“Leading through voice, inspiring through trust and empathy”

In Managing People is Like Herding Cats (1999), author Warren Bennis penned, “The best leaders deal with this mercurial world by anticipating, looking not just down the road but around the corner; by seeing change as an opportunity rather than an obstacle; and by accepting it rather than resisting it” (Bennis, p. 111).

We have learned that effective leaders are not defined by title or position. Rather by action and most notably followership. As the late Reverend Dr. E.V. Hill stated, “If you think you are leading but no one is following, you are just out on a walk”. Followership is critical, essential, and without question central to the work of change – transformation if you will.

Followership exists in the classroom, school, and system. Followership requires humility. Followership is not however a position that is inferior to the leader(s). It’s complementary. Huh?

Consider, this excerpt comes from The Art of Followership posted by Workplace Insiders, “There are many definitions of followership. [From] the FBI Bulletin:

“Followership … represents an interaction that occurs when subordinates work concurrently with leaders toward a goal of the organization.”

Another from a 2006 article by a faculty member at Dalton State College:

“Followership is the willingness to cooperate in working towards the accomplishment of the organization’s goals and objectives, to demonstrate a high degree of teamwork and to build cohesion among the group.”

The idea that leadership and followership compliment one another is not new. In fact, good followership is a precursor for effective leadership.

We have for three and half years attempted to be “truth tellers” about our current reality as well as what it is going to take to break free from failure to learn.

We have introduced a new paradigm of accountability that relies heavily on each of us “taking responsibility and ownership of making, keeping and proactively answering for personal commitments as well as maintaining an attitude of continually asking what else can I do to rise above my circumstances and achieve the results I desire” to name just two components of the definition.

Leadership and followership are about respect, value, and worth. Simply, without followership there is no leadership. Without followership, little if anything, gets accomplished.

Imagine therefore, if leadership and followership were able to cooperatively and collaboratively work towards the goals, the expectations, and the requirements – our work of ensuring that each learner met or exceeded high standards – just what we would look like, feel like, and sound like.

The challenge before us is that we simply don’t have the critical mass just yet that believes and behaves in such a way to ensure that all learners can and will be successful.

In sharing with the middle school “leadership” and “followership” Monday, it is clear that we have some staff as is the case in all of our schools that really don’t want to empower students through the skills, knowledge, and experience of learning how to be responsible and accountable with the authority to monitor, measure, and report their performance in meeting academic and behavior expectations.

The mindset that we must control and force students to behave and therefore learn has to date failed to produce the results – the enduring habits of learning each individual desperately needs for life’s success – yet, there are many who believe just that – control them, force them and they will learn.

We know better – we must believe and behave better. By the way, our students know the difference!