teamwork

Followers are Leaders
 by Hampton Hopkins

Followers are Leaders Too

“Raise your hand if you consider yourself a leader. Now raise your hand if you consider yourself a follower. Come on… you must choose between one or the other.”

This is a scenario that plays out in organizations everywhere. While it may not occur in exactly the way described, by being asked to raise your hand, it is certainly present in the way we view others… and often in how others view us. We find ourselves placing our colleagues in the two distinct silos of “leader” and “follower.” But we know that the world and our organizations are not so easily defined.

Being a good follower is often the same as being a good leader. That’s right. Sometimes by assuming the best leadership role required for a given situation means that we take a step back and allow someone else to lead. We become a follower. But this in no way lets us off the leadership hook as we assume new roles and responsibilities. Let’s discuss a few of these:

  • Initiator: suggests new ideas, raises questions, sets goals
  • Information and Opinion Seeker: open to new ideas, asks and encourages others to share new ideas
  • Encourager: encourages and stimulates others to participate, shares and supports their efforts
  • Facilitator: helps the group improve communications by testing, clarifying, and understanding meanings, makes sure others are being understood
  • Evaluator: questions the practicality or logic of ideas, but not too quickly or in a way that embarrasses or demeans others
  • Orienter: summarizes, clarifies, and helps the group find a sense of direction
  • Consensus Seeker: tests whether the group agrees and works on solutions to achieve consensus

By now you are probably thinking that I pulled a “bait and switch” on you as all these roles and responsibilities are those of a leader. They are!… and that’s the point. It is important to understand these roles from both the perspective of a leader as well as the follower. When we follow, and when others assume this role, it is important to understand how we fit within the team. In other words, how followers can convey leadership, too.

Naked leadership is being authentic
 by Hampton Hopkins

Naked Leadership

Like many of us back in high school, there were many quips or phrases that we often used in our communication with friends. Some were innocent and others not so much. However, there was one particular saying of which I’m not sure of the origin or the real intent, but it was nonetheless a phrase often uttered… party naked.

I don’t know what made me recall this expression all these years later, but it did get me thinking about leading naked. Not in the real sense of streaking around our organizations with no clothes on, but in the metaphorical sense of being transparent or unadorned in our leadership style. A quick Google search of the topic revealed that David Bentley and Sonia Hassey have books titled Naked Leadership and David Taylor has a series of books on the topic the naked leader. While this idea is certainly not new, my thoughts on naked leadership are somewhat different.

Strong and effective leadership requires an openness and transparency that let’s others in, keeps them close, and allows them to be successful. It is about partnership, collaboration, and teamwork. Like the emperor who wore no clothes, leaders sometimes become self-absorbed or arrogant forgetting that success can only be measured in how we treat others. We need not be complex or flamboyant in our leadership instead seeking a style that is au naturel and austere.

So, how do we become naked leaders… let’s explore:

Strip down to the basics

I am a solid believer that everything we need to know to be successful leaders we learned in kindergarten. Robert Fulghum defined things like sharing, playing fair, and living a balanced life as skills that transcend time and place and are as true today as they were when we were little. Instead of trying to make leadership more complex, we need to get back to the basics. Forget about trying to become a better leader and instead seek to be more natural and authentic. Improved leadership will be the result.

Shed our constraints

What restrictions or limitations do you place on yourself as a leader? Too often we allow others, and yes, even ourselves, to control our actions based on perception and emotion. However, effective leadership grows beyond such constraints and effective leaders become the thought leaders of their organizations, driving the vision and the message. In the words of Andrea J. Lee, “Want to strengthen your thought leadership? Crown yourself and assume the throne. Use opinion, story, and credentials to build authority.” 

Remove the obstacles

Much like the challenge courses many of us have completed along our leadership development journey, there are many obstacles, both real and perceived, that block our path. Too often we hold on to the mindset of a manager instead of the vision of a leader. Maybe we let fear of failure drive our decision making and action. Or maybe it’s as simple as our ego getting in the way. Whatever the obstacles, seek ways to remove them to make the path to your vision clear and open for you and others to follow.

Expose ourselves to others

Again, I’m not suggesting that you literally run naked through your organization, but I do propose that you bare yourself to others so that they see the true leader in you. I think it’s time leaders practiced a little unprotected leadership and let their passions shine through; shift your thinking, share your joys, acknowledge your skills, and try something new. If you exposed yourself in this way, imagine how your leadership could bloom.

Basically, naked leadership represents a new interpretation of the leader that you already are. It is uncovering the true leader that lives within, bringing it shamelessly out in the open for everyone to see. It is simple, unembellished leadership. It is the mark of good leadership. Try it and let me know how it goes.