‘You are a great follower’. How would you feel if you were told that? The chances are you would be less than overjoyed. At best, it sounds like a backhanded compliment. At worst, something of an insult. You do not see ‘Seven Tips for Great Followers’ on airport bookshelves. No MBA course prospectuses promise to make you the ‘Followers of the Future’.
Followers sound like failed leaders – losers lacking in essential qualities, who are only good enough to put the ideas of others into practice. While the tip of the iceberg glistens in the Arctic sunlight, its mass lurks unnoticed in the cold water below.
Of course leadership in civil society organisations (CSOs) is vitally important. INTRAC has written extensively about it through
When trying to understand a CSO as an outsider, understanding the nature of its leadership is a good first step. But just as important is to take the temperature with the rest of the staff and volunteers. Whatever the rhetoric emanating from the top, it is from the ‘followers’ you discover how this is translated into reality. In many ways, they define the culture (and hence ultimately the effectiveness) of an organisation. In unguarded moments, leaders will often tell you that that in spite of their elevated positions, they can feel quite powerless. They are like the captain of a supertanker who orders a change of course in the hope that, many miles further on, the ship will start to change direction.
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