Issue #17, October 22, 2009
At a break in a conference a leader came to me and said, “People trusted me until I became a leader.” He was a part of an organization that had a deep mistrust of leaders and his comments addressed the difficulty of leading in this environment. Servant leadership is not just about the leader’s ability to lead well; it is also about those who follow.
The wise leaders who counseled King Rehoboam understood the interplay between servant leaders and followers when they said, “If today you will be a servant to these people and serve them and give them a favorable answer, they will always be your servants.” (1Kings 12:7) Servant leaders working with servant followers create a dynamic team! Furthermore, every leader is also a follower in another relationship and learning to follow well is a prerequisite for effective leadership. How can you be a servant follower?
Servant followers respect the leader.
Leaders need respect. No leader is perfect and most followers are quite skillful in noting the imperfections of the leader! But servant followers recognize that leadership is a tough job. Leaders deal with many headaches and problems. Leaders must consider the perspectives of many people they lead and your opinion is only one of them! Respect is often shown in how we speak about the leader. The discussion at the water coolers or break room at the workplace and the conversation with the family around the noon meal on Sunday exposes true the hearts of the followers.
Servant followers express loyalty.
When a strong relationship exists between the leader and follower, loyalty should be a natural outcome. Loyalty simply means acknowledging and acting like we are on the same team and being supportive through good times and bad. Loyalty is not blind agreement and servant followers can and should appropriately express their opinions to the leader. In fact loyalty is often shown by the willingness to share information with the leader about what you think or what you observe in the organization. For a servant follower, this is not done with malicious intent as gossip; rather it is done to show support and loyalty to the leader.
Servant followers embrace the vision.
For an organization to move forward both followers and the leader must share a common vision. Vision can be developed in different ways in different contexts. Sometimes the creation of a vision is a group effort; in other situations, the primary leader formulates the vision. In any case, when it has been agreed upon, servant followers wholeheartedly support the vision of the organization and work enthusiastically to bring it to pass. If you are a follower and don’t agree with the vision of your leader perhaps it is time to your group a favor and move elsewhere!
Servant followers are teachable.
Servant followers deliberately place themselves in a position to learn from the leader. They realize that even when the leader makes mistakes or leads poorly, they can learn valuable lessons. Servant followers are willing to ask questions, to seek clarification, and open to counsel from their leader. They are secure enough to realize that they need to grow and deliberately learn from their leaders.
Every servant leader needs a team of servant followers. Do yourself and your leader a favor, learn to follow well!
For further reflection and discussion:
- How well do I follow? What do I need to do to improve my ability to follow well?
- How can servant leaders influence followers to be servant followers?
- In what practical ways can I show respect to a person I follow?
- What is something I can do to encourage my leader?
- Are there things I observe in my organization which I should respectfully share with my leader?