This exercise fosters stronger leadership and followership dynamics, enhancing collaboration within organisations and communities. Follow these steps to reflect and implement changes for improvement:
- Reflect on a Recent Project or Initiative
- Examine a recent project or community effort. Assess whether followers were empowered to contribute meaningfully. Were their ideas valued and implemented? Did they have the resources and support needed to succeed? What could have made it better?
- Dialogue Between Leaders and Followers
- Consider the communication dynamic in your organisation or community. Are leaders and followers actively engaging in discussions about shared goals? Reflect on whether these interactions foster a sense of mutual respect and collaboration.
- Identify One Improvement Step
- Pinpoint one simple step to enhance followership. This might include fostering an inclusive environment where diverse voices are heard or encouraging the adoption of new initiatives led by followers. Explore ways to build trust and autonomy among team members.
- Broaden the Perspective
- Encourage leaders to reflect on their role in empowering followers. Are they creating an environment where innovation and proactive contributions thrive? On the other hand, inspire followers to assess how they can actively support leaders in achieving collective goals.
- Set Clear Goals and Measures
- Once improvement areas are identified, establish clear objectives and metrics to evaluate the progress of your efforts. This ensures accountability and a focused path toward strengthening the leadership-followership bond. We hope these types of reflections help us all be better followers.
We hope these types of reflections help us all be better followers.