Kait Kurtz
Management 251
Effective Followers
There are many types of followers just as there are many types of leaders. A person’s behavior and personality can help to determine which category they most appropriately fall into. What we are going to focus on is followers and in particular is effective followers. How does an effective follower work and what does is it that drives them? There are five main characteristics that we are going to focus on for an effective follower and they are: dedication, independent thinker, active in the organization, self-management, and willing to take risks.
Dedication is defined as the quality of being dedicated to a task or purpose, but it can also be interchanged with loyalty. An effective follower is someone who a colleague or manager can count on because they know that they will give it one hundred percent when it comes to completing a task. They tend to really believe in what they are doing and that is where the sense of dedication comes from. For example a dedicated employee would be willing to put in the long hours and extra time that it would take to complete a project. Their boss trusts that the work will not be sloppy or incomplete because their loyalty is outstanding. Dedication is very important to being an effective follower.
A second important quality is being an independent thinker. In reference to the project example mentioned above an effective follower would be the person who would think outside the box for a solution to a problem. They do not rely on others when contemplating the options. This does not mean that they do not work well in teams. They are perfectly capable of participating in a group, but they do have the ability to work solo on an issue that might arise. It is because of this that they are counted on within an organization. Perhaps with their great though processes they will someday be the manager.
Thirdly, we will discuss their activeness within the organization. Their dedication is a big factor into their activeness. For a person to choose to be so actively involved they either are working towards getting something from them or they have the dedication and belief that they are doing what is best as a whole. Sometimes it is both those factors that weigh in on their behavior. For example an employee who agrees to join and even coordinate interoffice events is showing an active participation within the company.
Fourth on our list is self-management. This entails when an individual to manage their own work time efficiently. When they know what needs to be completed they are able to handle the necessary work. This could be an individual at a large corporation or even at a small business. The key point is that they are able to work independently without constant supervision. A person who works in a cubicle is given a certain amount of work to do in a time period. Their manager does not want to have to chase off them all the time to complete their assignments. An effective follower will acknowledge the work that needs to be completed and they will be assertive in finishing it all.
Lastly an effective follower is not afraid to take risks. They are timid and weak, but rather strong and outgoing. Many of the typical “followers” are not willing to step out of the box. They are afraid of the risk of losing their job or getting in trouble. However an effective follower will recognize that there is risk associated, but that there are benefits as well. An individual who knows that the reports being submitted are incorrect will step up and approach their manager. If the manager disregards this news then an effective employee will be willing to approach the next level of management in the chain of command. Sometimes taking the risk is what gets a person noticed and what makes them stand out.
As demonstrated there are five key characteristics of an effective follower and they are dedication, independent thinker, active within the organization, self-management, and willing to take risks. This follower can be distinguished due to the excellent characteristics that they display. There are many types of followers, but an effective follower has the signs of a future leader.