A Good Leader is a Good Follower. Presented by PlanetShifter.com Magazine & openmythsource.

com Each leader has a unique combination of leadership qualities. Skills may come from education or experienceideally both, but don't overlook someone who can do the job just because they only have one or the other. Different roles also call for different traits and skills. However, some things are essential for most or all leaders in community. Determination A leader provides the energy and focus to get people moving and keep them on track. Competence This includes not just the ability to do things correctly but the self-confidence to do so smoothly, in a way that reassures other people they're in good hands. Patience Effective leaders allow for calm handling of delays and difficulties, as well as teaching people. Honor People can look up to a leader who is worthy of their respect and who behaves with integrity. Vision A leader illuminates a path from where we are to where we want to be, and inspires people to follow it even through the rough spots. A sense of humor This eases tensions, fosters connection, and discourages harmful forms of pride. Communication Necessary for most community functions, this is a fundamental ability to gather information, guide meetings, talk people into doing things, and mend misunderstandings. Problem-solving A good leader can recognize signs of trouble, identify the source, and take steps to fix it. Resource management This entails fundraising, gathering tools and supplies, finding volunteers, and using them efficiently to meet established goals. A well-calibrated bullshit detector A leader must be alert when people are trying to deceive her...or themselves. Leadership Techniques Leadership is not one skill but many. People sometimes learn the obvious ones but overlook more subtle aspects. Here are some useful techniques for community leadership: + Learn what your neighbors do well. When assembling a team for a project, connect each task with a person who has relevant expertise.

+ Find the work that needs to be done and take care of it. You know how people are always saying, "Somebody should do something about that"? Be "Somebody." + Always pad your budget and your timeframe. Things will go wrong; it's your job to make sure the problems get buffered, so they don't make matters worse. + Watch for members whose skills are growing. Cheer for their progress. Offer them more responsibility. + Watch for burnout. Be prepared to reduce or change someone's tasks (including yours) to avoid this. + Observe body language. If folks are leaning forward and nodding, you're on the right track. If they're fidgeting, it may be time to stop talking and switch to something else, like physical activities. The intentional community movement offers numerous models of leadership. Some communities have one leader, or a small group of leaders. Some try to avoid the temptation of putting anyone in charge, instead sharing responsibility equally. How does your community assign (or withdraw) authority? Who organizes things, and why? What do members expect of the person(s) in charge? What do the leaders get, and what do they give? How well does your system work for you? Discussing these and related topics can help a community fine-tune their leadership structure so that it works for everyone. Followship Several friends gather to disassemble a fallen tree. A chainsaw growls in the background as we work on breaking up the smaller twigs and branches for kindling. Sometimes I help hold the bigger branches to be cut by handsaw or chainsaw. Upon request I fetch and carry gloves, earplugs, and water bottles. Later, I retire early to the house and start supper for the team. People often discuss leadership without ever touching on followship. Followers are as essential as leaders, because leaders can't lead if nobody follows. Similarly, if the leaders outnumber the followers, nothing gets done because of too many arguments over who's in charge. Ideally, people have both leadership and followship skills so that they can switch roles. Good followers enable leaders to accomplish great things. The leader supplies the direction, and the followers provide the motile power. Bad followers don't provide enough power, or pull in different directions, or support wretched ideas as well as good ideas. So a leader really depends on having good followers. Many communities teach and reward that kind of teamwork, which helps expand our skills. Qualities of a Good Follower

