Should a Leader Be a Follower? What’s a Middle Leader to do?
Quotes are neatly wrapped little packages filled with a lot of meaning. Leadership quotes abound. Some quotes motivate, some encourage, some inspire. For example, this quote attributed to Eleanor Roosevelt: “To handle yourself, use your head: to handle others, use your heart.” Or, this one attributed to Peter F. Drucker: “Management is doing things right: leadership is doing the right things.” Or, how about this one attributed to Max De Pree: “In the end, it is important to remember that we cannot become what we need to be by remaining what we are.”
However, some leadership quotes can be less than encouraging, especially for middle leaders. Take, for example, this quote:
“Leaders think and talk about solutions. Followers think and talk about problems.”
The quote is descriptive, and in some circumstances accurate. But, does it send a message that leadership is superior to followership?
I don’t want to be overly sensitive here. It does seem that much of the leadership literature conveys a message that those at the top of the organizational chart are of more value to the organization than those who are not. It’s not unlike the image of tall buildings casting a shadow on those beneath them.
I’m not the only one to notice this. In her book Followership: How Followers Are Creating Change and Changing Leaders, Barbara Kellerman suggests that the unspoken message of the leadership literature is leadership superiority over those they lead.
Middle leaders can pick up on this unspoken message, giving rise to the feeling that followership is the burden they must carry in order to be a middle leader. Or even worse—to their detriment—a middle leader may fight against the notion that a middle leader must also be a follower.
However, part of what makes a middle leader a middle leader is the follower/leader equation. Of the three hallmarks of a middle leader, #2 two is:
“You know you’re a middle leader when your role calls for you to be both follower and leader. In other words, a middle leader is one who is both led and leader. Middle leaders are led by those above them in the organizational structure, and they lead those below them in the organizational structure…”
I am a middle leader myself. I have the firm conviction that if I deny or resist my followership role I could become—to my detriment— one who wants to lead in the middle of an organization but refuses to accept the full responsibly of middle leadership. That full responsibility includes being a follower. And so, what is a middle leader to do?
First, realize that as a middle leader, followership and leadership go hand in hand. Followership is not merely something you have to put up with because you’re a middle leader; it is in part what makes you a middle leader. Try not to develop one without developing the other. Here’s a great book on the subject: The Courageous Follower.
Second, recognize that navigating leadership in the middle is a balancing act that takes place right in the heart of the organization. You are that link between the dreams, hopes, and mission of the organization and the day to day carrying out of those dreams, hopes and mission. Do everything you can to be both a great leader and a great follower.
Finally, remember that there is only one position in an organization with the ability to influence both upward and downward, and even horizontally—that’s the position of the middle leader. It’s an essential and valuable role.
Though the leadership literature seems to express leadership superiority over those they lead, there is no need to consider the term followership as a pejorative. For the middle leader, followership can be another word for opportunity— the opportunity for leadership, the opportunity for influence and the opportunity for growth. You can hold your head up high. You are a middle leader. You are both follower and leader, and you do both with excellence.