External Leader/Follower Relations at the IDCCA

As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, the IDCCA is a small organization, with only two full-time staff members and four interns. We do, however, work with two Chicago-based consulting firms that help us with particular aspects of our operations. One firm (led by a man named Tom) specializes in communications, the other (led by a woman named Nancy) on fundraising. As we prepare for our annual County Chairs’ Brunch next month, both are proving invaluable — and in the process of working with them, I’ve gained new insights about leadership at the organization.

Because both firms are hired by the IDCCA to help us reach the end goals of our organization, I consider Tom and Nancy to be followers when thinking about particular projects, under the leadership of Dan, the IDCCA Executive Director. Even though they are followers, they play very active roles in our daily work, and have earned considerable trust as a result. As a result, decision-making is decentralized. To cite one example from this week, Dan recently made an advertisement to promote the upcoming Brunch, and sent it to the team for approval. Tom came back with feedback to make the message more effective on Facebook, and Nancy had advice on how we could use it as a fundraiser in and of itself. Dan accepted their feedback without hesitation — he trusted them in their areas of expertise, and made the changes accordingly.

This anecdote also serves as evidence for the fact that, even though they don’t have formal leadership roles, Tom and Nancy do influence the IDCCA. As another example, the week before this one, we had a smaller in-person fundraising event, the Young Professionals event. The other interns and I helped with check-in. Because Dan was busy tending to other matters as we were setting up, Nancy explained how she wanted check-in to occur to us, and we accepted her authority.  Even Tom worked under her direction, helping with check-in at her request when things got particularly busy. Even though neither are official IDCCA staff, and our followers in the context of the broader organizational mission, they also exercise leadership on occasions — and when they do so, they are certainly seen as legitimate in the eyes of those they lead.