Lead 12:12 Christian Leadership Podcasts

Followership

Do followers have an ethical responsibility? Do followers have influence over the leader? The study of followership is very new in the field of leadership and is only now becoming studied in depth. Learn how as a follower to avoid situations like David Koresh of the Branch Davidians and Jim Jones. God uses you every […]

Feb 7, 2022 | 0 comments

Followership

Do followers have an ethical responsibility? Do followers have influence over the leader? The study of followership is very new in the field of leadership and is only now becoming studied in depth. Learn how as a follower to avoid situations like David Koresh of the Branch Davidians and Jim Jones. God uses you every […]

Transcription:
1 00:00:00,100 --> 00:00:00,900 Hey, Chris. 2 00:00:00,900 --> 00:00:01,601 Hey, Dave. 3 00:00:01,601 --> 00:00:04,104 What's going on? Hey, man, how's it going? 4 00:00:04,137 --> 00:00:06,239 It's going good. I got a question for you. 5 00:00:06,272 --> 00:00:07,207 What's up? 6 00:00:07,207 --> 00:00:10,276 How can people get hold of us for Lead 12:12? 7 00:00:10,343 --> 00:00:11,344 Well, that's a great question. 8 00:00:11,344 --> 00:00:14,814 We've got a great looking website and we've got a lot of functionality on there. 9 00:00:14,848 --> 00:00:18,284 It's www.lead1212.com. 10 00:00:18,318 --> 00:00:20,820 I'm glad something has functionality on it. 11 00:00:21,287 --> 00:00:21,921 That's right. 12 00:00:21,921 --> 00:00:24,958 Hey, everybody, check us out. 13 00:00:41,875 --> 00:00:44,077 This is Lead 12:12, 14 00:00:44,411 --> 00:00:49,716 a podcast on Christ centered leadership based on Romans 12:12, Rejoice in hope. 15 00:00:49,883 --> 00:00:53,019 Be patient and tribulation, be constant in prayer. 16 00:00:53,520 --> 00:00:54,754 Thanks for listening. 17 00:00:54,754 --> 00:00:57,390 Now here's Chris and Dave. 18 00:00:57,624 --> 00:00:58,691 Hey, everybody. 19 00:00:58,691 --> 00:01:00,060 We're glad you're listening. 20 00:01:00,060 --> 00:01:02,429 We're excited that God's brought us together, 21 00:01:02,429 --> 00:01:07,033 and we know that this this time together won't be wasted, right, Chris? 22 00:01:07,067 --> 00:01:07,867 That's right. 23 00:01:07,867 --> 00:01:09,969 So Chris, what are we learning about today? 24 00:01:10,036 --> 00:01:13,473 Today, we're going to go along with something called followership. 25 00:01:13,640 --> 00:01:16,543 It's what makes a follower a good follower. 26 00:01:16,709 --> 00:01:17,143 Right. 27 00:01:17,143 --> 00:01:22,015 And I think every one of us has to follow something or we'll never learn anything. 28 00:01:22,048 --> 00:01:23,283 You know, you're exactly right, Dave. 29 00:01:23,283 --> 00:01:26,019 If you break it down like, I may be a leader at work. 30 00:01:26,286 --> 00:01:27,821 I'm also a follower at work. 31 00:01:27,821 --> 00:01:30,490 I can be a leader at home and I can be a follower at home. 32 00:01:30,690 --> 00:01:32,959 I'm a follower at church. You're a leader at church. 33 00:01:32,992 --> 00:01:35,662 We are followers, probably more than we are leaders. 34 00:01:35,762 --> 00:01:36,329 Amen. 35 00:01:36,329 --> 00:01:38,164 And I think one of the things 36 00:01:38,164 --> 00:01:42,168 that really good leaders learn how to do is to follow. 37 00:01:42,168 --> 00:01:44,370 Once you learn how to follow, then you can learn how to lead 38 00:01:44,370 --> 00:01:46,272 because you know what your expectations are 39 00:01:46,272 --> 00:01:49,742 because you were able to show those expectations to someone else. 40 00:01:49,776 --> 00:01:50,610 You're exactly right. 41 00:01:50,610 --> 00:01:53,580 And as anyone ever laid out to you, how to be a good follower. 42 00:01:53,580 --> 00:01:55,849 I think we're going to do it right now. 43 00:01:55,849 --> 00:01:58,184 You read my. Mind. Yes, I did. 44 00:01:58,218 --> 00:01:59,686 I'll be here all week. 45 00:01:59,686 --> 00:02:04,224 So up until now, we've examined how leaders affect the work of followers. 46 00:02:04,657 --> 00:02:08,561 We focused on how leaders motivate people to engage in adaptive work. 47 00:02:08,862 --> 00:02:11,564 And today we're going to be concerned with followers 48 00:02:11,564 --> 00:02:14,667 and the critical role they play in the leadership process. 49 00:02:15,068 --> 00:02:18,004 Of course, the act of leaving needs the act of following. 50 00:02:18,004 --> 00:02:20,440 Without followers, there can be no leaders. 51 00:02:20,940 --> 00:02:22,142 Makes sense. 52 00:02:22,142 --> 00:02:26,045 So for a lot of people, being a follower in the process of followership 53 00:02:26,412 --> 00:02:29,682 can have bad associations throughout history. 54 00:02:29,682 --> 00:02:32,886 It's only the leaders that take the center stage and not the followers. 55 00:02:33,520 --> 00:02:35,755 Children can be taught at an early age in school 56 00:02:35,755 --> 00:02:38,191 that it's better to be a leader instead of a follower. 57 00:02:38,625 --> 00:02:40,860 You know, in athletics, both you and I were athletes. 58 00:02:40,927 --> 00:02:44,063 Recognition goes to the leaders and not the team members. 59 00:02:44,130 --> 00:02:46,699 Amy and with me are using that term loosely. 60 00:02:46,699 --> 00:02:50,203 But yeah, we I tried. You succeed. 61 00:02:50,236 --> 00:02:51,604 Don't let him fool you. 62 00:02:51,604 --> 00:02:53,840 He was a great football player. I was nice. 63 00:02:54,040 --> 00:02:56,042 But that's OK. Keep going. You know you got you. 64 00:02:56,042 --> 00:02:59,145 When someone applies for a job, they're usually questioned 65 00:02:59,145 --> 00:03:03,116 about their leadership abilities and not their followership abilities. 66 00:03:03,349 --> 00:03:07,153 You know, it's evident society applauds leadership and not followership, 67 00:03:07,153 --> 00:03:10,657 and it's simply more interesting to discuss how leaders use their power 68 00:03:10,890 --> 00:03:13,326 than to discuss how followers respond to power. 69 00:03:13,326 --> 00:03:14,661 Would you agree with that? Yeah. 70 00:03:14,661 --> 00:03:17,497 And I think, you know, I grew up, not everybody can be a chief. 71 00:03:17,664 --> 00:03:20,767 And so right, the chief got their certain way. 72 00:03:20,767 --> 00:03:22,802 And it wasn't because he just got promoted. 73 00:03:22,802 --> 00:03:25,505 A lot of times. It's because he learned to lead. Yes. 74 00:03:25,505 --> 00:03:27,540 And he learned to lead by. 75 00:03:27,740 --> 00:03:29,008 Learning to follow first. 76 00:03:29,008 --> 00:03:31,010 You have to. I think it's a really good question. 77 00:03:31,010 --> 00:03:33,079 I think it's a really good thing to talk about. 