Leaders and followers share some of the same virtues, while others differ. A follower's qualities should complement those of a leader. Not all followers necessarily show all of these qualities, and there are other qualities, but these can help identify people with followship potential. Humility A humble follower helps leaders relax, because they don't have to worry about that person trying to take over their position. The modern mainstream culture pushes success to excess, often pressuring people to "get ahead" and "be a star" even if they hate being the center of attention or being in charge. Humility means deriving contentment from who you are and what you do without feeling compelled to reach for the pinnacle. Not everyone is, can be, or should be a leader. If people's personality, skills, and desires suit them to be followers, they should take satisfaction in that. Explore until they find a level and area of responsibility that feels comfortable. Loyalty Loyal followers support a chosen cause or leader through good times and bad times. They stick around when others leave, and won't switch sides as long as the cause is just or the leader honorable. This helps minimize turnover, which can strain communities. Honesty The best followers display excellent communication skills. They speak the truth gently if possible, firmly if necessary. They give an honest opinion of ideas and people. Integrity Good followers can be trusted to carry large sums of money or use equipment responsibly. They will keep an embarrassing secret, but not one that could harm innocents. They carry out honorable instructions in honorable ways; they won't lie, steal, or cheat to accomplish goals. Reliability This means getting things done right, on time. Be organized. Only promise what can be delivered, and always deliver it. If necessary, find a substitute to cover responsibilities. Utility The most useful followers are competent, confident, and good at diverse skills. They avoid false modesty and their community knows what they do well. Flexibility An effective follower finds ways to make things work. Be willing to implement whatever is assigned. Be prepared; expect the unexpected. Adapt to changing circumstances. Synergy This precious ability enables a follower to combine the available people and resources to best effect, creating a whole that is more than the sum of its parts. The synergist may be an expert team builder or ceremony coordinator, unifying what the leader provides. Followship Techniques Like leadership, followship spans a variety of skills and methods. By learning and teaching these, we can expand the pool of good followers in community. Here are some things you can do as a follower. + Support your leader's ideas. Voice agreement; also use body language by nodding or leaning forward. Speak well of your leader to others.

+ Accept direction from your leader. When asked to do something reasonable, do it without hesitation. This helps avoid the awkward scenario caused by everyone waiting for someone else to move first. + When volunteers are requested and your skills match, step forward. Volunteering strengthens community bonds. + Ask the right questions. If you don't understand what is needed, seek to clarify the needs and processes. If a proposal is under discussion, ask questions to reveal its strengths and weaknesses.... ******* Article Source | Photo Credit Share with:

To be a good leader, you must first become a good follower. discuss what it means to be a good follower.?
A manager once told subordinate, "To be a good leader, you must first become a good follower." Discuss what it means to be a good follower, whether you agree with the statement, and why orwhy not.

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I believe a good leader has about 7 basic traits: A good leader has an exemplary character. A good leader is enthusiastic A good leader is confident but not egotistical A leader functions in an orderly and purposeful manner A good leader is tolerant of ambiguity and always remains calm A good leader is able to think analytically

A good leader is committed to excellence, his own and others I don't "see" anything about being a good follower in these traits.

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Aristotle > Quotes > Quotable Quote

He who cannot be a good follower cannot be a good leader.

Aristotle

The 11 Leadership Secrets You've Never Heard About

113 comments, 88 called-out Comment Now Follow Comments The old distinctions between leaders and followers are gone. Great followers follow by leading. Heres 11 ways to make sure you do just that.

In 1982 I left a great job at MTV: Music Television for what is now the A&E Network for one reason: to work for Jim Collins. A highly successful executive, Collins poured wisdom into my head by the bucket while keeping me in stitches with his big-hearted Irish sense of humor. One day he said: Remember Augie, everybody got a boss. The vice president reports to the president and the president reports to the CEO. The CEO reports to the chairman of the board and the chairman reports to his wife. All Gods children got a boss. If you want to be a great leader you must also be a great follower.

