Why Would Anyone Follow You?

This is a question every leader of any business (for profit or non-profit) of any size and any industry or market needs to regularly ask themselves. It is a critical question in that it establishes the very reason a leader earns the privilege of being called a leader. Among the hundreds of definitions of leader, this one matters most: No followership, no leadership!



The inspiration for this discussion comes from a recent Global Leadership Effectiveness survey from Hogan Assessments. In the survey, the gap between the competencies followers want in their leaders and the competencies they are currently getting from their leaders is significant. Significant in the fact that there is no overlap between the two lists. Based on the report, the two lists of the top five competencies are shown below. The desired competencies are listed in order of endorsement:

As we see, the absence of any overlap creates concern that leaders are missing the point on what effective leadership actually entails. And while the report lists Hogan Assessments' definition of each desired competency, we will expand on what we've seen through the lens of our business and leadership coaching practice over the past 18 years and counting.

Effective Communication ~ We define effective communications as occurring when both the sender and receiver understand the message in the same context. A leader's ability to think through the purpose of the message and the expected behavior by the receivers of the message goes a long way in the effectiveness of the leader's communications. This is especially true in change management and conflict management, both of which occurred in great volume during the pandemic. The resulting communications ineffectiveness from that period prompted us to publish, "Finding The Missing Piece: The Impact of Effective Communications on Sustainable Success" in 2022.

Effective Decision-Making ~ In our view, the heart and soul of effective decision-making is the leader's ability to critically think, especially in the current dynamic business environment. The level of complexity and uncertainty creates a challenge for leaders to make timely and effective decisions at the speed of business. Cutting corners on their critical thinking process creates fear, uncertainty, and doubt by their followers. We've outlined the critical thinking process in greater detail both here and here.

Leading Others ~ Leadership is a team sport, hard stop. While it is unfortunate how many definitions of leadership exclude building and leading teams as a critical competency, the inescapable fact is teamwork is a key reason people follow their leaders. Building on the Rocket Model created by Gordy Curphy of Curphy Leadership Solutions, leading a team, or a group if appropriate, requires unique attitudes and knowledge beyond the leader's own personality traits. Our most recent reference to The Rocket Model is here.

Integrity ~ We define integrity as the leader's attitudes, words and actions all telling the same story. There is nothing worse than leaders who say one thing and do another, especially when their actions contradict a stated core value of the organization. In that situation, the leader is said to be out of integrity, a term we do not hear often enough of when the situation calls for it. We explore the importance of integrity in more detail here.

Accountability ~ Leaders and followers both seem to have a love/hate relationship with accountability. In our experience, the challenge lies in the struggle to differentiate accountability from responsibility. Effective leaders understand that accountability is about taking ownership of their actions, regardless of the outcomes. Attempting to deflect ownership of a bad outcome due to ego only degrades their effectiveness as a leader. We explore the importance of accountability in more detail here.

Followers want to be led well. Based on the results of this recent survey, their expectations of their leaders are very much in line with what has defined effective leadership for decades. The fact that the gap exists is a clear message to leaders at all levels, regardless of industry or tax status, that leadership is, and always will be, a team sport!

What would motivate someone to follow your leadership and how do you know? If you're not sure, we can help.

Lead Well!