78 00:03:33,079 --> 00:03:35,114 Hey, man, I'll be here all week while I. 79 00:03:35,114 --> 00:03:37,450 Was on board. With a man and a man. 80 00:03:39,285 --> 00:03:41,221 Here's the shocking thing. 81 00:03:41,221 --> 00:03:42,822 It was for me anyway. 82 00:03:42,822 --> 00:03:47,694 Only recently have the academics begin to study followership, 83 00:03:48,061 --> 00:03:51,030 and only recently has anything been published about it. 84 00:03:51,397 --> 00:03:55,301 That came from Mendel in 1990 and Charles in 95. 85 00:03:55,802 --> 00:04:00,740 Before that, everything was focused on the leader only and not the follower 86 00:04:00,740 --> 00:04:02,709 and how the follower can affect the leader. 87 00:04:02,709 --> 00:04:05,945 No one paid attention to followers whatsoever until 88 00:04:05,979 --> 00:04:07,614 Mendel and Charles came out. 89 00:04:07,614 --> 00:04:10,617 Another guy came out with the art of followership. 90 00:04:10,650 --> 00:04:13,853 How great followers create great leaders and organizations? 91 00:04:13,853 --> 00:04:14,921 Think about that. 92 00:04:14,921 --> 00:04:17,023 Can a follower create a great leader. 93 00:04:17,357 --> 00:04:19,959 And a follower? Create a great leader? 94 00:04:20,727 --> 00:04:23,096 Um yes, it has to happen, right? 95 00:04:23,129 --> 00:04:25,265 I live that life every day. 96 00:04:25,265 --> 00:04:31,137 I can a lot of people that report to me at work, and they are very, very smart. 97 00:04:31,170 --> 00:04:33,239 They do their job. They know what they're doing, 98 00:04:33,239 --> 00:04:35,041 and they make my job a lot easier. 99 00:04:35,041 --> 00:04:36,442 Amen and amen. 100 00:04:36,442 --> 00:04:37,610 Here's another example. 101 00:04:37,610 --> 00:04:40,947 A soldier following orders from the platoon to complete a mission 102 00:04:41,080 --> 00:04:45,385 or maybe passengers following the boarding agent's instructions to get on the plane 103 00:04:45,585 --> 00:04:48,688 are good examples of being a follower, and they're positive examples 104 00:04:48,688 --> 00:04:49,722 of being a follower. 105 00:04:49,722 --> 00:04:52,859 Sometimes you can have negative examples of being a follower, too. 106 00:04:53,126 --> 00:04:54,994 What about the followers of David Koresh 107 00:04:54,994 --> 00:04:57,630 and the Branch Davidians or followers of Jim Jones? 108 00:04:57,997 --> 00:04:59,132 Yeah, they. 109 00:04:59,132 --> 00:05:02,535 We can all be mis misled, and I think a lot of that is 110 00:05:02,535 --> 00:05:04,604 and this is something that I've learned. 111 00:05:04,604 --> 00:05:08,574 When you are following someone, you need to always understand 112 00:05:08,574 --> 00:05:12,245 that the most important thing is, are they following Jesus? 113 00:05:12,245 --> 00:05:13,513 And if they're not? 114 00:05:13,513 --> 00:05:16,282 The Bible says bad company corrupts good character. 115 00:05:16,282 --> 00:05:22,622 And so if you're following the wrong lead, it will lead you down the wrong way. 116 00:05:23,623 --> 00:05:26,359 So I'm going to let you teach a little on that because you hit it on the head. 117 00:05:26,359 --> 00:05:29,662 Are you saying followers have a duty and a responsibility? 118 00:05:30,029 --> 00:05:30,797 We do. 119 00:05:30,797 --> 00:05:35,034 And especially when you when you look at it from the perspective 120 00:05:35,034 --> 00:05:37,670 that we're supposed to follow, Jesus Christ. 121 00:05:37,770 --> 00:05:40,673 Hey, in Philippians two, amen, 122 00:05:40,707 --> 00:05:44,444 it says that we are to have an attitude that of Christ Jesus. 123 00:05:44,711 --> 00:05:48,047 And that means we are to what have an attitude of Christ Jesus. 124 00:05:48,181 --> 00:05:50,583 Yes. Sometimes I think we try to break all that down 125 00:05:50,583 --> 00:05:52,785 instead of really take what it says and do it. 126 00:05:53,453 --> 00:05:55,321 James says, don't really listen to the word of God. 127 00:05:55,321 --> 00:05:57,323 And so to see yourself, but do it. 128 00:05:57,323 --> 00:05:59,992 When we become doers of God's word, it 129 00:05:59,992 --> 00:06:03,563 changes everything because we're following God, not the world. 130 00:06:03,830 --> 00:06:06,265 We need to follow people who follow God. 131 00:06:06,999 --> 00:06:09,235 Oh, here we go. It started now. 132 00:06:09,936 --> 00:06:10,870 Oh, crazy. 133 00:06:12,772 --> 00:06:13,673 Hallelujah. 134 00:06:13,673 --> 00:06:15,274 Oh, come on now. 135 00:06:15,274 --> 00:06:17,710 I love that a man and a man. 136 00:06:17,710 --> 00:06:19,712 So following what you just said. 137 00:06:19,846 --> 00:06:23,149 Followers have an ethical duty to consider the morality 138 00:06:23,149 --> 00:06:26,352 of their actions and the outcomes of what they do as a follower. 139 00:06:26,352 --> 00:06:29,122 And how do we, as Christians, know that first, John, for one, 140 00:06:29,122 --> 00:06:32,225 tells us that we were to test the spirits and see if they are from God 141 00:06:32,258 --> 00:06:33,893 and continuing on first . 142 00:06:33,893 --> 00:06:38,030 John, 48, tells us that anyone who does not know love does not know God 143 00:06:38,030 --> 00:06:39,599 because God is love. 144 00:06:39,599 --> 00:06:43,136 If your leader is teaching or guiding you out of love, 145 00:06:43,236 --> 00:06:45,371 that's really all you need to be worried about. 146 00:06:45,371 --> 00:06:48,374 I agreed I would take it one step farther 147 00:06:48,374 --> 00:06:51,544 and that that has to be the love of Christ. 148 00:06:51,577 --> 00:06:52,645 The love of Christ. 149 00:06:52,645 --> 00:06:56,182 I think that's the key right there, and that's where I think you're heading in 150 00:06:56,716 --> 00:06:57,150 this. 151 00:06:58,985 --> 00:07:01,320 I want to thank both of you for clapping on that one, 152 00:07:01,654 --> 00:07:05,358 but it's really important that you understand that. 153 00:07:05,391 --> 00:07:09,061 I think sometimes we follow leaders that aren't following Christ. 154 00:07:09,061 --> 00:07:11,330 Yes, in the church. We. Do. 155 00:07:11,431 --> 00:07:14,734 So I say this with love and with compassion. 156 00:07:15,101 --> 00:07:19,639 If your is not following Jesus that they're not showing the fruits 157 00:07:19,639 --> 00:07:21,240 and the evidence of Christ, 158 00:07:21,240 --> 00:07:24,710 then you're probably at the wrong place because they're following the wrong thing. 159 00:07:25,077 --> 00:07:27,680 A man to that I could name in that enough. 160 00:07:27,713 --> 00:07:28,614 That's beautiful. 161 00:07:28,614 --> 00:07:31,484 Well, God uses you ever once. Why he's got a line. 162 00:07:31,517 --> 00:07:33,052 Do it right? 