The fate of your organization can be surprisingly dependent on how well it understands its many levels of employees, and then uses this knowledge to make them more effective in their daily activities, or so believes Barbara Kellerman, author of "Followership" due out this winter. She and several other leadership experts take the position that employees are the catalyst to change, not senior management (Wall Street Journal, Dec. 24, 2007).
Kellerman identifies five classification of followers in an organization:
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Bystanders: they observe but don't participate-they are at peace with the status quo,
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Participants: they are somewhat engaged and can support or oppose leaders,
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Activists: they are eager, energetic and engaged; they also can support or oppose leaders,
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Diehards: they are highly dedicated and their cause is all-consuming,
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isolates: they are detached and don;t care about their leaders.
Understanding how these different follower groups function, as well as who belongs to which group, provides leaders with insights that can help them make transformational breakthroughs in how their organizations function and succeed. What can then happen is an organizational evolution where instead of having 98% of employees just executing existing policy and procedures, more can now solve complex customer problems.
The key is these insights also help senior managers discover where their pockets of passion exist. Face it. Most jobs are layered in repetition sandwiched between sometimes tedious process and procedures. If you can identify those who are naturally passionate about your organization's purpose, and then facilitate an increase in their meaningful involvement, these catalysts can place you at a competitive advantage in the marketplace.
Bottom line: identify people with naturally passionate personalities, provide them with the information and latitude to become more engaged and empowered in your organization's activities, and watch them become your grass-roots, proactive, customer centric champions.