On September 13th, Council talked about this idea of followership and what followership had to do with retention and running a service organization. What are methods of best practice of retention and how does this relate to followership?
More on followership can be found here:
Test.
One of the biggest barriers to followship is fear. People are afraid to be the first follower, especially if the leader is being ridiculed or there’s risk involved.
“Bad” followership would include the people who join organizations just for the sake of putting it on a resume. They aim more for recognition than for actually help people (taking from the organization instead of giving). Good followership involves those who participate in order to help the org and do it for the greater good, not just for person gain. They pursue stronger roles not for a resume or help in an interview, but because they want to contribute to the group. Good followship is being a builder, not a climber. It’s not just the end result that matters but growth along the way.
We could promote followership in the group by getting members involved straight from the start. Show support of all officers and don’t use your leadership just to put yourself above others. Another way to promote followership is to endorse members who exemplify the idea well and to not just focus on the success of leaders. You should show your members how valuable it is to play that role of the initial follower.
1.) Some barriers of followership are that people have their own agendas and do not want to be ridiculed for standing out
2.) Some examples of bad followership are people who do not live up to their commitments, people who just show up to be there but do not participate in activities.
Some examples of good followership are people who encourage their friends to come, people who show dedication and concern towards the organization, and people who add input and be themselves.
3.) You can promote followership by being and strong leader and have direction with your goals in the group. Reach out to individuals to make them all feel included.
Barriers
It’s always hard to get the first couple of followers, but once you get a few it snowballs from there into more.
Examples
Circle K had a member who went to all of their events during the first couple of weeks.
Promoting Followership
Give the followers special recognition.
Target a group of friends so that they can go to events together.
Reach out to people individually.
1. What are some barriers to followership?
Some barriers to followership are overbearing or overeccentric leaders who don’t let others follow. Leaders who let power go to their head or who put themselves above their followers tend to discourage followership. On the follower-side, the fear of ridicule or trying something new can also serve as barriers.
2. What are some examples of good and bad followership in your organizations or other orgs you are involved in?
Good followership is people that are eager to get involved because of the environment that you’ve created. It can also be supporting an unpopular decision/suggestion of a leader (like doing a parade cleanup instead of making a float).
3. How can you promote followership in your group?
One way of promoting followership in our groups is by giving followers tasks and responsibilities and by making them accountable for these tasks. Another way is to treat them as equals and friends instead of acting superior or cliquey. Make sure conversations are inclusive instead of exclusive (have officers talk to new members instead of each other).