163 00:07:33,052 --> 00:07:34,821 Yes, we do. That's exactly right. 164 00:07:34,821 --> 00:07:36,422 So now this is an interesting part. 165 00:07:36,422 --> 00:07:38,157 What types of followers are there? 166 00:07:38,157 --> 00:07:40,193 And I'm going to ask you to imagine this in your mind. 167 00:07:40,193 --> 00:07:42,462 There's there's two groups of followers. 168 00:07:42,829 --> 00:07:47,967 There's role based and there's relational based, a role based follower 169 00:07:47,967 --> 00:07:52,572 or followers on a hierarchical system like staff on an org chart . 170 00:07:52,572 --> 00:07:54,073 Those are role based followers 171 00:07:54,073 --> 00:07:57,844 you follow because the person is above you on the org chart. 172 00:07:57,877 --> 00:07:58,744 That's exactly 173 00:07:58,744 --> 00:08:02,915 where their power comes from, and the responsibility of that follower 174 00:08:02,915 --> 00:08:07,487 is to be an engaged follower and have a positive outcome on the organization. 175 00:08:07,587 --> 00:08:11,991 It's kind of a it's a status thing that yes, god, yes, I get that. 176 00:08:11,991 --> 00:08:15,194 The other type of follower is a relational based follower, 177 00:08:15,428 --> 00:08:19,198 and it's from a social construct perspective such as, oh, let's say, 178 00:08:19,198 --> 00:08:23,169 maybe a fitness instructor and an individual and an exercise class. 179 00:08:23,603 --> 00:08:25,638 No, I thought I was exactly that one, too. 180 00:08:25,638 --> 00:08:27,807 You brought up the fitness part, but 181 00:08:28,708 --> 00:08:31,377 I do think I am a relational follower. 182 00:08:31,377 --> 00:08:35,781 I like to build those friendships that, yes, you know, I concept 183 00:08:35,781 --> 00:08:37,850 people don't care. I want to know, do they know how much care. 184 00:08:38,117 --> 00:08:38,818 Whether that's true. 185 00:08:38,818 --> 00:08:41,320 Relational, you know, you build that. 186 00:08:41,320 --> 00:08:45,391 And, you know, even like with me and you are learning each other, 187 00:08:45,391 --> 00:08:48,961 we're learning, you know, how we work on this stuff and how to hang out. 188 00:08:48,961 --> 00:08:53,299 I think relational thing is you follow the others lead and you listen to them 189 00:08:53,299 --> 00:08:56,469 and you learn as long as they're following Jesus and you're following Jesus. 190 00:08:56,469 --> 00:08:58,638 Well, Jesus won't lead you wrong. 191 00:08:58,738 --> 00:09:02,041 Everything you said goes perfectly along with this study, 192 00:09:02,041 --> 00:09:03,576 except you are not taught any of that. 193 00:09:03,576 --> 00:09:06,946 You've just learned that as you've grown along with, it's fantastic. 194 00:09:07,847 --> 00:09:09,015 Now, I don't know what to say. 195 00:09:09,015 --> 00:09:10,116 I'm blushing. Thank you. 196 00:09:13,219 --> 00:09:16,522 Yes, sir, you are a leader at my church. 197 00:09:16,522 --> 00:09:19,125 I'm a follower of you at that church. 198 00:09:19,292 --> 00:09:21,694 We have a relational base, followership. 199 00:09:21,694 --> 00:09:23,596 There is something I do want to say. 200 00:09:23,596 --> 00:09:26,632 But see, and here's the thing I would never tell you 201 00:09:26,632 --> 00:09:28,935 that I'm in charge of Chris because I'm nine. 202 00:09:29,335 --> 00:09:32,004 I'm in charge of trying to do the best I can for 203 00:09:32,004 --> 00:09:34,807 Jesus, and hopefully Chris is following that with me. 204 00:09:35,174 --> 00:09:40,012 It's it's you've got the same purpose that you're trying to accomplish, 205 00:09:40,346 --> 00:09:44,784 and someone may be just different perspective than you have are. 206 00:09:44,784 --> 00:09:46,986 And it's not because of status or anything else. 207 00:09:47,253 --> 00:09:49,488 It's just because that's what God's given them. 208 00:09:49,755 --> 00:09:52,825 You understand pain where some people won't understand pain 209 00:09:52,825 --> 00:09:54,794 because you've experienced pain in your life. 210 00:09:54,794 --> 00:09:57,797 Yes, and you've related that pain to some of the pain 211 00:09:57,797 --> 00:09:59,899 that I have physical pain. 212 00:09:59,899 --> 00:10:02,034 And that helps me understand I'm not alone. 213 00:10:02,034 --> 00:10:07,106 And all of a sudden you building something that can grow into something incredible. 214 00:10:07,106 --> 00:10:08,374 You're exactly right. 215 00:10:08,374 --> 00:10:10,176 You know, whether you realize it or not. 216 00:10:10,176 --> 00:10:11,577 If you're a leader of the past, 217 00:10:11,577 --> 00:10:15,381 you, your leader, you influence people, whether you want to or not, because. 218 00:10:15,381 --> 00:10:17,149 Bad or ugly or indifferent? 219 00:10:17,149 --> 00:10:17,817 That's right. 220 00:10:17,817 --> 00:10:22,088 And it's it's my responsibility as a follower to test those spirits 221 00:10:22,388 --> 00:10:26,325 and not become another follower of David Koresh or Jim Jones or anything like that. 222 00:10:26,325 --> 00:10:27,493 And that's what the scripture says. 223 00:10:27,493 --> 00:10:28,761 That's not actually what it's. 224 00:10:28,761 --> 00:10:30,963 Real quickly because I think this is important. 225 00:10:30,997 --> 00:10:33,099 How do you test that, Chris? 226 00:10:33,099 --> 00:10:36,335 I test that by seeing if it's from the love or the love of God. 227 00:10:36,802 --> 00:10:39,672 Does it parallel with God's word? Exactly. 228 00:10:40,039 --> 00:10:41,974 We teach that a lot at Christchurch. 229 00:10:41,974 --> 00:10:45,845 We taught that just this last weekend that I thought was really powerful message. 230 00:10:46,946 --> 00:10:49,849 I wasn't preaching, so I promise I it was really good. 231 00:10:49,849 --> 00:10:50,850 It was a great message. 232 00:10:50,850 --> 00:10:55,488 And the important part of that that I think we all need to grab on to is, 233 00:10:55,921 --> 00:10:56,622 are we? 234 00:10:56,622 --> 00:10:57,623 Following people 235 00:10:57,623 --> 00:11:01,527 that are following Jesus, I mean, it's got to always come back to that. 236 00:11:01,527 --> 00:11:06,032 Exactly sense, gosh, so important, and we see examples of that all the time 237 00:11:06,032 --> 00:11:09,535 when that doesn't happen and it can happen and it can happen to anyone. 238 00:11:09,568 --> 00:11:11,270 Amen. It does it well. 239 00:11:11,270 --> 00:11:15,274 And how many of you are listening and you've been led down the wrong way? 240 00:11:15,307 --> 00:11:19,278 I know I have an even in church work, and I thought there were things 241 00:11:19,278 --> 00:11:22,581 that I fought over that were not kingdom issues. Yes. 242 00:11:22,815 --> 00:11:25,618 And I think those are things 243 00:11:25,618 --> 00:11:28,954 that the devil tries to use against us, and it's ignorance. 