Thomas Jefferson, Steve Jobs, and the Rule of 3 Carmine Gallo Contributor

10 Leadership Lessons from the IBM Executive School August Turak Contributor

The Terrible Management Technique That Cost Microsoft Its Creativity Frederick E. Allen Forbes Staff * * * According to Louis Mobley, my mentor and the director of the IBM Executive School, Albert Einstein did far more than reinvent physics. Human beings are no longer just passive cogs in Newtons mechanistic machine inexorably driven by the iron wheel of cause and effect. Instead we are all conscious agents, thinking for ourselves, just as capable of causing change as being driven by it. Einsteins universe is a fluid place of feedback loops where cause and effect are interchangeable and often indistinguishable. Does the media lead public opinion or merely reflect it? Do parents produce children or children produce parents? Are consumers hapless victims of marketing or are marketing folks just hapless victims of a fickle consumer? For leadership, Einsteins revolution means that the old, neat distinction between leaders and followers no longer exists. Those bright lines between kings and subjects, nobles and serfs, bosses and workers are gone. We often switch between leader and follower many times in a single day, and success depends just as much on being a great follower as it does on being a great leader. Great followers follow by leading and here are 11 ways to do just that. 1) Great Followers Seize the Initiative: The days of leaders saying Jump! and subordinates asking How high? are over. Todays leader desperately needs followers

that bring fresh ideas not passive worker bees waiting to be told what to do. Great followers say, This is what I think we should do. not What do you want me to do? 2) Great Followers Create their Own Job: Collins taught me a model for every new job I took. Moving quickly Id identify a quantifiable goal that I could achieve in a reasonably short amount of time. I would then write up a plan for achieving that goal along with a weekly reporting process. But most importantly, I always presented my plan before my boss asked for it. In this way I demonstrated that I could lead myself. The side benefit of creating my own job was getting the autonomy that turns work into fun. 3) Great Followers are Coachable: One time Collins shared a secret with me. Rather than lug around a notebook, he folded a sheet of paper into thirds and put it into the breast pocket of his jacket for notes. I faithfully imitated him, but the first thing I did after leaving the company was stop carrying that damn sheet of paper. It may seem that I was just playing the phony to ingratiate myself, but I had a nobler objective. I wanted to demonstrate to Collins that I was coachable. I used a little thing to signal that I was coachable on the big ones.

4) Great Followers Anticipate: One of the most humorous bits from the TV series M*A*S*H is Cpl. Radar OReilly consistently anticipating Col. Blake and later Col. Potter. They can barely open their mouths before Radar finishes their sentence by assuring them that whatever they are looking for is already done. Like Radar, great followers stay a step ahead of their boss by proactively asking: If I were my boss what would I want next? My 23- year -old sales assistant at MTV, Sheri Gottlieb was so good that within weeks 90% of the work that hit my in-box went straight to my out-box with only Sheri, please handle for instruction. Soon and without being asked, like Radar, she was intercepting most of my office work before it even hit my desk. Sheri, unsurprisingly, quickly rose from lowly secretary to vice president. 5) Great Followers are Great Communicators: If your boss ever has to ask for a status report, you are failing as a follower. Great leaders are great worriers. Great followers preempt worry by proactively communicating in writing. If you do not communicate your boss will naturally worry that you are hiding bad news. Besides, unbidden information is treated far more credibly than information demanded. Poor communicators consistently find themselves on the defensive and perpetually wondering why. 6) Great Followers are Goal Driven: Leaders are busy. The last thing they want to do is supervise. Great followers reason backwards: they use future goals to prioritize todays activity. Poor followers reason forward: They react to their in-box and email in

the forlorn hope that just staying busy will magically produce results somewhere down the road. Your boss is not paying you to stay busy or even to work hard. He is paying you to strategically deliver on clearly defined goals that materially impact the mission. This is true no matter where you are on the corporate ladder as my assistant Sheri repeatedly demonstrated. Page 1 2 Next Page

