Courage: The ability to step forward through fear

•Courage means accepting responsibility•Courage often means nonconformity•Courage means pushing beyond the comfort zone•Courage means asking for what you want and saying what you think•Courage means fighting for what you believe

Whether leading or following, strive to encourage, not discourage, those

around you.

Preface

• The closer we are to a situation in which power is being abused, the more we are at risk if we try to change it and the abuser turns on us.– People nearest to a situation often do nothing– People farthest away wring their hands

• Proximity and courage are the critical variables in the prevention of the abuse of power

Dual responsibility (p.3)

• To ultimately accept responsibility for our organizations and the people they serve:

1. Must understand our own power and how to use it. Sources; who we serve and why

2. Must appreciate the value of leaders and cherish the critical contributions they make. Understand the forces that chisel away at their creativity, good humor and resolve.

3. Must understand the seductiveness and pitfalls of the power of leadership (influence)

Introduction and Chapter 1

• Courageous followership is built on the foundation of courageous relationship– The danger in the leader-follower relationship

is the assumption that the leader’s interpretation must dominate

– View of hero-leaders/villain leaders vs. view of common person heroes who stay true to their own lights while helping leaders follow theirs.

Followers and leaders both orbit around the purpose, followers do not orbit around the leader. But if the purpose is not clear and motivating, leaders and followers can only pursue their perceived self-interest, not their common interest.

Courage to assume responsibility(look inside yourself first)

• Assume responsibility for themselves and the organization

• Do not hold a paternalistic image of the leader or the organization

• Initiate values-based, purposeful action to improve processes

• The “authority” to initiate comes from the courageous follower’s understanding and ownership of the common purpose, and from the needs of those the organization serves.

Courage to serve the leader(look outside yourself)

• Assume new or additional responsibilities to unburden the leader and serve the organization

• Stand up for the leader and the tough decisions a leader must make for the org. to achieve its purpose

• Are as passionate as the leader in pursuing the common purpose

• Stay alert for areas in which their strengths complement the leader’s and assert themselves in these areas.

Courage to challenge

• Give voice to the discomfort they feel when the behaviors or policies of the leader or group conflict with their sense of what is right with respect to the purpose

• Willing to stand up, stand out, to risk rejection, to initiate conflict in order to examine the actions of the leader and group when appropriate

• Willing to deal with the emotions their challenge evokes in the leader and group

• Value organizational harmony, but not at the expense of the common purpose and their integrity

Courage to participate in transformation of the leader

• When behavior that jeopardizes the common purpose remains unchanged, courageous followers recognize the need for transformation

• Have to examine our own collusion with the leader’s behavior, what we do that allows it to continue.

• The leader may be surrounded with advisors who have a strong vested interest in the leader not changing the status quo that is lining their pockets. They may attack the follower who is championing change.

• Examine our own need for transformation and become full participants in the change process

Courage to take moral action

• Know when it is time to take a stand that is different than that of the leader’s. They answer to a higher set of values.

• Stand may involve refusing to obey a direct order, appealing to the next level of authority, or tendering one’s own resignation

• These and other forms of moral action involve personal risk, but service to the common purpose justifies and sometimes demands acting.

Paradox of followership

• Followers are accountable for their leaders.• Have a clear internal vision of service and are

attracted to leaders that articulate and embody its external manifestations.

• Remain fully accountable for their own actions.• Perform two opposite roles:

– Implementer– Challenger

• Must be willing to teach the leader.

Who does a follower serve?

• Follower is not synonymous with subordinate.

• Resources of a group include its leader. Follower is a leader’s steward every bit as much as a leader is the follower’s steward.

• Levels of service, p. 16

Loyalty of a follower

• Both leaders and followers are entering into a contract to pursue the common purpose within the context of their values.

The loyalty of each is to the purpose and to helping each other stay true to that purpose.

Power in the L-F relationship

• Of purpose• Of knowledge• Of personal history• Of faith in self• To speak the truth• To set a standard that

influences others• To choose how to react in

a situation regardless of the reaction of others

• To follow or not to follow in a given direction

• Of relationships• To communicate through

a variety of channels• To organize others of like

mind• To withdraw support if the

leadership’s actions violate our values.

Value of the follower

• Interdependent with, not dependent upon the leader.

• Dynamic followers are self motivated, not leader motivated.

• Characteristics: cooperative, collaborative, control their ego needs, caring – perceive the needs of both the leader and other group members and try to form a bridge between them.

Courage of the follower• An individual who is not afraid to speak and act

on the truth as she perceives it, despite external inequities, is a force to be reckoned with.

• Courage implies risk• Develop contingency plans• Sources of courage: religious beliefs,

philosophy, role model, vision, vow from past experience, event that tested us, conviction we hold, value, empathy for others, self-esteem, commitment to comrades, outrage felt toward injustice.

• “Courage muscle” develops to the degree that we exercise it.

Balance through relationship

• Leaders are the flame that ignites action, they generate and focus power; followers are the guarantors of the beneficial use of that power

• Followers provide balance if they can stand up to leaders. Two essential elements of relationship:

1. Develop trust2. Use that trust to speak honestly when

appropriate.

Mature relationships

• Conditioned for others to be responsible for our behavior but we are not held responsible for theirs.

• Immature leaders surround themselves with followers that kowtow to them.

• Skillful followers confront a leader in a way that simultaneously respects the accomplished adult, preserves the adult’s self-esteem, and challenges the immature behavior.

Difference in elevation

• 70% of followers will not question a leader’s point of view even when they feel the leader is about to make a mistake. Why?

• “King’s disease” – leaders lose touch with reality.

Finding equal footing

• We are not our titles. We need not be seduced, dazzled, or intimidated by the symbols of higher office.

• See the leader as the individual that they are; relate to the individual, not the title.

When the leader is not equal

• Deal with our own feelings

• Cover for the leader or let the leader appear unprepared?

• Guiding principle should remain service to the organization and its purpose.

• The mark of a great leader is the development and growth of followers. The mark of a great follower is the growth of leaders.

Interpersonal Trust

• A state involving positive expectations about another’s motives with respect to oneself in situations entailing risk. A willingness to be vulnerable to another.– A relatively stable attitude that

develops over time.– Situational parameters – History of the relationship

Antecedents of Trust: Trustworthiness

• Ability. Domain specific competence

• Benevolence. Extent to which a trustee is believed to want to do good to the trustor, aside from an egocentric profit motive. Suggests affect (attachment to the trustor)

• Integrity. Trustee advocates and practices principles that the trustor finds acceptable. Practicing what one preaches regardless of emotional or social pressure.

• When trust matters. Trustworthiness attributions are affected by relational issues and become more important when social bonds exist.

• How trust is influenced by actions of authorities. Information about respect and standing with authorities is the prime determinant of attributions of trustworthiness.

• Meaning of trust. People respond to benevolent intentions to a greater degree than they do to competence when reacting to authorities. There is no substitute for caring.

• Trust, when defined as positive intent rather than calculated risk, is especially important during time of crisis and conflict.

• Trust is a social resource. It takes time to build.

Meta-Analysis of Trust Research (Dirks & Ferrin, 2002)

• Outcomes– Attitudes

• Job Satisfaction• Commitment• Belief in information• Turnover (negative)

– Citizenship behaviors– Job Performance

• Antecedents– Leadership: Care and

Concern– Organizational Support– Justice: fair treatment,

processes, and outcomes

– Leadership: fair, dependable, integrity