Lady Dianne's Blog

Independent Followership

Today I would like to address the concept of leadership.  A week ago I had the honor, as a faculty member, of closing out a leadership development program for Federal employees, grades 7 thru 11.  The New Leader Program (NLP) is one of many developmental programs offered by the Graduate School, USDA (http://www.grad.usda.gov).  Six months ago when the program began the participants then were fearful, untrusting and lacking in self-confidence.  Some even thought about dropping out of the program.  After six months I witnessed a total change.  Through successfully meeting a series of program requirements (i.e. book reports, shadow assignments, impact papers, 30 day details) the participants realized how good they are.  They empowered themselves.

While they learned a lot about leadership, they also learned what it meant to be an independent follower.    One cannot be a leader all the time and one cannot be a follower all the time.  The participants learned what successful leadership is and what it takes to be a leader.  But they also know what it takes to be a successful follower.  An independent follower is someone who has the skills to be a good team member and contribute to their full potential.  An independent follower is not a yes man or a yes woman, but someone who can share opinions and ideas in a constructive way, even when it means respectfully disagreeing with a team leader, supervisor or manager. 

For the U.S. government to successfully carry out the mandates and laws of the country, there has to be an intelligent and loyal group of employees who understand the missions of their organizations.  Programs such as the NLP give Federal employees the opportunity to develop into the independent followers needed to carry out these missions.

Post a Comment First Name: E-mail:   email address will not be visible to public Smile:          Word Verification: Type the word "Hello" in the box below Remember Me | Forget Me

Back to Diane's Blog