Following A Follower

Good people to follow are people who know how to follow.

I had the great pleasure of sitting with a good friend recently. He was sharing about his work situation. He works for a major supermarket. He is not in a position of management, but his approach to work has seen him recognised by management. Some of his notable behaviours includes the ability to take on the manager’s instructions and carry them out diligently without murmur or complaint. This was not a cultural norm in that workplace.

Indeed even some managers had perpetuated the values of grumbling and complaining about situations they faced. They grumbled and complained about the lack of understanding and appreciation above them. Unsurprisingly those who worked in their teams likewise had the knack of murmuring and complaining about the lack of acknowledgement from management. Work took place, but the standard of productivity  gave cause for concern. To the extend that management were looking for ways to increase productivity through incentives.

Those concerns, however, could not be related to my good friend. He was industrious in all his efforts and in whichever department he went, the productivity there went up. Not only that, but my good friend would make it his point of duty to identify the good things that his managers did and compliment them on it. This would garner interest from the managers because it was unusual behaviour.

When he was given responsibility for a department on a temporary basis, a new employee was put in that department. The new employee watched how my friend approached the work. He noted his careful adherence to instructions and the diligence with which he followed it. After a while he picked up the same qualities of humility and diligence. By the time my good friend moved on from the department, the new employee was likewise impressing those in management with his behaviour and productivity.

These values might be seen as a given to some, but when there’s a culture that is more about looking for a reason to complain, grumble and give less than the best to the cause, these values are notable, remarkable and clearly outstanding. The new employee could follow because he saw a good follower.

There is a lot of stuff going around about management and leadership in different walks of life. There is a great effort given to finding out how success is gained in certain environments to others. The drive for productivity that leads to profit is a great motivation for some. Yet what my good friend exemplified goes beyond gaining stuff to enrich the bottom line.

My good friend is a great leader already, without the need for a position that says it. His example leaves an example of good for others to follow. It definitely leaves a great impression on me as a I look to learn and apply it in my own work situation.

That’s not just for work either – good followers are the best people to look for in discovering how to create good followers.

(Photo by Jehyun Sung on Unsplash)

For His Name’s Sake

Shalom

C. L. J. Dryden