244 00:11:28,954 --> 00:11:32,391 We need to make sure that if we're fighting over something, that's something 245 00:11:32,391 --> 00:11:37,496 that we think is important to advance the Kingdom of God. 246 00:11:37,496 --> 00:11:39,532 If we're teaching Christian leadership, 247 00:11:39,532 --> 00:11:43,669 even whether you're at UK or that's University of Kentucky. 248 00:11:43,703 --> 00:11:45,538 For those of you listening. United Kingdom. 249 00:11:45,538 --> 00:11:50,476 Just in case wherever you are, you're doing it because you want people 250 00:11:50,476 --> 00:11:54,280 to understand that you love Jesus, and that's the example 251 00:11:54,280 --> 00:11:55,414 you're going to set for them. 252 00:11:55,414 --> 00:11:56,348 And I think to that. 253 00:11:56,348 --> 00:11:57,149 There we go. 254 00:11:57,149 --> 00:11:59,151 That changes lives, guys. 255 00:11:59,151 --> 00:12:00,953 Changes lives from the inside out. 256 00:12:00,953 --> 00:12:03,222 Oh, you got them going now? Here we go. 257 00:12:03,222 --> 00:12:04,256 Oh, freezing. 258 00:12:05,324 --> 00:12:06,792 Hallelujah. 259 00:12:07,259 --> 00:12:08,527 Love that! 260 00:12:08,661 --> 00:12:11,163 Thank you, Jesus. That was beautiful. Amen. 261 00:12:11,330 --> 00:12:13,399 So now we know there's two types of followers. 262 00:12:13,399 --> 00:12:16,936 You remember that it's role based follower or the relational based follower, 263 00:12:17,136 --> 00:12:21,540 and you're probably both types at various points in your life and in every day. 264 00:12:21,974 --> 00:12:26,112 But of those two types, the most recognized followership typology 265 00:12:26,112 --> 00:12:28,047 is something known as the Kelly typology, 266 00:12:28,047 --> 00:12:31,617 and it comes from Robert Kelly in his book The Power of Followership. 267 00:12:31,684 --> 00:12:31,984 Mm-Hmm. 268 00:12:32,284 --> 00:12:36,689 Kelly argues that the power of followers usually goes unrecognized. 269 00:12:36,689 --> 00:12:39,091 I would agree with that. Sure. 270 00:12:39,091 --> 00:12:42,061 Followers are a vital part of leadership process. 271 00:12:42,061 --> 00:12:44,096 This is what Kelly argues. 272 00:12:44,096 --> 00:12:48,200 Kelly emphasized that the motivations of followers and their behavior. 273 00:12:48,367 --> 00:12:49,435 And he used those 274 00:12:49,435 --> 00:12:54,206 to create the goal of followership, which he calls exemplary followership. 275 00:12:54,206 --> 00:12:58,010 And that means the highest level of follower can become OK. 276 00:12:58,511 --> 00:13:02,114 So it's kind of I want to reach this mountain. 277 00:13:02,281 --> 00:13:03,315 Yes, thing. 278 00:13:03,315 --> 00:13:07,520 I picture this in your mind that followers have two styles independent 279 00:13:07,520 --> 00:13:11,524 and critical thinking or dependent and uncritical thinking. 280 00:13:12,091 --> 00:13:16,028 Can you think about followers that follow you at church day that go into each group 281 00:13:16,028 --> 00:13:20,900 independent and critical thinking and dependent and uncritical thinking? 282 00:13:21,367 --> 00:13:23,068 Yeah, absolutely. 283 00:13:23,068 --> 00:13:27,807 And I think a lot of it's just people will be more out to learn from you 284 00:13:27,807 --> 00:13:31,177 when when you come with them, with the right heart and the right, and that's it. 285 00:13:31,177 --> 00:13:32,511 That's exactly it. 286 00:13:32,511 --> 00:13:35,481 So if we use those two dimensions, according to Kelly, 287 00:13:35,714 --> 00:13:37,883 we get five follower types. 288 00:13:38,350 --> 00:13:41,387 So these are the five types of followers that we all are. 289 00:13:41,821 --> 00:13:45,558 And just because you're one in one place doesn't mean you're the same one 290 00:13:45,558 --> 00:13:46,325 in another place, 291 00:13:46,325 --> 00:13:49,361 you can be a different type of follower everywhere that you are a follower. 292 00:13:50,763 --> 00:13:52,498 So the first of those five types 293 00:13:52,498 --> 00:13:56,735 are called passive followers, some people refer to these people as sheep. 294 00:13:57,002 --> 00:14:00,639 And these are the people that look to the leader for direction and motivation. 295 00:14:00,673 --> 00:14:01,540 Have you heard of these? 296 00:14:01,540 --> 00:14:04,076 Do you have any people like that that follow you? Sure. 297 00:14:04,109 --> 00:14:08,781 And you know, I think in certain situations, 298 00:14:08,781 --> 00:14:12,685 that's that doesn't seem like it's a bad thing, but for the most part, 299 00:14:12,685 --> 00:14:16,088 they're not actually putting anything into it. 300 00:14:16,088 --> 00:14:20,492 And so honestly, in that situation, it's not like they're doing 301 00:14:20,492 --> 00:14:22,962 what the shepherd says. They're just kind of back. 302 00:14:22,962 --> 00:14:25,731 They're not helping out and doing anything right. 303 00:14:25,831 --> 00:14:27,600 Is that right? That's right. 304 00:14:27,600 --> 00:14:30,436 But let me say this there is a good time to be a sheep. 305 00:14:30,436 --> 00:14:32,504 Normally it's not a good thing. It's good. 306 00:14:32,538 --> 00:14:35,541 But when we follow Christ, we are to be a sheep to his shepherd. 307 00:14:35,641 --> 00:14:38,711 And yeah, and the Bible's very clear on that. 308 00:14:39,011 --> 00:14:42,548 We are a bunch of sheep and the only way we can make it through 309 00:14:42,548 --> 00:14:44,149 this life is under his hand. 310 00:14:44,149 --> 00:14:45,885 He's the. Chevrolet Man. 311 00:14:45,885 --> 00:14:47,753 The Lord is my shepherd. 312 00:14:47,753 --> 00:14:48,821 Amen. There you go. 313 00:14:48,821 --> 00:14:51,624 So as a leader, do you want sheep following you? 314 00:14:53,058 --> 00:14:54,660 No, very good. 315 00:14:54,660 --> 00:14:55,861 Very good. 316 00:14:56,128 --> 00:14:59,465 So let's move on, the second type of follower is the conformist. 317 00:14:59,498 --> 00:15:01,767 These are the yes men, the yes people. 318 00:15:02,134 --> 00:15:04,670 These are the people that are always on the leader side, 319 00:15:04,670 --> 00:15:07,306 but they still look to the leader for direction and guidance. 320 00:15:07,907 --> 00:15:10,542 And the problem with that is 321 00:15:11,443 --> 00:15:15,581 they're not again, they're not helping the situation. 322 00:15:15,581 --> 00:15:16,949 They're just making the person 323 00:15:16,949 --> 00:15:19,885 think they're doing the right thing when they may be doing the wrong thing 324 00:15:20,219 --> 00:15:22,054 and they're going to end up not getting anywhere. 