Having The Courage To Follow
Part 1 of 2
I spend a great deal of my writing in Communication Matters, looking at the art of leadership communication. This month, I’m shifting gears and focusing on the art of followership communication. Today’s post is drawn from a piece I wrote in 1999 when I was an MBA student at NYU’s Stern School of Business. You may recognize some of the youthful exuberance of a 30-something, dreaming of the jobs he will land after earning his MBA. In the next post, I will update this information with writing from a new author I’ve just recently met.
Leadership. There are probably thousands of books on this topic. It is a peculiar thing that inside any organization, there are likely to be many, many more followers than leaders. But in my scan of business management books, there is only one title on the art of being a good follower. (I actually did find one other book, The Power of Followership - How to Create Leaders People Want to Follow and Followers Who Lead Themselves, by Robert E. Kelley, but it was out of print.)
The Courageous Follower by Ira Chaleff provides insights, tips, and practical guidance for the scores of us who will be followers in our professional lives. Drawing on political, nonprofit, business, and military examples, Chaleff creates a fascinating and compelling portrait of what it takes to be a Courageous Follower.
As tomorrow's executives, it is not only prudent - but necessary - to reflect on the role of being a follower, even before we graduate and move into the workforce. It is likely that our next several, perhaps all of our future positions, will involve being a follower.
In an age when not being a leader is often akin to being a coward, Chaleff uses the disparate metaphor of “courageous follower” to illustrate his point.
“I am choosing the image of 'courageous follower' to build a model of followership because courage is so antithetical to the prevailing image of followers and so crucial to balancing the relationship. Courageous Followership is built on the platform of courageous relationship. The courage to be right, the courage to be wrong, the courage to be different from each other."
He provides a two-by-two matrix contrasting how much you can challenge and support the leader.
After exploring the basic dynamics of the leader-follower relationship, Chaleff describes five courages that are inherent in being a Courageous Follower.
The Courage to Assume Responsibility - Taking the initiative and ownership for partnering with leaders to deliver on the organization's goals. This means that we are also responsible for our actions, and the outcomes of our actions.
The Courage to Serve - Helping the leader manage time and information, knowing when you can act on behalf of the leader and when you cannot. It also means that there will be work that you do for which you do not get credit in the short term.
The Courage to Challenge - The difficult art of challenging the behavior and policies of a leader when their actions threaten the common purpose of the organization or cause.
The Courage to Participate in Transformation - Not only challenging the leader as above, but then taking an active role in assisting in personal and organizational transformations. It is not enough to say, "This isn't working." We further have to step in and help create a situation that will work.
The Courage to Leave - Finally, there may come a time when we need to separate ourselves from a leader. Either for our own growth or because the leader or organization has grown into something to which we can no longer dedicate ourselves.
Chaleff’s point is clear, it takes a certain skill set to be a great leader. However, it takes an even less articulated set of skills to successfully be a courageous follower. Quite often, what indeed makes a leader are his or her followers.
Uniquely, the very qualities that may help propel an individual to leadership can be his undoing without followers courageous enough to speak out.
One of the primary responsibilities of a great follower is to challenge, question, and refocus the leader on the organization's shared purpose.
Most notably, the author’s illustrations from contemporary (Okay, 1990s) U.S. politics detailed how many leaders' greatest qualities (pride, work ethics, ability to galvanize support, etc.), if unchecked by courageous followers, would be the leader's downfall.
Each section provides brief theoretical frameworks for the concept, examples from history or business case studies, and practical tips and language to guide today's followers in developing the skills proposed.
After reading Chaleff's work, I was able to approach my own position with a renewed sense of purpose and partnership. I even surveyed my boss on how I was doing at being a follower, and what I could improve upon. The dialogue that began over this simple 194-page book continues to guide our relationship and ultimately improve business. And when I am privileged to be a leader for an organization or firm, I will have an entirely new appreciation for the challenges that the followers in that entity are facing.
In my next post, I will extend this conversation looking at the work of Christian Monö’s 2025 book, Why We Follow: Natural Followership in a World Obsessed with Leadership.
Finally, while talking about followers supporting leaders, I’ve been remarkably well-served by two Exec Assistants. Paul Hufstedler has served me for well over a decade and ensures that Comm Matters gets out twice each month. Jackie Utecht has worked with me for nearly a year and and this case study shares more about our great relationship. I’m continually grateful for the support they provide me.
JD’s Recommendations: what I’m reading, hearing, and seeing:
Reading: love the wisdom of Bryan Wish’s piece on When You Outgrow Your Life’s Container.
Hearing: check out my new favorite, The Playfull Podcast, bringing fun to the serious work of changing the world with Kristine Michie. Each episode includes ice cream. How can you go wrong?
Viewing: Simon Sinek provides rich wisdom in this video about working for what matters in life.
Talk of the week
Ken and the kids and I are playing for the next month on the East Coast, so I thought featuring this TED Next speaker we recently saw, Shu Takada and His Yo-Yo Art, was fitting as the talk of the week.
Wishing you a playful July. See you right back here in a few weeks, as we take a different look at the art of followership.
All the best,
jds
Ken, thanks so much for the great piece and breakdown on courageous followership. A different and unique perspective, for sure.
Totally overlooked by almost all people who call themselves ‘leaders’, and totally important for all of us!