Followership
Sam Rayburn, former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives:
“You cannot be a leader, and ask other people to follow you, unless you know how to follow.”
Os Guiness in “The Call”:
“Curiously, the twentieth century, which began with some of the strongest leaders in all history – some good like Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt, many bad like Lenin and Stalin – ended with a weak style of leadership codependent on followership: the leader as panderer.”
Journalist/Historian Garry Wills:
“...followers may be considered a hazy and not very estimable lot – people to be dominated or served, mesmerized or flattered. We have thousands of books on leadership, none on followership … The ideal seems to be a world in which everyone is a leader … Talk about the nobility of leaders, the need for them, our reliance on them, raises the clear suspicion that followers are not so noble, not needed – that there is something demeaning about being a follower.”
Jesus:
“And if you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own.” (Luke 16:12)
October 26th, 2006 at 4:42 pm
I like how you brought Luke 16 to life. Very good thoughts.
October 26th, 2006 at 9:08 pm
I, too, am a fan of Gary Wills. but his quote is only 99% right. We have at least two exceptions: “The Courageous Follower: Standing Up To and For Our Leaders by me and “The Power of Followership” by Robert Kelley. They both uphold the dignity of Followers.
October 27th, 2006 at 7:07 am
Thank you for your comment, Ira, and referencing your book and the volume by Robert Kelley. I was not aware of either one. I am grateful and will check them out.