The 11 Leadership Secrets You've Never Heard About

113 comments, 88 called-out Comment Now Follow Comments Page 2 of 2 7) Great Followers Show Dont Tell: I am coaching a young MBA student. At our first meeting I began groping for a quote, and this young man quietly pulled out a neatly tabbed binder with everything I had ever written and quickly pulled out the quote. His preparation demonstrated seriousness far more convincingly than an impassioned speech ever could. I am now investing far more in him. Human beings are wired to value action and discount verbiage, use this trait to your advantage. 8) Great Followers Earn Trust: My number one goal upon taking a new job was getting my boss to relax. The sooner I earned his trust, the quicker he would spend his most valuable asset, time, worrying about something other than me. Louis Mobley said trust relies on promise and fulfillment. People who keep promises can be trusted. Those who dont cannot. Great followers keep promises. It is critical, especially early in your relationship with your boss, that you deliver on every commitment no matter how trivial.

Thomas Jefferson, Steve Jobs, and the Rule of 3 Carmine Gallo Contributor

10 Leadership Lessons from the IBM Executive School August Turak Contributor

The Terrible Management Technique That Cost Microsoft Its Creativity Frederick E. Allen Forbes Staff 9) Great Followers Offer Solutions: Any damn fool can turn his problems into problems for his boss. Great followers solve problems. If they cannot they always offer their boss solutions along with the problem. 10) Great Followers are Compassionate: Often referred to as managing your boss, great followers are sympathetic to the enormous pressure that leaders must endure. For example, leaders may wait too long to make a change or fill a position. Then they spend months and many thousands of dollars recruiting while Rome burns around them. Once they fill the position they still spend sleepless nights haunted by the chance that they hired the wrong person. If they have, not only must they go through the agonizing process again, but answer to their own unsympathetic boss about their poor decision. Examples like this are the ordinary lot of leadership, and great followers not only empathize but look for ways to reassure their boss that at least one person understands his pain and can be counted on to alleviate it. 11) Great Followers are Loyal: If I could not, in clear conscience, back my boss to the hilt then it was time to change jobs or take an unpaid sabbatical. Great followers take pride in making their boss look good. Even if I disagreed in private, it was still my job to present a united front once the decision had been made. I never undermined my boss to curry favor with my own people or played politics at his expense. I only went over his

head to let his superiors know how great he was, and I constantly looked for reasons to do just that. As I hope youve noticed, many of the same traits I ascribe to great followers apply to great leaders. Great leaders not only acquire these traits as followers, but model them for their own subordinates. But most importantly their interchangeable nature makes my point: Just as the distinction between noble and serf is a thing of the past so are the distinctions between leaders and followers. Everybody got a boss and I was fortunate to have the privilege of avidly following a number of great teachers and business leaders like Jim Collins. And my efforts to become the best follower I could possibly be paid off handsomely when I finally found myself leading my own company

Follow me on Twitter @augustturak, Facebook http://facebook.com/aturak, or check out my website http://www.augustturak.com/ for more tips and strategies for becoming a great leader and to discover how service and selflessness is the secret to success in business and in lifGOOD

LEADERS ARE GOOD FOLLOWERS

Home > Various Subjects > GOOD LEADERS ARE GOOD FOLLOWERS

Word Magazine October 1984 Page 21 GOOD LEADERS ARE GOOD FOLLOWERS Homily By Father James C. Meena Leadership is an elusive quality and like so many characteristics of the outstanding human being, very difficult to describe. I think each of us has his own definition of leadership and what makes a good leader. In my opinion, a good leader is one who, first of all, has been a good follower, one who has proven oneself able to take instructions, able to subordinate ones will to the will of others who have assumed the responsibility of leadership, able to make constructive comments and debate issues when necessary and able to stand up for the principles in which one believes. Having done this one can be called a good follower and begins to qualify for leadership although, I must say, not all good followers make good leaders. There are some people who are marvelous as choir singers but terrible as choir directors. Many of us are excellent followers but not all of us are good leaders. To be a good leader, I believe one has to know where he is going, needs to understand what purposes and objectives are to be reached, needs to cling to those purposes and objectives and never compromise with the truth. Now there are times when he may have to bend a little, yield a little, but he always keeps a clear vision of the ultimate goal that he and his group wish to attain, and he dedicates himself totally and completely to achieving that goal ethically. I use the term ethically because I am speaking of the kind of leadership that comes out of a godly community. A leader has to be one so dedicated to the highest principles of the cause for

