Calkins shared an experience when he was an exemplary follower, working for a terrible boss who lacked even the basic leadership skills. Calkins was out west, somewhat distanced from the New Jersey headquarters and therefore could be considered an absentee boss. Many of Calkins's peers who also reported to this boss had similar frustrations with the non-responsiveness. Instead of complaining, as a true Amplifier, Calkins set in motion a strategy to fill the leadership gap in a proactive way, clearly describing the decisions he would be making in the following week and why. He would follow that up with the decisions he made and the decisions he would be making in the subsequent week. He did not let the dysfunction of his boss slow down his need to grow the region. His peers were amazed how he could continue to execute the strategy and carry on in the absence of the decision-maker who was thought to be crucial for success.
When spotting leaders and followers, Tim Hassinger shared an experience with me that he learned in China. When you don't know the language, you learn to watch body language to identify leadership. Oftentimes, body language will give you many clues as to who commands leadership respect within a group. When observing a group of peers, notice when someone talks if the others take their phone out or if they sit upright. By observing, you can see who is really respected and who is ignored.
Effective leaders have a good understanding of what's in the minds and the inner psyche of their followers. These business leaders have invested in the tools to uncover and discover the styles, motives, and traits of the people in the organization. When these are understood in conjunction with performance measures, the full potential of the workforce is uncovered. With this information, the organization can ensure that the best possible people are assigned to the highest impact work. It's important to remember that followers are not cube dwellers. They are out and about throughout the organization and engaging in challenging ways. When reviewing the performance of these followers, there needs to be a core understanding of what makes an exemplary follower—and a sincere desire to extend beyond your core group to find others who fit the bill.
Leadership Lessons: The Power of Three
At Clarkston Consulting, we operate as a group of partners who serve our clients, and we have broad autonomy to do so, as long as the partner remains consistent with our strategy and values. Some of our partners and senior practitioners have developed innovative approaches to solving our clients' needs and have developed new solution offerings that would be beneficial for a number of our clients. Despite how effective these solutions are, I have witnessed how difficult it is for them to influence other partners to bring the same highly effective offerings to their own clients. Generally, a second partner will deliver the solution (perhaps in coordination with the original innovation team) but even after a second client success story, the solution often fizzles out. It's not until a third partner gets involved in delivery, and the magic of the power of three kicks, in where the service offering gains traction in the marketplace. This highlights the power of followership and the importance of not just one but two followers needed to create a safe environment for others to participate.
Over the years, I've watched outstanding performers get drowned out by others in the room. It may be that some of the individuals were more charismatic and always needed to voice their strong opinions first. In some cases, it was due to a lack of gender or racial diversity. When others talked over them, although they were strong performers, they were simply hesitant to voice their concerns or ideas. Tim Hassinger shared his experience with a critical employee, Mary. She was part of a key team filled with charismatic leaders and followers. However, they talked over her and often missed her critical input at important junctures in the decision-making process. Over time, the team learned they needed her input and, furthermore, they learned that before they made any major decision, they made sure they gathered Mary's input prior to advancing the discussion and decision.
Hassinger, recently retired as CEO, shared a gimmick he used to help effect cultural change. Because the culture at this company was so “nice,” they were not making difficult decisions and were unwilling to confront each other during meetings when such decisions needed to be made. So, he ordered toy elephants for each of the conference rooms. The elephants symbolized “the elephant in the room” and were used in meetings to provide safety for people to highlight a norm or previous assumption that no longer held true or that needed to be reevaluated.
Notes
1 1. Robert Kelley, The Power of Followership (New York: Bantam Doubleday Dell, 1992), 125–26.
2 2. Samantha Hurwitz and Marc Hurwitz, Leadership Is Half the Story: A Fresh Look at Followership, Leadership, and Collaboration (Toronto: Rotman, 2015).
3 3. Kelley, The Power of Followership, 97.
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