Followship is a Goal of Leadership

Posted on by Anthony Boquet

I love unique words and each year new ones are created, liked or disliked by average people like me and you.  As a matter of fact, I created a word for my replacement of the word “problem-solver”.  I have never liked that word because it elevates the problem above the solution; at least it does so in my mind.  So, the word “Solutionary” was born in 2009.  Today its popularity continues to grow.

As a student of leadership, I have studied leadership for a little over thirty years and recently the term “followship” been growing in usage as a word that describes the practice of following a leader.

I LOVE IT!…mainly, because the entire premise builds off the power of the wisdom of three.  It guides a Solutionary along the ultimate path that leads to a successful life.

This aspiration can only be reached through the obtainment of three area of focus;

  1. The selfless pursuit of
    • Learning
    • Professing
    • Living the truth
  2. Using the truth in the service to others by
    • Doing what’s right
    • Doing the best we can
    • Treating others the way we wish to be treated
  3. Through an unconditional love for:
    • Your God
    • Your Neighbor
    • Your Self

This fulfills our need to satisfy our entire being of;

  1. mind – pursuit of the truth
  2. body – serving others
  3. soul – unconditional love

Opening the three abilities of mankind

  1. mental
  2. physical
  3. spiritual

Uniting our three personas;

  1. spiritual
  2. professional
  3. personal

There are only three roles of participation;

  1. leader
  2. follower
  3. disinterested third party

We have the three pillars of a servant leader;

  1. agreement of the truth
  2. acceptance of the truth
  3. endorsement of the truth

We even divide the people who follow a servant leader into three groups;

  1. the people to whom the leader reports
  2. the people who report to the leader
  3. the leader’s family and friends

There are three steps to physically building a winning team one person at a time;

  1. attract
  2. train
  3. retain quality people

There are three roles of development that every leader must oversee;

  1. teach
  2. train
  3. coach

To do this the leader must routinely demonstrate these three character traits;

  1. courage
  2. integrity
  3. honesty

These traits satisfy the needs of the follower by;

  1. alleviating their fears
  2. building a sense of honor
  3. instilling trust.

All of these go hand in hand and all are very important in shaping a quality leader.  In this article we will dig deeper into what it really means for a leader to have a practice of followship.

It is my belief that before someone is worthy of being followed, they must first prove to be a good follower them self.  By being a loyal follower one learns what it means to honor, respect and trust someone else.  These lessons are critical in our own personal development as well as in building a high producing team dynamic that every leader desires.

If this is my last post, I want all to know there was only one purpose for all that I have written; to have made a positive difference in the lives of others. 

Anthony “Tony” Boquet, the author of “The Bloodline of Wisdom, The Awakening of a Modern Solutionary”

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