which he or she is working that he never deviates therefrom, never allows himself to be distracted, never allows himself to become complacent, lazy, slothful or careless in his operation. A good leader is one who is slow to judge others, quick to evaluate and criticize himself in order that he might benefit from his own self analysis and improve himself constantly. A good leader is one who listens to constructive criticism and who hears honest complaints and evaluates them with good judgment in order that he might apply that which is positive and affirmative to the attainment of the goals to which he is dedicated. A good leader is one who remembers that without followers he has no one to lead; therefore, he shows respect for his followers. A good leader is one who never loses sight of the fact that it is his followers who make him a leader for it is his followers who give him the impetus and the impact that he carries. A good leader is one who is willing to give up his life and his wealth if the cause is lofty enough, if the principles are high enough and if the stakes are meaningful enough. A good leader as I started to say before knows where he is going so that he does not mislead his people. St. Paul, as a good leader, points out in his first Epistle to the Corinthians, (15:1-11), I kept preaching to you in order not to lead you astray but I preach to you the things that I learned from those who knew more than I did. St. Paul knew where he was going because he had been directed by those who had greater knowledge than he. And so it has been down through the centuries in our Church and Faith, from father to son, from mother to daughter, from generation to generation, we have been taught that which our forbearers have learned and have preserved. If a leader knows where he is going he knows his followers have confidence in his ability to lead them. A good leader must know where he is going and must understand how he is going to get there, be able to give clear directions to those who are following in order that he might inspire confidence in those who are following him. Above all a good leader understands that he is not the be-all and the end-all of leadership. He is humble enough to know that there is a Power greater than himself, upon which he must constantly call for guidance and strength, that there is the ultimate Leader of all who inspires each of us, who protects every worthy cause and who shelters us against harm. e.

A Great Leader Is A Great Follower

by Carol Giannantonio

"The world needs transcendent leaders whose eyes we trust, whose heart we know, whose soul is rampant in all that they do" - Robert Rabbin.

What does it really take to be a great leader? As an Executive and Business Coach, I ask my clients this question when setting leadership goals. One of the first steps in achieving success in leadership is creating a vision of what a great leader means for you. This vision, along with a plan, continuous action, courage and commitment create some of the "greatest" leaders. Many of these great leaders "follow in the footsteps of other great leaders and use coaching to reach their leadership goals. Why? Because coaching is a powerful tool that involves lifting a person's vision to higher sights, raising their performance to a higher standard, and building a personality beyond its normal limitations to its full potential. So as you set off on your quest to becoming a great leader, here are two steps you may want to "follow". 1. Develop "Double vision" - Great leaders have a "vision" of what being a great leader means for them. They know what it looks like and feel like and they act accordingly by practicing good leadership skills. It also means having "vision" In this case I mean the ability to talk about the future as if it were already here. Steve Jobs often does this. He creates a clear picture in people's minds of how a new product will change the world -- before it's even launched. He gets people excited about the future he sees in his mind. That's an innate talent. Stepping out on a limb like that comes much more naturally to some people than to others. The good news is, if you haven't got that skill, you can develop it!- It's not so much about your own technical expertise as it is about inspiring other people to be better at what they. 2. Become a great follower. Along with the skill of vision and leading comes the skill of "ability to follow". What I mean by this is the ability to identify and follow the patterns of success within your organization-follow the footsteps of others who are "great leaders". Here is what other great minds say about this concept. In "Reinventing Leadership", Warren Bennis wrote, "Good leaders should also be good followers. If you're coming up within an organization, you must be a good follower or you're not going to get very far. Leaders and followers share certain characteristics such as listening, collaborating, and working out competitive issues with peers." In "Launching a Leadership Revolution", Chris Brady and Orrin Woodward, stress the importance of becoming a Performer in leadership development-the need to create a record of performance. "You need to become a great follower, a great contributor." According to Brady and Woodward, the quickest way of gaining a track record of performance is to master the patterns of success already established in your organization. Thus, the goal of every leader is to become a "Performer" who successfully works with and master the existing patterns of success within the organization.

