So far I’ve avoided reading books or articles that outline “follower typologies”. I simply don’t believe these categorizations are accurate. At best, they represent pigeon-holing for convenience, and at worst they are a dangerous watering down of the idea of followership -  a watering down similar to that which has occured to leadership as a result of the hundreds of definitions and typologies. A person is either a leader or is not a leader; similarly, a person is a follower or is not...

I just came from a meeting on leadership development for a health care consulting organization. We talked at great length about how their clients were keen to develop leadership capabilities, especially the soft skills. Admirable very standard goals.

Whenever I find myself in discussions like this one though, some part of my mind - the part influenced by Peter Drucker - is shouting that followership develoment is more important. My mind jumps to Drucker's definition of "executive" as anyone i...

How does a person in a leadership position motivate followers to achieve strategic goals. These goals are long term and very easy to lose sight of in the day-to-day press of job and life.

The simple answer is that a leader cannot motivate followers. I know this statement flies in the face of the current writing trends and wisdom, but it is truer today than it has ever been. The only real motivation comes from within; the follower decides what has value to him or her and acts accordingly. What...

About 3 years ago I took part in a "leadership" exercise. The exercise was designed to see who among a randomly thrown together group of people would emerge as a leader.

My group was about nine people strong. Most of them were above average height, athletic and had a military background. I on the otherhand have no military background (unless you count the Air Cadets), am shorter than average and not quite as fit as I should be. The activity was dubbed "team survival" the failure of which was i...

I'm not sure what leadership is. Are you? In my quest to find a defintion I have come across some three hundred plus definitions, none of which have been very useful in helping me predict who in a group of teens or college grads will eventually rise to the top. It's easier to look at successful leaders in retrospect and say "Ah, so that's what it takes to be a leader". However, successful leaders come in all shapes, sizes and flavors, so for every "Aha!" moment I have on what a leader is, I h...

A few years ago, I worked with a group of executives with a major consumer products company in Australia. As we started our planning activities I noted an interesting group trait that needed addressing before we could move on to more productive work. Whenever we would finish a session with an agreement, the individual members would leave and discuss matters again over dinner or in their offices. Sometimes the discussions were calm and rational, other times they were heated. The next morning h...