REPLIES_MGMT

Discussion question

During my career I have drifted between leadership and follower roles but always moving ahead. When I would transition out of management/leadership into a staff position I always found that I was a better employee. As a follower I would bring characteristics that would help my leader succeed. I considered my most important characteristics to be:

Loyalty: I was loyal to my leader, sometimes to a fault. Even after the leader/follower relationship ended I still felt a sense of loyalty to that person.

A Sense of Urgency: This is a characteristics that always served me well. I am eager to start on things and eager to finish. I had a boss ask me one time what I ate for breakfast because I could act quickly and provide good results.

Dedication: I think my sense of dedication came from my parents. They both worked for the same company their entire lives; my mother at Comerica and my father at Chrysler. They never spoke poorly of their employers and instilled in my siblings and I a sense of gratitude that they had steady jobs that provided their family with a modest yet fulfilling lifestyle.

I also lacked some characteristics of a good follower like empathy and collaboration that could have added even more achievement. Use the discussion board to describe the qualities and characteristics that make you a good follower or could make you a better follower. Be detailed and use examples to describe your followership.

Reply#1

Natalie Borkosh

Loyalty- as a follower you always need to have your leaders back, no matter if others disagree with them. Loyalty is probably the strongest attribute a follower can give a leader, and that loyalty is given back to the followers from the leader.

Honesty – as a follower you always need to be honest with your leader, be open and transparent and always tell the truth. If there is something in the workplace that is bothering you, you should always be honest with your leader because they are there for your guidance and help.

Dependable – as a follower you always have to be somebody that your leader can depend on, after all you are the backbones of the leader. Each leader deserves a good team underneath them that works together with one another for an end goal.

RESPONSE TO Natalie Borkosh

Excellent discussion, Natalie. I agree with you that every leader will like to have a dependable worker or follower within his or her team or group. Dependable follower is consistent, organized, accountable, timely and committed. A dependable follower is committed to the common goal of the group or and therefore, he or she is considered an essential team player.

Reply#2

Savannah Baier –

One quality that makes me a good follower is that I am organized. This helps me stay on top of tasks and can help my leader make sure they get everything done they need to as well. I am also very detail-oriented, which helps me make sure I do things correctly and accurately. Another quality is that I listen and act well with direction, which makes it easy for leaders to assign tasks to me and allows me to get them done the way they want. Characteristics that could make me a better follower would be collaboration and teamwork. I prefer to work by myself, so these characteristics would help me work better in a team environment

RESPONSE TO Savannah Baier

Outstanding discussion post, Savannah. I concur with you that being organized is one of the important characteristics of an effective leader. Being organized entails having a well set-out plans and procedures and this translates to more productive and reduces stress-influenced conditions. It also helps a leader to set a good example and a positive image.