Nov. 5, 2012
The Power of Followership:
Eight Tips to Make Star Followers
SUH Eui-Jung Research Fellow Samsung Economic Research Institute
I. Power of Followership
Organizational structures are increasingly becoming
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. I������������������������������������������
nformation �������������������������������
is being ����������������������
shared across all levels and employees are being given expanded roles,
including some decision-making. However, various
types of employees may lack the demeanor for an
active role.
1 The etymological root of the word "follower" is from the Old High
German �����������������������������������������������������������
word ������������������������������������������������������
"follaziohan," ���������������������������������������
which means ���������������������������
"to assist, succor, or minister to." In this report, “follower” refers to subordinate who helps
the leader achieve positive growth of an organization.
2 Kelley, R.E. (1992). The Power of Followership. Doubleday Business. This is where the most successful leaders come to
fore. They are multipliers3 who look beyond their own
intelligence and focus on extracting and extending
the genius of others. They seek to first understand the
qualities that instill good followership. Followership
largely reflects the disposition, behavior patterns and
thought process originating from the leader.4 And
in a virtuous circle, successful followership produces
successful leadership.
What an organization needs most are "star followers,"
those who display active involvement, critical thinking
and a positive disposition to achieve the organization’s
vision. Unfortunately, star followers take up just 5-10%
of an organization, which make it urgent to cultivate
them. This paper examines the nature of star followers
Week ly Insight
Having a good leader is naturally important to the
success of any organization but its followers,1 those
who perform the myriad of tasks, are just as vital. In
fact, research by Professor Robert Kelley at Carnegie
Mellon University reveals that 80% of the success of
an organization is traced to followers and only 20% to
the leader.2 He said the leader is often given too much
credit while followers are overlooked.
3 Wiseman, L. & McKeown, G. (2012). Multipliers: How the Best Leaders
Make Everyone Smarter. 4 Shin In-Chul. (2007). Followership: The Power that Makes Leaders.
Hans Media Publishing.
5 Kelley, R.E. (1992). The Power of Followership. Doubleday Business. Types of Followers5
Independent, critical thinking
Alienated
15-20%
Passive
Stars
Pragmatists
5-10%
Active
25-30%
5-10%
20-30%
Sheep
Yes people
Dependent, uncritical thinking
Samsung Economic Research Institute 9
Korea Economic Trends
and how an organization can fill its ranks with more of
them.
II. Characteristics of Star Followers
Star followers possess four characteristics5that
facilitate a healthy relationship with management and
contribute significantly to an organization's growth.
They "complement" and "make forthright statements
to" leaders, "conform to organizational goals" and "have
a challenging spirit."
First, star followers understand the organization’s
mission and leverage their strengths to complement
weaknesses that leaders may have. For example, Premier
Zhou Enlai steered China’s postwar foreign policy and
laid the foundation of communist rule with paramount
leader Mao Zedong.
Those who complement are also professionals. Their
main contribution is filling in areas where leaders fall
short. Bill Gates is synonymous with Microsoft but his
co-founder, Paul Allen, actually had more creativity that
led to new innovations and explosive growth.
Second, star followers approach everything with
a critical mindset, and don't hesitate to criticize or
challenge a leader’s decision if it clashes with his or
her beliefs and the organization’s goal. This creative
tension with management that ensues fosters a mutual
stimulation of thoughts and ideas.
Makoto Sataka, a prominent political commentator in
Japan, said the reason for Toyota’s massive recalls was
due to a corporate atmosphere that silenced differing
viewpoints. He complained that decision makers were
surrounded by “yes people” and thus were unable
to truly understand situations due to the absence of
critical opinions.6
Third, star followers link their goal ����������������
to��������������
the organization’s goal and get actively involved. They voluntarily
cooperate and join in activities that are not directly
related to their given duty to support organizational
growth. Mayo Clinic, a leading medical center in the
US, operates under the core principles of “the needs of
the patient comes first," and "The Power of One,”7 with
doctors voluntarily participating in patient treatment.8
Finally, star followers constantly take on challenges
with new ideas and provide insights to the leader. As an
"idea bank" with vast knowledge in a variety of sectors,
they always are seeking new improvements.
6 Japanese Companies: �������������������������������������������
D������������������������������������������
elaying problems without criticism, disregarding the employees, the Han spirit, weakening management.
Why is the situation continuing? February 10, 2011, Tokyo Shimbun.
p22.
7 Noseworthy, J. (2012). Mayo Effect: The Power of One. Great Place to
Work conference, March 28, Atlanta.
8 The "Power of One" principle refers to every employee moving in
the same direction.
Characteristics of Star Followers and How to Cultivate Them
Characteristics of Star Followers
Healthy,
Mutual
Relationship
with Leader
Complements leader
① Make followers feel they are partners
② Open yourself up to followers
Makes forthright statements
③ Be vigilant about conformist thinking
④ Build an environment that welcomes
candid comments.
Goes together with
organization’s goals
⑤ Share the core values of the organization
and explain goals
⑥ Share important information
Follower
Contribute to
Organization’s
Success
10
How to Cultivate Star Followers
Constantly makes
challenges
⑦ Don’t reprimand people for failure;
encourage them to take on challenges
⑧ Create system to allow challenging
ideas to be implemented
Nov. 5, 2012
They like a challenge and are not afraid of jumping
into new areas. Some employees of US multinational
conglomerate 3M continued their research on a liquid
crystal display (LCD)
����������������������������������������
optical film
��������������������������
project that top management had abandoned. As the LCD industry rapidly
expanded, this project eventually became 3M's major
business.9
III. Making Star Followers
The following eight points must be considered when
fostering star followers.