325 00:15:22,054 --> 00:15:24,023 And then they're going to wonder why you're right. 326 00:15:24,023 --> 00:15:27,459 And you know, there was a time when I was a fighter, when I was a top ten fighter. 327 00:15:27,760 --> 00:15:30,129 Yes, people kind of gravitated towards me. 328 00:15:30,129 --> 00:15:32,264 Everything that I said was the funniest joke 329 00:15:32,264 --> 00:15:35,200 they'd ever heard in their life and in every point that I made 330 00:15:35,200 --> 00:15:38,170 was absolute brilliance, and that can start to affect you. 331 00:15:38,203 --> 00:15:40,472 That's because they were scared of you. 332 00:15:40,472 --> 00:15:41,573 I hope not. 333 00:15:41,573 --> 00:15:43,809 I felt a little bit. They saw what they saw. 334 00:15:44,276 --> 00:15:47,613 The thing is, they didn't see the real you or they wouldn't have been. 335 00:15:47,613 --> 00:15:49,949 And that's that's that's it, though I think sometimes 336 00:15:50,282 --> 00:15:52,918 we gravitate towards things we think we want to be, 337 00:15:52,918 --> 00:15:55,287 and we don't really get to find out who that really is. 338 00:15:55,321 --> 00:15:56,188 That's true. 339 00:15:56,188 --> 00:15:59,158 It's a collar. You get on each one of these. 340 00:15:59,158 --> 00:16:01,727 They have levels like onions that you can just through. 341 00:16:01,727 --> 00:16:04,897 So strip away and look at different things, but we'll keep going. 342 00:16:04,930 --> 00:16:06,498 So let's keep real on this one. 343 00:16:06,498 --> 00:16:09,435 When you have conformist followers and I've only asked you to name 344 00:16:09,435 --> 00:16:10,169 any of that, you do. 345 00:16:10,169 --> 00:16:12,171 Do they really contribute anything 346 00:16:12,171 --> 00:16:14,907 when they come to the meeting and just agree with everything you say? 347 00:16:15,374 --> 00:16:18,644 No. In fact, if anything, they can mislead me. 348 00:16:18,944 --> 00:16:21,347 They can make me think I'm going down the right path. 349 00:16:21,480 --> 00:16:22,915 Absolutely not. 350 00:16:22,915 --> 00:16:25,918 And they didn't have enough gumption to tell me. 351 00:16:25,918 --> 00:16:27,186 So that's a fair point. 352 00:16:27,186 --> 00:16:30,022 So the third type is an alienated follower. 353 00:16:30,289 --> 00:16:31,490 These are the people who do 354 00:16:31,490 --> 00:16:34,760 think for themselves, but they just bring a lot of negative energy. 355 00:16:34,760 --> 00:16:35,794 And maybe they're kind 356 00:16:35,794 --> 00:16:38,664 of the opposite of a conformist and there will be, you know, people. 357 00:16:38,931 --> 00:16:39,531 Oh yeah. 358 00:16:39,531 --> 00:16:45,070 And another thing that can that can really hurt a leader is when 359 00:16:45,070 --> 00:16:49,742 all they're getting is cynicism change, you know, negative, Nancy, if you will. 360 00:16:49,742 --> 00:16:50,943 That's a tough environment. 361 00:16:50,943 --> 00:16:54,847 It is, and you're not going to grow, you're not going to do anything. 362 00:16:55,080 --> 00:16:58,317 You're just going to kind of sit there like you're you're walking on 363 00:16:58,684 --> 00:17:02,654 on the same area over and over and over and over, and you're not 364 00:17:02,654 --> 00:17:04,423 you're not getting anywhere. 365 00:17:04,423 --> 00:17:06,892 No one grows and it doesn't help anyone, correct? 366 00:17:07,226 --> 00:17:09,895 So the fourth type is called the pragmatic followers. 367 00:17:09,895 --> 00:17:11,663 These are the fence sitters. 368 00:17:11,663 --> 00:17:15,300 These people support the status quo, but they don't get on board with anything 369 00:17:15,300 --> 00:17:17,036 until someone else does. 370 00:17:17,036 --> 00:17:18,737 They wait and see what the crowd does, 371 00:17:18,737 --> 00:17:21,040 and then that's what they're going to do as well. 372 00:17:21,040 --> 00:17:23,208 Which obviously isn't good. 373 00:17:23,609 --> 00:17:27,679 No, because we're not looking for people to follow everybody else. 374 00:17:27,679 --> 00:17:31,417 We're looking for someone to lead people to go the right way. 375 00:17:31,450 --> 00:17:34,486 And again, I have to reemphasize 376 00:17:34,820 --> 00:17:38,891 as we talk about each of these things thinking the pattern of following Christ. 377 00:17:39,191 --> 00:17:39,691 And the. 378 00:17:39,691 --> 00:17:43,529 Pattern of what's it look like for me to be a person 379 00:17:43,529 --> 00:17:46,932 following Jesus, leading other people to follow Jesus? 380 00:17:46,932 --> 00:17:47,900 Oh, that's so good. 381 00:17:47,900 --> 00:17:49,001 Amen. Right. 382 00:17:49,001 --> 00:17:51,837 That well, that's the key, I think, for Christian leadership 383 00:17:51,837 --> 00:17:54,306 and Christ centered leadership, which is our goal here. 384 00:17:54,339 --> 00:17:59,278 So the fifth type, these are the types that Tilly call the exemplary followers. 385 00:17:59,311 --> 00:18:01,480 These are called the star followers. 386 00:18:01,480 --> 00:18:02,548 They're active. 387 00:18:02,548 --> 00:18:03,615 They're positive, 388 00:18:03,615 --> 00:18:07,352 and they provide independent, constructive criticism to the leader. 389 00:18:07,453 --> 00:18:10,122 They don't just complain. They tell them how to make it better. 390 00:18:10,122 --> 00:18:10,989 And that's good. 391 00:18:10,989 --> 00:18:14,760 You have to have somebody that you're not afraid to argue 392 00:18:14,760 --> 00:18:17,830 with or have a different opinion with that. 393 00:18:17,830 --> 00:18:21,467 You know that at the end of it, you both can come to a conclusion that may 394 00:18:21,700 --> 00:18:24,136 you both have some good side insight to it. 395 00:18:24,470 --> 00:18:26,405 And so I think that's really important. 396 00:18:26,405 --> 00:18:29,975 I know I've got a few people on my team that I really trust, and I would call them 397 00:18:29,975 --> 00:18:30,909 star followers. 398 00:18:30,909 --> 00:18:33,545 And when I have an idea that may be just a little too crazy, 399 00:18:33,545 --> 00:18:36,648 I'll pull them aside and say, Let me, let me bounce something off of you. 400 00:18:36,648 --> 00:18:39,818 Tell me what you think about this, and I know they're going to tell me the truth. 