SCRIPTURE: “To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.” (1Peter 2:21 KJV)
QUOTE: “Followership is a discipline of supporting leaders and helping them to lead well. It is not submission, but the wise and good care of leaders, done out of a sense of gratitude for their willingness to take on the responsibilities of leadership, and a sense of hope and faith in their abilities and potential.” — Reverend Paul Beedle
NOTE:
For a moment, stop leading and start following. The world is populated with too many leaders and two few followers. The assumption that leaders matter more than followers is misguided, narrow-minded and frankly, untrue. The fact is, a leader is nonexistent without at least one follower, powerless without the actions of others and ineffective without strong support. We must recognize, acknowledge and advocate that followers are valuable and important, with the capacity to influence and impact leadership outcomes. Effective followers don’t wait to be instructed — they just do it. These individuals do not require constant supervision, motivation and direction. They are self-starters, with powerful motivation, who know what to do without being told or reminded
ILLUSTRATION:
A book search on Amazon for the keyword leadership, reveals over 200,000 results. A book search for followership? Only 239 results. This statistic alone illustrates that followership is understudied and undervalued. The overwhelming perception is that leadership is more important, but this is hardly true. Our preoccupation with developing leaders prevents and distracts us from considering the value of developing followers.
REFLECTION:
Do you wish you were leading, rather than following?
TWO YEAR BIBLE READING: Isaiah 32 – 33, Proverbs 15: 1 – 29