①M
ake followers feel they are leader’s partners.
Jettisoning a top-down relationship can promote
mutual interdependence and facilitate a bigger
impact on the performance of both the leader and
followers.10 Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren
Buffet refers to the firm's Vice Chairman Charlie
Munger as practically his “Siamese twin,” indicating
the extent to which he regards him as an equal. Fair
compensation must also be provided for results.
②P
rovide opportunities for followers to be complementary by opening up. Leaders should not be
ashamed to ask their subordinates questions and
to actively learn about things that subordinates can
do well. If leaders are open about their weak points,
and candidly seek help, followers can concentrate
on what leaders need, devise practical complementary measures, and execute them.
③B
e vigilant about conformist thinking. Tolerating
diverse points of view and allowing conflicts when
appropriate stimulates both leaders and followers,
enabling creative observation and consideration
of problems. Leaders must guard
��������������������
against�������
groupthink where over concern about being in tune with
a leader’�������������������������������������������
��������������������������������������������������
s views stifles an airing of ��������������
opposing opinions. Andy Grove, the former CEO of Intel, strategically injected opposing opinions into meetings
as a “devil’s advocate,” to create an atmosphere
where opinions could be vigorously expressed.
or circumventing
�������������������������������������������
dialogue
�����������������������������
dampens the enthusiasm of followers. Leaders must appreciate discussions that are unpleasant. King Sejong, one of the
greatest rulers in the 5,000 years of Korean history,
warned his subordinates not to indulge in empty
formalities or unconditional praise, and continuously sought their direct advice.11 Leaders must express
their opinions candidly and expect the same from
others. When leaders attempt candid communications, followers will be far less hesitant to provide
constructive opinions.
⑤C
ontinuously share the core values of the organization and encourage followers to express them in
operations. It is important to imbue meaning to the
goals of the organization, increase confidence and
develop attachments to the company. US-based
natural and organic foods retailer Whole
����������������
Foods Market believes that its goal of promoting health and
preventing disease spurs employees’ involvement
in the company.12
⑥ S hare important information with followers. Followers will develop a sense of their importance to
the same degree that they know the company’s important information, and will thus become devoted
to the goals of the company. According to studies,
satisfaction with the level of information sharing, in
particular with management, is the main source of
involvement of employees in their organization. It
is also important to build trust by quickly and accurately conveying important internal information
to followers. Delphi, a major US supplier of auto
parts, candidly informed its employees about its
bankruptcy filing and restructuring, and was able
to build esprit de corps to overcome the crisis.13 ���
Arranging communications channels where followers
can comment on internal information can promote
participation in the organization.
④B
uild an environment �������������������������
that welcomes candid
�����������
comments. Treating follower’s statements with disdain
⑦ Instead of reprimanding employees�����������������
��������������������������
for failure, encourage them to take on challenges. The greatest
barrier between a creative idea and action is fear of
failure. Generally, those who accept challenges and
take on risks have a higher ����������������������
danger ���������������
of being criticized compared to those who are less bold. It is thus
necessary to prepare a system to support risk taking
with no disadvantages for failure. Nidec, an electric
9 Samsung Economic Research Institute (2012). "Foreign Advanced
Companies Benchmarking Data."
10 Hill, L. A. & Linebeck, K. (2012). Being the Boss. Harvard Business
Review Press.
11 Park Hyeon-Mo. (2008). Leadership: Communications and Commitment like King Sejong. Midas Books.
12 Mackey, J. (2012). Creating a Culture of Trust, Love, Innovation &
Collaboration. Great Place to Work conference, March 28. Atlanta.
13 Samsung Economic Research Institute (2012). "Delphi Benchmarking Data."
Samsung Economic Research Institute 11
Korea Economic Trends
motor manufacturer in Japan����������������������
���������������������������
,���������������������
adopted a “plus system” for its employees for taking on new challenges
rather than a “minus system” that discouraged
them.14
12
Leaders also must realize that their role is to remove
barriers obstructing employees and then stepping
aside to lead from behind.16
⑧P
repare support policies to allow challenging ideas
to be implemented. Follower’s ideas must not begin and end as ideas. They need support systems
to ensure they are developed. At Google, employees are free to use one day a week to do any other
work that they are interested in, and if ideas from
that work are promising, even low-level people can
become leaders and implement them.15 In the execution stage, followers who have limited experience should be counseled to preserve momentum.
A������������������������������������������������
healthy partnership between followers and leaders can double an organization’s effectiveness. Leaders need to understand that an organization’s success
is determined by nurturing star followers, and devote
all their energies to developing their followership. Furthermore, leaders need to provide systematic support
as well as opportunities for career development of star
followers, to allow them to grow into leaders.SERI
14 Kim Seong-Ho. (2009). Nidec Story. Sam and Parkers.
15 Samsung Economic Research Institute (2011).
Benchmarking Data."
16 “Leading from behind” is a model developed by Linda Hill of Harvard University where leaders have an open mind toward sharing
power, understand the capabilities of their people, and provide
support for the right people to move the organization in the direction that is needed.
"Google
IV. Implications