Thursday, April 19, 2007

You Are Your Followers

Over the years leadership has been on display in many forms in my life. A great deal of my leadership style has been gained through those that I have served under, both good and bad. One common thread that kept appearing as I reflect is that each leader was a direct reflection of the followers beneath them. I gave me a true belief that it is the followers that make the leader. True it is the leader that places the followers in the environment with which they work in. However, it is how the followers are treated as individuals as well as a whole that ultimately dictated the strength, solidarity, and success of the team.
There are good sources of leadership style that can be gained from sources outside of the business world or social sector. The military may lead in an extreme manner at times out of necessity, however their concepts and style can be transformed to fit civilian life.

2 comments:

Katie said...

This concept rings true after reading "How Management Teams Can Have a Good Fight." A team can only be as strong as its weakest link. Not only does a good leader need to pick the right people for their team, they also need to ensure they do not stifle them by trying to maintain all of the control.

Katie said...
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