Canadian HR Reporter

CANADIAN HR REPORTER May 18, 2015 12 EXECUTIVE SERIES holders. These were feedback sessions and then they would see what their reaction to the feed- back was — that was the explicit test. "e implicit test was, do you as a senior executive also book a meeting with your leader and also get feedback from them?" said Marc. "Implicitly, they recog- nized followership as being a huge driver for the potential of senior executives." The bank estimated this ap- proach saved them about $750,000 per person, he said. It's important to consciously think about followership behav- iours and how to develop fol- lowership skills, said Samantha — and it's not as difficult as it may initially seem. "When you put your mind to it, you can distinguish your leader- ship behaviour from your follow- ership behaviour and, in fact, we can distinguish the behaviour of others when we pay attention to the two different roles." Once you have that under- standing, it's easier to establish role clarity, said Marc. "Not being clear in the roles and expectations can have a huge productivity and interpersonal impact in our organizations." Clarify roles FOLLOWER < pg. 10 Delving into what makes great followers long overdue idea Talent management and development in organizations is largely focused on lead- ership development. There may be a leadership development curriculum or institute, but few have heard of one for followership development. e bulk of the organization — the followers — are often lumped under "team." Skills sought and training provided are then cen- tred around teamwork. While we all are followers, the term follower has taken on a stigma. Somehow, being a team mem- ber is more accepted than being a follower, yet the bulk of a team is composed of those who follow a team leader. Followers do the work and delv- ing into what makes great follow- ers is long overdue. In Leadership is Half the Story, Marc and Samantha Hurwitz provide insights into the specific role and tasks of a follower and the skills required. One meta- phor they use is that of dance partners. ey explore the partnership dynamic between a follower and leader and identify complemen- tary skills for each role: Leadership: decision framing, relationship framing, organiza- tional mentoring, cascade com- municating and performance coaching. Fo l l o w e r s h i p : d e c i s i o n advocating, relationship build- ing, organizational agility, dash- board communicating and peak performing. The contrasting roles illus- trate how specific competencies such as creativity or decision- making really have both a lead- ership competency component and a followership competency component, and they highlight the equally important contri- bution each role provides in an organization. Like all models of leadership, the description of leader and fol- lower is not one-size-fits-all. Or- ganizational culture and specific situations may alter what is pos- sible or expected. Follower metaphors cover a large range: dance partners; geese flying in formation and periodi- cally changing leadership for the benefit of the flock; herds stay- ing close together and moving in the same direction for maximum defence; lemmings following the lead regardless of the consequenc- es; symbiotic relationships where each individual pursues his own interests but with a resulting posi- tive outcome for both; managing the boss by manipulation to one's own ends; et cetera. e fact that there are many possibilities does not take away from the value of thinking about what it means to be a follower or to have followers in a broad range of contexts, and providing greater clarity regarding goals, outcomes and expectations. Gwen Moran, writing for Fast Company magazine in the United States, explores some of the thoughts of Barbara Kellerman, James MacGregor Burns lecturer in public leader- ship at Harvard's John F. Ken- nedy School of Government and author of Followership: How Followers are Creating Change and Changing Leaders. Moran concludes: "Followers are much-ma- ligned, but we're all followers in some areas of our lives. And, in that role, we can learn some im- portant skills that make us better leaders." Whether as leader or follower, we can each be more aware of what type of follower we are and what we look for from those who follow us to continue to build an appreciation of the important contributions of followership at work. Karen Gorsline is SCNetwork's lead commentator on strategic capability and leads HR Initiatives, a consult- ing practice focused on facilitation and tailored HR initiatives. Toronto- based, she has taught HR planning, held senior roles in strategy and poli- cy, managed a large decentralized HR function and directed a small busi- ness. She can be reached at gorslin@ pathcom.com. Karen Gorsline Strategic Capability Like all models of leadership, the description of leader and follower is not one-size-fits-all.

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