Followership

Screenshot from We Are the 99% Blog

We hear so much about individual and organizational leadership and so little about the importance of good followership. I’ve been thinking about this, in particular, in regards to the Occupy Wall Street movement, which is led by individuals and fueled by social media, organizations like MoveOn don’t know what to do.

Organizations need to learn the value of good followership for efforts that are built on broad-based networks powered by free agents. Chris and Priscilla Grim. the creators of We Are The 99% blog , didn’t need an organization to do it for them – they just did it. And the Occupy Wall Street Journal is raising money on Kickstarter to fund its operation, not waiting for a start-up grant from a foundation.

What should organizations do in these circumstances of fast growing movements that have clearly tapped into the passion of individuals?

We need them to follow the lead of free agents, to provide resources like their own networks, their connections to mainstream media, their funds, their expertise to support the cause. This is so hard for organizations accustomed to, desirous of, owning and operating every campaign, every effort. How are they going to report to their donors and boards that they didn’t start this thing, can’t count the participants as their “members”, don’t really own any part of it. Well, it depends on whether they actually want change to happen out there, on the ground. It’s going to take some practice, to listen more than speak, to give more credit than they take, follow where someone else is going rather than devise the strategy and tell everyone else what to do.

But, really, it’s the only thing they can do; follow or become irrelevant.