401 00:18:39,818 --> 00:18:43,722 They're not going to immediately agree or disagree, and I really value that. 402 00:18:43,989 --> 00:18:45,791 That's that's what we all need. 403 00:18:45,791 --> 00:18:47,359 Do you have star followers, Dave? 404 00:18:47,359 --> 00:18:52,998 100%, and I have people that I know that even if they don't agree with me, well, 405 00:18:52,998 --> 00:18:56,802 we can work it out and follow together and and learn to. 406 00:18:57,069 --> 00:18:58,871 Sometimes I think in leadership, 407 00:18:58,871 --> 00:19:02,908 you have to agree to disagree, but also work towards the final goal. 408 00:19:03,142 --> 00:19:05,344 And the goal is what are you trying to accomplish? 409 00:19:05,644 --> 00:19:07,813 Oh, I agree. I agree completely. 410 00:19:08,113 --> 00:19:10,983 So those are the follower types, according to Kelly. 411 00:19:11,350 --> 00:19:15,354 And we can break that down and say that the star followers have four qualities 412 00:19:15,754 --> 00:19:17,990 they self manage and think for themselves. 413 00:19:18,390 --> 00:19:21,226 They have a strong commitment to organizational goals. 414 00:19:21,593 --> 00:19:22,761 They build competence 415 00:19:22,761 --> 00:19:27,232 and they master their job skills, and they're ethical and courageous. 416 00:19:27,232 --> 00:19:29,168 We may not normally think of a follower 417 00:19:29,168 --> 00:19:31,870 as courageous, but if you're a star follower, you're courageous. 418 00:19:32,304 --> 00:19:33,472 I think that's important. 419 00:19:33,472 --> 00:19:34,373 I don't know about you, 420 00:19:34,373 --> 00:19:37,876 but when I was in kindergarten, my goal was to get one of those stars I. 421 00:19:37,876 --> 00:19:39,444 Want to star. You're right. 422 00:19:39,444 --> 00:19:42,781 So it's kind of funny that we're back there in kindergarten 423 00:19:42,781 --> 00:19:45,918 trying to get that star because I think that should be kind 424 00:19:45,918 --> 00:19:48,086 of what we're all trying to head to. It is. 425 00:19:48,420 --> 00:19:51,190 And, you know, followership is so big we decided to break this down 426 00:19:51,190 --> 00:19:52,491 into two episodes. This is. 427 00:19:52,491 --> 00:19:54,693 The last topic we're going to cover in this episode, 428 00:19:54,993 --> 00:19:57,696 but it's an important one, it's called reversing the lens. 429 00:19:57,963 --> 00:20:00,532 This is something that just recently came out. 430 00:20:00,899 --> 00:20:04,603 In fact, my notes say it's the most recent study and followership. 431 00:20:04,970 --> 00:20:08,740 And it's rather than focusing on how the leader affects the followers, 432 00:20:08,740 --> 00:20:13,011 we reverse the lens and we see how the followers affect the leaders. 433 00:20:13,378 --> 00:20:16,515 In this approach, we're interested in the impact of followers, 434 00:20:16,748 --> 00:20:19,551 their characteristics and how their characteristics 435 00:20:19,551 --> 00:20:21,687 affect the leaders behaviors. 436 00:20:21,687 --> 00:20:23,822 Have you been affected by a follower? 437 00:20:23,822 --> 00:20:25,257 Sure, 100%. 438 00:20:25,257 --> 00:20:31,063 I think everyone has had it in different ways, and we have to be honest about that. 439 00:20:31,096 --> 00:20:33,498 There's good and there's bad, and you have to shoot straight 440 00:20:33,498 --> 00:20:35,901 with yourself to figure out which one you need to follow. 441 00:20:35,901 --> 00:20:37,903 And hopefully it's good. You're so true. 442 00:20:38,103 --> 00:20:39,771 The field of leadership is so young. 443 00:20:39,771 --> 00:20:43,842 We are just now beginning to study the impact of followers have on leaders. 444 00:20:43,842 --> 00:20:44,643 We've all felt it. 445 00:20:44,643 --> 00:20:47,179 We know it exists, but there's very few studies about it. 446 00:20:47,646 --> 00:20:51,883 Yeah, I think one of the things we all need to work on, myself 447 00:20:51,883 --> 00:20:55,954 included, is why I lead and it comes back 448 00:20:55,954 --> 00:20:59,391 to what we've been talking about and we'll talk more about that in a few seconds. 449 00:20:59,391 --> 00:21:00,292 Absolutely. 450 00:21:00,292 --> 00:21:01,059 So the last statement 451 00:21:01,059 --> 00:21:04,429 I've got about this and this is regarding reversing the lens again. 452 00:21:04,796 --> 00:21:09,301 Leaders use their power to influence followers and in turn, followers 453 00:21:09,301 --> 00:21:12,738 use their power to either comply or challenge the leader. 454 00:21:13,005 --> 00:21:13,672 There you go. 455 00:21:13,672 --> 00:21:16,708 So what you're saying is we're working together. 456 00:21:16,742 --> 00:21:19,044 Exactly. Leadership is a give and take. 457 00:21:19,044 --> 00:21:21,847 Its followers and leaders were together on this. 458 00:21:21,913 --> 00:21:23,782 Amen. Amen. 459 00:21:23,782 --> 00:21:25,951 Matthew, 16, 24, says this. 460 00:21:25,951 --> 00:21:29,888 Then Jesus told his disciples, If anyone would come after me, 461 00:21:29,888 --> 00:21:32,991 let him deny himself, take up his cross 462 00:21:32,991 --> 00:21:35,627 and follow me. 463 00:21:36,328 --> 00:21:40,365 The goal for this is walking in life 464 00:21:40,365 --> 00:21:43,969 that we have is Am I following Jesus, man? 465 00:21:44,102 --> 00:21:46,138 And 14 six of John? 466 00:21:46,138 --> 00:21:49,941 He says this, Jesus said to him, I am the way the truth in life. 467 00:21:50,142 --> 00:21:53,278 No one comes to the father except through me. 468 00:21:53,312 --> 00:21:53,979 Amen. 469 00:21:53,979 --> 00:21:55,380 You want to be a follower? 470 00:21:55,380 --> 00:21:56,915 Follow Jesus. 471 00:21:56,915 --> 00:21:59,151 That's the goal. That's what we have to do. 472 00:21:59,184 --> 00:22:01,086 That's what we want you to do. 473 00:22:01,086 --> 00:22:04,189 Tell us, maybe, if you will, some things where you've learned 474 00:22:04,189 --> 00:22:07,326 following Jesus change your whole leadership pattern. Yes. 475 00:22:07,592 --> 00:22:08,760 Share with that with us. 476 00:22:08,760 --> 00:22:10,629 We don't want to just talk to you. 477 00:22:10,629 --> 00:22:11,797 We want to learn from you. 478 00:22:11,797 --> 00:22:16,234 So let us also be able to learn from some of the things 479 00:22:16,234 --> 00:22:18,337 that you want to share with us. We'd love to hear from you. 480 00:22:18,370 --> 00:22:19,504 How can they do that, Chris? 481 00:22:19,504 --> 00:22:21,340 Go to lead 1212 dot com. 482 00:22:21,340 --> 00:22:22,841 Have a great day and God bless. 483 00:22:25,577 --> 00:22:26,211 This is 484 00:22:26,211 --> 00:22:30,115 an LBC production which stands for pounds, if you knew that or not, 485 00:22:30,115 --> 00:22:33,752 but it also stands for laughing because we're safe. 486 00:22:33,985 --> 00:22:37,422 But we kind of like the panel, so I'm Chris will lift them 487 00:22:37,422 --> 00:22:40,492 and I will gain them and we will have a great time. 488 00:22:40,525 --> 00:22:41,259 Thanks for listening.

