Before you can become a good leader, you must learn how to be an effective follower. Most people start out in the community or workplace as a follower, and few make the transition into a leadership position. What characteristics do individuals who become leaders have that advance them into a leadership role? A good place to start is critical thinking which is imperative for an effective follower to stay mindful of all effects of their behavior and progress in the workplace. Traits like competence and self-management are important for building trust with leaders and coming through on organizational goals. An effective follower must also show commitment to their role in the organization which in turn helps keep morale and efficiency in the workplace high. Most important is courage, stay true to moral and ethical values, and stand up to corrupt superiors when necessary. Individuals with critical thinking skills, courage, competence, commitment, and the ability to self-manage to efficiently achieve organizational goals are effective followers and potential leaders.
A follower who displays critical thinking skills is able to contribute to the organizational goal in the workplace, by providing insight on decisions, goals, and contributing constructive criticism to develop better end results. Effective followers add creativity to their work and inspire others to contribute creative and innovative ideas to the organization. Strong followers give input and contribute, but they also realize that good ideas can come from others, too. They listen to what others have to say and take it into account when making decisions. Group contributions to the organization improve the quality of the outcome in the organizational goal, and eases the workload of supervising authority giving more freedom to workers. A work environment that lacks critical thinking skills is often an