As a successful "Performer" you have the knowledge and expertise to help others accomplish similar results. You gain recognition, respect and power in the organization. You have influence, another key ingredient to successful leadership. Sam Rayburn says it all in this wonderful quote: "You cannot be a leader, and ask other people to follow you, unless you know how to follow, too."

Why the Best Leaders Are Great Followers

Comment161 Share 771 Tweet 350 Share 209 print email When I first became an acquistions editor, I took a proposal for a book on leadership to our Pub Board. (This is the group in a publishing company that determines what gets published and what doesnt.) The consensus was that the book was not commercially viable. The market was just too small.

Photo courtesy of iStockphoto.com/istock-dk

However, in 1998 everything changed. Thomas Nelson published the The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John C. Maxwell. I was the VP of Marketing at that time. My job was to help make the book a success. Fortunately, John not only wrote a great book, but he worked tirelessly to help promote it. The result? The book hit the New York Times list and has now sold almost two million copies. It is still in Amazons top 1,000 books. Since that time an entire industry has sprung up around the topic of leadership. It includes books, magazines, blogs, conferences, and even graduate degrees from major universities. Apparently, the market is vast. Why? Because nearly everyone sees him or herself as a leader. But where are the followers? I contend that if you want to be a great leader, you must first become a great follower. Although it is rarely discussed, this is where almost all of historys greatest leaders got their start.

Joshua followed Moses for more than forty years before he led the children of Israel into the promised land. Elisha served Elijah for ten years before he took up his masters mantle and went on to perform even more miracles. The Apostle Peter followed Jesus for three yearsand made a lot of mistakesbefore he and his fellow-disciples turned the world upside down (see Acts 17:6).

Though I dont have time to develop it here, I would likewise contend that historys worst leaders never learned to follow. As a result, they became tyrants, making the lives of their own followers miserable. So what does a great follower look like? I would suggest great followers share at least five characteristics: 1. They are clear. They understand their role. You cant be a good follower unless you have clearly identified the leader. While you may be a leader in your own realm, everyone has a bossincluding you. Great followers not only accept this fact but embrace it. 2. They are obedient. While obedience may be a politically incorrect concept, it is essential for organizational effectiveness. No one should be allowed to give orders who cant obey orders. This is how great leaders model to their own followers the standards of acceptable behavior. 3. They are servants. This is crucial. Great followers are observant. They notice what needs to be done to help the leader accomplish his or her goals. Then they do it joyfully, without grumbling or complaining. 4. They are humble. Great followers dont make it about them. They are humble. They shine the light on the leader. They make their own boss look goodespecially in front of his or her boss.

