Robert Kelley’s article “In Praise of Followers” discusses the qualities a good follower has, specifically in a business setting. What I struggled with most in reading this article is that in a way, the best followers are good leaders. Their commitment to play their role to the best of their ability motivates their colleagues, and their bosses trust them to delegate responsibility.
In high school, I read a book called Good to Great by Jim Collins for a capitalism class. In this book, Collins points out that in order for a business to go from good to great, you need to get “the right people on the bus.” Collins’ beliefs are in line with Kelley’s in that followers are just as, if not more important than the leaders, and the followers Collins describes fit the same description as Kelley’s “effective followers.”
One thing that surprised me in this article was how different followers could have different motivations. Kelley writes how some followers fully embrace the role of a follower, and find virtue in this role. They recognize that being someone has to be a team player, and they take satisfaction in “helping further a cause, an idea, a product, a service, or…a person.” This motivation can be categorized as intrinsic. Kelley then argues that being motivated by extrinsic forces like moving up the totem pole of a company are just as valid. At first, I found these extrinsic motivators to be less intrinsic, but I realized this evaluation was unfair. If a person has ambition to move up in the company, they won’t be able to do that by trying outshine coworkers at point possible. They way someone moves up is by doing everything right with 100% effort. In other words, being an effective follower is the best way to move up in a company.
When speaking of a follower’s potential motivations, I think it is most common for them to desire a leadership role. With that said, it is hard to find a follower who is willing to work independently but for the benefit of the entire group. An ideal effective follower is not only able to self-manage, but also accomplish tasks that help the group as a whole.
I also thought it was interesting to look at how followers how didn’t motivations when following the leader. I think the fact that everyone is in it for different motivations is really interesting, and how some are looking to be a part of the group while others want to be a leader.
I was also skeptical at first about how the best followers make the best leaders but after more thought, I can now see where Kelley is coming from. Being on multiple sports teams in high school, I ultimately learned from being a follower how I wanted to lead one day. I think a good follower is one who is, to a certain extent, critical of their leaders. People are probably more likely to be followers than leaders, jut because of sheer numbers of people in the world, but people who are “born leaders” (if we take this view) had to have been followers at some point.