Developing effective followership skills is essential to contribute to team and multi-functional projects. Lab managers need to contribute to shared projects with peers, line managers, and people from other parts of the organization. They also need to coach and teach these skills to leaders within the lab to accomplish bigger and more complex projects. Good followers are not yes-people. This isn’t about meekly doing what you are told. This is about being an active, contributing member of these teams who know when to support, when to challenge, and when to commit. Being an effective follower requires independent critical thinking, active engagement and commitment, constructive dissent and courage, and the competence to execute their responsibilities for the project. Here are three actions lab managers can take to be more effective followers:
#1 – Support the mission, not just the leader
Be a constructive member of the team who understands the importance, priority, and reason behind the project. Bring your critical thinking skills and experience to bear on the project. Ask questions, contribute ideas and observations, and help the project deliver its purpose. Be a thoughtful partner to leadership on the project.
#2 – Speak up with candor and courage
Good followership is not a passive activity. Effective followers provide information, raise concerns, challenge assumptions, and are willing to tell leaders things that they may not want to hear. The key is knowing how to challenge constructively and respectfully by presenting facts, explaining consequences, proposing alternatives, and avoiding negative arguments. Be willing to say what needs to be said—but do it in a way that helps the organization make better decisions.
#3 – Take ownership after the decision
Once a decision has been made, effective followers help make it work—even if their preferred option wasn’t selected. They commit to contributing their skills, talents, and expertise to meet the project's shared goals. However, supporting a decision doesn’t mean abandoning your judgment. If new information emerges that changes the situation, effective followers speak up.
Effective followers align with the mission by understanding the situation, challenging constructively to address risks, problems, and alternatives, and committing to executing the decision once it has been made.