5. They are loyal. I have written on this before. Great followers never speak ill of their boss in public. This doesnt mean they cant disagree or even criticize. It just means that they dont do it in public. Great followers understand that public loyalty leads to private influence. I feel like I have only scratched the surface. If you want to be a great leader, begin by asking, How can I be a better follower? or How can I make make my boss more successful? Question: What else does it take to be a great follower? You can leave a comment by clicking here. Love and respect - two of the best characteristics of humans. This is a book about leadership. You may be asking yourself why is there a discussion on how to be a good follower. Most of us start in an organization or a community as a follower. It is rare that any of us will step into any type of leadership position, formal or informal without demonstrating that we can be and are good followers. For that reason, perhaps, I should have started the book with this chapter. So, let's start with a simple statement: you nor I cannot be a good leader unless we are or can be a good follower. The characteristics of each position are very similar. There are people who may be good followers who do not make good leaders or even want to be leaders, but there are no good leaders who are not good followers. Sure, there are some people who think they are too good to be a follower, but I bet their parade has only one person in it: themselves. The skills that make for good followers also make for good leaders. Successful followers (supporters or team members) come in a wide variety of personal characteristics. We have all met loners who cannot get along with anyone. These are relatively rare. For the most part, all of us are followers at one time or another. There are some characteristics or traits that make for being a better follower. Just as with leaders, motivation is the most important single factor. Which is most important your ego or getting the job done? If you focus on the goals to be achieved and are motivated, you will a good follower and, perhaps, even a good leader. Second in this list are such characteristics are reliability and loyalty. These are also important for leaders. Very few of us have all of best characteristics to be a good follower to the limit, but the most effective follower and leaders regardless of which role will have most of them well developed. I cannot say it too often: these characteristics regardless of the degree to which you now have them can be further developed and enhanced. Improvement is limitless. Remember, changes in the personality traits take years of consistent work. We can and should start today, but don't expect instantaneous results.

Personality: An outgoing style - the ability and enjoyment of working with other people in a
team is a useful skill. A sincere liking and respect for other people is a wonderful asset. Being well liked will certainly help in working in teams or any other social situation. Humor and warmth are effective here also. First and foremost, you must be a good team member (see below for further discussion of this characteristic).

Communications skills: A follower must be able to understand and communicate with the
leader and other team members. An effective leader must have a large amount of feedback. It is your responsibility as a follower to provide this information to the leader. Tell him/her what is working and what is not. Give him/her the information from which good decisions can be made. All of this must be done in what is an acceptable manner for that leader and that group or organization. This takes considerable skill. How do you tell someone that his/her tactics are not working without offending him or her? Very few people including leaders can accept criticism gracefully. There is no one answer to that question that will fit all situations. The best answer is tact, which will vary from one group to another.

Cooperative/team player: Responsible/dependable: This is a maxim characteristic for

followers. If a leader cannot depend upon you being a certain place or doing a job, you are useless to him/her. Worse than that, you may be a danger because he/she may be counting on you. If you have any hope any desire to be a member of a group, a team or anything except a loner, you must have or develop dependability. Start by being on time or a few minutes early for your next appointment. Keep a calendar or a date book. It is essential for almost any type of professional career.

Dedicated/loyal: Yes, Absolutely! It is required. However, there may come a time when
because the leader or the group is doing something illegal or immoral, you should not be loyal. You should report the behavior or actions to the appropriate people or authorities. Loyalty should not be blind or limitless.

Persistent/patient: There are times when you will need to relax and wait for events or time
to pass regardless of whether you are a leader or a follower. And again, there will be times when you should push, you should not be satisfied with the status quo. Critical thinking is an important part of both being a good follower or a good leader.

Perceptive: You must be sensitive to other people's wants and needs and to changes in these
wants and needs. Genuine interest in another person will often develop a sense of trust by that person. The ability to listen which will help you be sensitive to other people is an essential skill of a good follower.

Honesty/Trustworthy: You must be honest. Most people will believe and want to work
with someone they trust. The narrow line is between being overly candid and criticism. When do you tell your best friend that their taste in clothes is, well, awful? The answer is probably when they will be criticized for their awful clothes if you don't tell. The art is telling them in a way that will not hurt their feelings. Honesty ranks right along with dependable as a maxim characteristic for good followers.

Praise and compliments: Almost everyone, leaders or followers, likes to be recognized

especially if they have worked hard. People are more attracted by praise than by criticism and will be willing to work with you if you acknowledge their contributions. Let me repeat, it is very

important that people be given recognition for their contributions. Whenever possible, always give credit.