Do followers have an ethical responsibility? Do followers have influence over the leader? The study of followership is very new in the field of leadership and is only now becoming studied in depth. Learn how as a follower to avoid situations like David Koresh of the Branch Davidians and Jim Jones. God uses you every once in a while, you just have to let him do it!

What is Followership?

Without followers, there can be no leaders. Up until now we examined how leaders’ efforts affect the work of followers in various ways. For example, we focused was on how leaders motivate people to engage in adaptive work. Well today we are primarily concerned with followers and the critical role they play in the leadership process. The act of leading needs the act of following.

For a lot of people, being a follower and the process of Followership can have bad associations. Throughout history, it is leaders that have always taken center stage, and not followers. Children are taught early in school that it is better to be a leader instead of a follower. In athletics, recognition is given to leaders, not team members. Frequently, when someone applies for jobs, they are questioned about their leadership capabilities, not their followership activities. It is evident, society applauds leadership abilities, not followership abilities. It is simply more interesting to discuss how leaders use their power than it is to discuss how followers respond to power.

 Only recently have a few studies on Followership been published, and those have been by Meindl in 1990 and Chaleff in 1995. Historically, leadership research has only concentrated on the characteristics, roles, and behaviors. At the same time, the impact of followers on organizational outcomes has received little attention.

