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Leadership Insights
Intentional followership is a skill that requires as much thoughtfulness as leadership. It’s about being strategic in how you support and contribute. Some of the qualities of great followers are:
Proactive Engagement: Great followers don’t just execute. They bring their full thinking to support the leader’s vision. They ask clarifying questions, offer insights, and help to refine the approach while staying aligned with the leader’s direction.
Honest Communication: They provide upward feedback when they see potential problems or better approaches. This isn’t undermining—it’s helping the leader to succeed by sharing what they observe from their vantage point. The feedback is received because the leader sees it as advancing the goal versus obstructing progress.
Ownership within Scope: They take full responsibility for their piece while respecting the leader’s overall accountability. They don’t need constant check-ins but keep the leader informed of progress and obstacles.
Ego Management: They can celebrate others’ successes and make the leader look good without needing personal recognition for every contribution.
Contextual Awareness: They understand when to speak up and when to stay quiet—when to take initiative and when to wait for direction.
Leaders who know when it is time to follow are better able to build trust on their teams, build mutual respect with individual colleagues, and sustain their leadership role by not burning out.
Build Your Followership through Intentional Practice
Take some time to reflect before, during, and after an upcoming interaction where you want to practice your followership.
Before the interaction: Ask yourself, “What does this leader need from me right now: expertise, execution, or encouragement?”
During collaboration: Focus on, “How can I make their leadership more effective?” rather than on “How can I show my value?”
Offer your perspective as input, not direction: ”Here’s what I’m seeing from my angle…” rather than “You should…”
If you have a specific situation in mind, you could use Sophia, the AI leadership coach found in My Path, to help you plan out your intentional followership in the moment.