I loved this article. It broke down the follower types were effective. It is very frequent that people discuss leaders and their effect on their followers. However, we never truly dive into followers enough to get close to categorizing them. I agree with most of the definitions describe throughout the article. There are many ways to be an ineffective follower which can infringe on the impact that leaders are able to have.
Kelley discusses sheep, yes men, alienated and effective followers. He dives into each one providing traits and explanations for their behaviors. It was a fun read because I have definitely experienced the different times of ineffective followers that were mentioned. Often times people place blame mainly on leaders for the effect of their impact not addressing whether or not the results experienced are on the blame of the leaders. Followers and leaders participate in a relationship that both parties have to contribute to. When this is not done properly everyone notices and places blame on the opposite party. When we can effectively observe both leaders and followers and assess productivity in a healthy manner, then we will truly see organizations and governments create waves with much less effort and much more cooperation.
I agree and really enjoyed this post. I also thought it was very interesting how the article broke followers into multiple categories. I did not realize the positive impact that effective followers have on a company. They have in my eyes all of the qualities that a great leader should have. They are excellent leaders of themselves and have a great work ethic as well as discipline.
I totally agree with your idea that many times when mistakes occur one side is blamed. But, because the follower and leader role is a mutual relationship, the blame should take the form of a conversation rather than pointing fingers.
I found the discussion of sheep particularly very intriguing and also enjoyed reading about the ineffective followers because I could see it in a few people in my previous experiences. I really enjoyed your last sentence and completely agree… if only.