers she then describes five Followership types. As I read about these types I could see that not only was this topic relevant to fraternity men, but also a house staff and house community.

According to Kellerman the five types of followership are defined as:

Isolates

Isolates are completely detached. They do not care about their leaders, or know anything about them, or respond to them in any way. Their alienation is, nevertheless, of consequence. (p.86)

Bystanders

Bystanders observe but do not participate. They make a deliberate decision to stand aside, to disengage from their leaders and from whatever is the group dynamic. This withdrawal is, in effect, a declaration of neutrality that amounts to tacit support for whoever, and whatever constitutes the status quo. (p. 92)

Participants

Participants are in some way engaged. They clearly favor their leaders and the groups and organizations of which they are members-or they are clearly opposed. In either case, they care enough to put their money where their mouths are-that is, to invest some of what they have (time for example) to try to have an impact. (p. 92)

Activist

Activists feel strongly about their leaders and they act accordingly. They are eager, energetic, and engaged. Because they are heavily invested in people and process, they work hard either on behalf of their leaders or to undermine and even unseat them. (p.92)

Diehards

Diehards are as their name implies-prepared to die if necessary for their cause, whether an individual, or an idea, or both. Diehards are deeply devoted to their leaders; or in contrast, they are ready to remove them from positions of power, authority, and influence by any means necessary. In either case, Diehards are defined by their dedication, including their willingness to risk life and limb. Being a Diehard is all consuming. It is who you are. It determines what you do. (p.92)

As you think about these descriptions, can you identify past residents who fit into the different types?

Do you have any techniques to offer about engaging those who could be Isolates or Bystanders? How do you find the Participants/Activists/Diehards amongst your residents?

Is there a type of follower that describes residential staff?

What kind of follower do you identify with?

Are you always the same kind of follower?

How can we leverage the Participants/Activists/Diehards to help build our communities?

Kellerman, B. (2008). Followership: How Followers Are Creating Change and Changing Leaders.Harvard Business Press.

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Lenny brought the idea of followership to me (Rowshan) during a conversation about this blog post, and it sparked some thoughts for me. A lot of attention is given to the leader and what the community/organization/etc vision and purpose is, but the group (however that is defined) can’t just be about the leader/s. The followers (residents, other staff members, whoever the group may be) are just as important if not more so in creating those communities, those visions, that purpose.

Below is a clip that ties in the idea of leaders and followers to the work we do residentially. You may be familiar with TED, which was started in 1984 to bring together people from Technology, Entertainment and Design. On the web you’ll find all kinds of TED talks about varied topics delivered by the famous to the not-so-famous. This link is a TED talk delivered by Derek Sivers about leadership and followership. As you watch this quick clip, think about it in the context of the work that we do as residential life staff, collectively as well as in each of our positions.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V74AxCqOTvg&feature=related

Here are some questions about the clip for you to think about. Feel free to post an answer to any of these or your own reaction to the idea of Followership and/or the TED talk.

One of the main points is the notion of the critical importance of the first follower. We can’t have a leader without a follower. He describes the leader as the “lone nut”. Have you found yourself in the position of being the lone nut-the guy out there doing the crazy dance and hoping that others join in? Have you ever been in the position of being that first follower, where you see the lone nut and decide that’s a dance you want to do too?

The presenter also talks about the tipping point, where we’ve moved beyond the few people dancing and have created a movement. What is the tipping point in our residence halls? How do you know?

The presenter talks about the followers emulating the followers and not the leader. How does this play out in our communities? Talk about the importance of this idea, especially in light of messaging, who are the followers, do we always get to select who others follow?

He states that leadership is over glorified and it’s really about the followers. Do we get wrapped up in our positions as leaders and lose focus on the movement (and the followers for that matter)? How do we nurture the followers as equals and focus the importance on the movement and not us?

What is the “movement” in our communities?

We’re interested in hearing from you. Please post your thoughts/reactions. We hope you’re enjoying summer-can you believe we’ll be in CA training in no time!

Lenny and Rowshan

If you’re interested in knowing more about the presenter, here’s his bio:

Derek Sivers is best known as the founder of CD Baby. A professional musician (and circus clown) since 1987, Derek started CD Baby by accident in 1998 when he was selling his own CD on his website, and friends asked if he could sell theirs, too. CD Baby was the largest seller of independent music on the web, with over $100M in sales for over 150,000 musician clients. After he won the 2003 World Technology Award, Esquire Magazine's annual “Best and Brightest“ cover story said, “Derek Sivers is changing the way music is bought and sold... one of the last music-business folk heroes.” In 2008, Derek sold CD Baby to focus on his new ventures to benefit musicians, including his new company MuckWork where teams of efficient assistants help musicians do their “uncreative dirty work”. His current projects and writings are all at sivers.org.