Followership and Delegation

Most of us are both leaders and followers, depending on the context. While leadership development gets a lot of attention, followership skills are just as important. In this module we will look at what makes an effective follower. As it turns out, effective followers are also learning solid leadership skills.

As Associates and younger partners develop, they often struggle with how to delegate tasks to other professionals on their team. In this module, we will look at models for both followership and delegation.

Before you watch the video, please download the “Delegation Scorecard” and rate yourself on your delegation behaviors. Use the results to consider ways to improve your delegation skills. Here’s the link:

Simon Sinet, in his now-famous TED talk, says that leaders can best motivate others when the articulate values and the “Why” before telling people the “What”. Here is his talk:

Additional Resources

Articles

Delegating Effectively, Center for Creative Leadership, by Clemson Terregano
A great guide to delegation and accountability.

Courageous Followers, by Ira Chaleff

Rethinking Followership, by Robert E. Kelley

Situational Leadership II Model Explained, by Kevin Kruse

Books

The Courageous Follower: Standing Up To and For Our Leaders, by Ira Chaleff

The Art of Followership: How Great Followers Create Great Leaders and Organizations
by Ira Chaleff, Ron Riggio and Jean Lipman-Bluman

Leadership and the One-Minute Manager: Increasing Effectiveness Through Situational Leadership II
by Ken Blanchard