LEADERSHIP: FINDING YOUR "SILVER FOLLOWERS"

Published: 2007-02-15   please add a comment below

Think of the all-time favourite stories.  Many describe a heroic journey: a man or woman leading colleagues in pursuit of an exciting goal.  In comparison, being a leader in business is not usually heroic.  You don’t have to fight dragons or dive to the bottom of the sea.  However, as leader of any team, you share one thing in common with the legendary leaders.  There’s no journey, if people won’t follow. 

The stories of Jason, Moses or Mohammed would be pretty thin if they’d turned around to find no-one coming along behind.  Their success flowed from having a vision and convincing others of its merit - and winning their loyalty.

Like most people, I've realised I'm not a heroic leader.  Sometimes I get people to travel with me.  At others, not.  You may have similar experiences.

There are no books to be written about my leadership successes.  However, the issues are similar whether gathering a team to slay a dragon or to battle competitors with a new product or service.  Less smoke and glamour, but similar issues.

When people follow, what's happening?  They buy the dream; and, that it's possible; also commitment to a set of values; and, standards for doing the job; and, commitment to each other.  In your current job: are you I achieving these outcomes?  If yes, you’ve found the "silver bullet" – and, it's your "silver followers."

But, even if they’re committed, how could you make them more so?  And, if not, what new or additional leadership actions do you need to take to gain their support?

Here's your answer!

Dr. Timothy Pascoe AM
PhD (Cambridge), MBA (Harvard), BE & BEc (Adelaide)
Creator, V|E|C|T|O|R Leadership^®