Leadership is Half the Story

"Leadership is not about being in charge but about taking care of those in your charge." Can the workplace truly thrive on shared leadership and empowered followership?

1. Leadership Is Shifting from Individualism to Collaboration

The traditional concept of leadership, marked by self-reliance and top-down control, no longer suits today's workplace. Work is now more collaborative, requiring integration across teams rather than an individual driving success. The ethos of teamwork has replaced old paradigms, paving the way for dynamic working relationships.

By the 2010s, teamwork drove 80% of workplace activities—an incredible leap from just 20% in the 1980s. Collaborative processes, especially in creative and high-paced industries, emphasize synergy rather than solo brilliance. The modern workforce, often called the "we generation," thrives on cooperation.

However, collaboration isn’t just about getting along; it necessitates communication, empathy, and adaptability. An individual who lacks these skills faces challenges when trying to contribute effectively to solutions-driven teams.

Examples

• The rise of open office spaces reflects the emphasis on teamwork and shared goals.
• Tech firms like Google and Apple value collaborative projects over isolated achievements.
• Sports teams winning championships underline how cooperation outshines solo performance.

2. The Importance of Agility in an Ever-Changing Job Market

Job tenures are steadily shrinking, averaging 4.6 years across various industries. Employees now experience frequent job changes, necessitating a need to adapt quickly to new environments. Agility—especially social agility—has become an indispensable part of workplace success.

Transitioning between roles and organizations means integrating rapidly into different workplace cultures. The ability to meet new colleagues, understand varying leadership styles, and adjust to novel tasks dramatically improves performance and satisfaction. Agility isn’t just about tolerating change—it’s about thriving in it.

To succeed, social adaptability ensures you can navigate new dynamics and make valuable contributions from the start.

Examples

• A consulting firm rotating its employees across projects teaches adaptability early.
• Start-ups undergoing rapid growth constantly evolve their corporate structures, challenging team members to adapt.
• Industries like hospitality or customer service expose individuals to a diverse customer and colleague base, fostering agility.

3. Generative Partnerships Foster Innovation

Generative partnership is an approach where team members alternate roles of leader and follower depending on the situation. Leaders frame tasks, while followers execute them, but these roles are flexible.

Take the Beatles’ iconic “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” album—each band member contributed ideas, and leadership shifted based on who had the best creative direction. The absence of rigid hierarchy unlocked their collective genius, creating one of history’s most innovative albums.

Generative partnerships thrive because they foster trust, recognize everyone’s strengths, and channel energy toward shared goals instead of personal ambition.

Examples

• Collaborative tech projects demonstrate how dynamic roles lead to groundbreaking software, like Linux or open-source platforms.
• Effective brainstorming sessions show that riding on the best idea, not the loudest voice, produces superior outcomes.
• Crisis response teams allocate temporary leadership roles dynamically for efficiency and success.

4. Followership Drives Team Performance

Followership often carries a stigma, suggesting weakness or passivity, but it’s core to high-functioning teams. Being a skilled follower means actively supporting a leader’s vision while bringing your initiative and ideas to the table.

Studies by Podsakoff and MacKenzie reveal how strong followership improves various business metrics: customer satisfaction, sales, and product quality. Performance indicators improve by up to 34% in environments with aligned followers.

Organizations that value followership outperform rigid hierarchies since followers build the groundwork for success.

Examples

• Military doctrines often emphasize followership as essential for cohesive operations.
• TED speaker Derek Sivers illustrates followership's power by showing how movements grow from a few who initiate by following.
• Start-ups with flat hierarchies benefit when everyone contributes as active “followers.”

5. Strong Followers Get Ahead Faster

Followership isn’t just about helping the company; it significantly enhances career prospects. Those proficient at followership skills—like translating a leader’s vision into actionable outcomes—gain promotions faster and earn higher salaries.

A 2005 study showed that effective followers climb professional ladders quickly. They also enjoy greater professional autonomy as leaders trust them to implement decisions independently. Companies prioritize employees who proactively align with corporate objectives and show initiative within the scope of their roles.

Examples

• Rising stars in sales departments often act as dependable bridges between management directives and client satisfaction.
• Harvard Business Review articles often highlight a shift in priority from technical skills to teamwork efficiency in hiring.
• Successful managers value collaborators whose followership ensures seamless execution.

6. Leadership Is About Knowing When to Step Aside

Effective leaders blend direction-giving with stepping back when others hold expertise. Making frequent “passes,” akin to basketball plays, allows the best team member for the task to lead in specific contexts.

Leaders, like Kevin McKenna of Phoenix Contact, empower creativity by leaving space for team members’ ideas. By letting colleagues own decision-making moments, leaders cultivate a shared sense of accountability and openness.

This flexibility enables teams to reach goals while growing their sense of ownership over the work.

Examples

• Coaches who rotate team captains ensure every player takes responsibility for leadership.
• Crisis management teams often follow the most informed voices present—even if they rank lower.
• Design teams emphasized through agile frameworks highlight situational leadership shifts for optimal output.

7. Training Leaders to Adapt Is Vital

Leadership requires not only confidence but awareness of context and timing. Companies can reinforce these qualities by offering leadership training. A proactive coaching program helps leaders balance decision-making moments with knowing when to step back.

Those who have undergone leadership coaching typically maintain team morale while meeting major deliverables. Proper training ensures leaders stay flexible and avoid being overbearing.

Examples

• Leadership development workshops by firms like McKinsey emphasize understanding team dynamics.
• General Electric’s executive training prepares leaders for diverse leadership styles.
• Mentorship programs in enterprises often simulate real-world leadership scenarios.

8. Followership Redefines Workplace Independence

Rather than blindly adhering to a leader, good followers are independent thinkers. They challenge ideas, constructively critique decisions, and improve processes by contributing furiously when necessary and holding back when appropriate.

True collaboration relies on frictionless partnerships where followers don't hesitate to offer contrary views if it serves team goals. Effective followers act as dependable counterbalances.

Examples

• Peer-review systems in engineering greatly benefit from follower critiques.
• Warren Buffett credits strong yet reflective independent thinkers in his team for Berkshire Hathaway’s success.
• Democracy thrives on leaders being shaped by the views of their hypothetical “followers.”

9. Hierarchy Must Be Reimagined in Fluid Teams

The twenty-first-century workplace grants authority based more on expertise than ranks. Flattening rigid hierarchies promotes agility and innovation. Team members who independently allocate tasks based on merit move faster and achieve results that rigid role-division blocks.

“Leadership is Half the Story” encourages organizations to ditch archaic corporate hierarchical notions. Workflows benefit from enhanced trust among peers rather than formal bureaucracy-delimited commands.

Examples

• Agile technology companies grow faster with non-hierarchical operations.
• Hospitals embrace triage-based systems where hierarchies are contextual.
• Historical teamwork examples like Apollo 13’s recovery mission abound where process trumps hierarchy.

Takeaways

1. Emphasize training not just for leaders but for building strong, active followers who value initiative and collaboration alongside listening skills.
2. Reevaluate hierarchical systems in your workplace and experiment with dynamic leadership, letting expertise steer the ship instead of only titles or tenure.
3. Share innovative ways to turn your “followers” into co-leaders by granting autonomy during pertinent tasks and consistently valuing new perspectives.