In “The Art of Followership: How Great Followers Create Great Leaders and Organizations,” Chaleff argues the world needs more followers, more team players, more people called to service, and people committed to something outside of themselves.

The term Followership has different meanings for some people, and this can be negative for some. A positive example can be soldiers following orders from a platoon leader to complete a mission or passengers following the boarding agent’s instructions to board the plane. But what about the followers of David Koresh of the Branch Davidians, or followers of Jim Jones. So we can see that Followership can be positive or negative as it plays out in different settings.

Followers have an ethical duty to consider the morality of their actions and the outcomes of what they do as a follower. 1 John 4:1 tells us that we are to test the spirits to see if they are from God, and continuing on 1 John 4:8 tells us that anyone who does not love does not know God because God is love. 

With this in mind, we should see that leaders who are genuine and worth following are those who act in love.

Types of Followers

Followership can be divided into two groups, role-based and relational-based. Role-based focuses on followers in a hierarchical system, like staff on the org chart. In this case, their duty is to be an engaged follower and have a positive outcome on the organization.

Relational-based Followership is from a social constructivist perspective, such as a fitness instructor and an individual in an exercise class.

The Kelley Typology

The most recognized form of followership typology is known as the Kelley typology and comes from Robert Kelley in his book “The Power of Followership.”  Kelley argues that the power of followers usually goes unrecognized and that followers are a vital part of the leadership process. Kelley emphasized the motivations of followers and follower behavior and used these to form the goal of Followership, which he calls “Exemplary Followership.”

According to Kelley, followers have two styles, independent and critical thinking, or dependent and uncritical thinking. And these two dimensions give us five follower types.

  1.  Passive followers, sometimes called “sheep,” are the people that look to the leader for direction and motivation.
  2. Conformist followers, sometimes called “yes people,” are the people that are always on the leader’s side and still look to the leader for direction and guidance.
  3. Alienated followers – These people think for themselves and exhibit a lot of negative energy.
  4. Pragmatic followers sometimes called “fence sitters,” support the status quo but do not get on board with anything until others do.
  5. Exemplary followers sometimes called “star” followers, are active and positive and provide independent constructive criticism.

Based on these follower types, we can see that effective followers have four qualities. 1) They self-manage and think for themselves. 2). They have a strong commitment to organizational goals. 3). They build competence and master job skills. 4). They are ethical and courageous.

Reversing the Lens

One of the most recent studies in Followership is the approach called “Reversing the Lens.” Rather than focus on how leaders affect followers, reversing the lens focuses on how followers affect leaders. In this approach, we are interested in the impact of followers’ characteristics and how they leaders’ behaviors.

Reversing the lens shows us that leadership is a co-created process where Followership is a give-and-take process in which the followers’ behaviors interact with the leaders’ behaviors to create the resulting outcome.

Leaders use their power to influence followers, and in turn, followers use their power to either comply or challenge the leader.

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