Prepared: A good follower needs to be knowledgeable about the groups goals. An effective
follower should be both organized and prepared. Obviously, this list includes much that makes a person a good human being, a good member of a family, a group, and an organization or of a community. I doubt if any of the list really surprised you. But how many of those do you need to work on?

To repeat what I said at the start of this chapter, the equation for success for a follower is
very similar to that for a leader. The more of these traits (tools) you have successfully developed the greater the probability of your success either as a follower or as a leader.

A Mental Questionnaire

Being a good leader, and a good follower

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Being a good leader, and a good follower (Insight by D. A. Carson) Quote by D. A. Carson (For the Love of God, vol. 1, September 29, emphasis mine): Even the finest of our Christian leaders commonly display faults that their closest peers and friends can spot (whether or not the leaders themselves can see them!) This should not surprise us. In this fallen world, it is the way things are, the way things were when the Bible was written. We should therefore not be disillusioned when leaders prove flawed. We should support them wherever we can, seek to correct the faults where possible, and leave the rest to God-all the while recognizing the terrible potential for failures and faults in our own lives. There are lessons for the leader and the follower here. First the leadership lessons:

1. Leaders should seek accountability regularly and receive observations from others eagerly to see flaws in his/her own life. 2. Leaders should thank those who make those observations for caring for them enough to make them. 3. Leaders should put their confidence in Christ because they themselves are flawed and inadequate to lead on their own and need Christs work applied to them, even for them to change and grow. 4. Leaders should be humble, because they know they are flawed, even if they themselves cannot see it. Five Lessons for the follower (taken from the end of the paragraph): 1. Do not be disillusioned when you see flaws, even big flaws in your leader(s). Expect that in this fallen world where sin is still present and wields some power. 2. Support the leader(s) wherever you can. This means you affirm your support and express it to your leader(s). Affirm when they do well or are in the Christ-exalting path. 3. Seek to correct the faults in your leader where possible. This means you cannot be passive and frustrated but you and I must speak up! Not only do you need to speak up, you need to lovingly communicate directly to the leader. This is not the time for gossip or venting frustrations to whomever comes your way. We should humbly state our observations to our leader, for our leaders consideration. Along with this we should suggest possible solutions to the flaw/problem to show we care and love for them and for Gods glory in their life, even if they end up taking a different solution. 4. Leave the rest to God. Do not get frustrated and impatient where you demand you leaders immediate turnaround as if he/she is not in need of the grace of God in Christ for the change to occur. Plant the seed, pray for the leader, and wait on God. One should not do this without lovingly communicating the flaw/fault to the leader. 5. Recognize the terrible potential for failures and faults in your own life. Remember that you are also living in the fallen world, have blind spots, and struggle with sin and temptation. This will keep you humble and help you to not to sound (or be) harsh. My observation is that CFBC (myself included!) fail in number 3. We tend not to communicate directly to the leader (be it pastor, husband, teacher, elder, parent) but remain frustrated when we see the flaw and then either become bitter or indifferent and just accept it for what it is. This is sinful my brothers and sisters. We need to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. So we should humbly and lovingly speak up to those who need to consider what we observe in their lives. May God grow me and all of us in being good followers of Jesus. Failing to do numbers 3 or 4 lead to two opposite errors:

(1) if you fail to communicate directly to the leader and just say God is sovereign and in control and theres nothing I can do about it so Ill just be quiet (which tends to be my error) then we dont say anything to the leader and grow in frustration or in being indifferent. (2) If you fail to trust God and leave the changing to him and only communicate the error/flaw and demand change in your time, you will rebel, leave, and get angry at the error/flaw that needs to be changed as if the world and change has to happen on your time and not Gods. So to be humble and obedient, you need to be patient and communicating. This is a better way to love and follow leaders than to be silent and frustrated or demanding and impatient. And most importantly, this way of following leaders who are flawed shows that we fundamentally follow Jesus as our leader because in this way we seek to honor and glorify him.