Being a Good Follower

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Being a good follower is critical in any team dynamic. Even leaders need to be good followers to be effective. The way you behave as a follower will drastically impact the outcome of any project or team.

At Proletariat one of our core values is “Decide Fast and Iterate”. Good followership is incredibly important to making this possible. To decide fast means that true consensus is rare, so team members need to trust each other and the process.

Problem and Solution Alignment

This is important for all parts of culture inside a company. When constrained to a single problem, it is crucial for communicating effectively during a team discussion. Typically when team members cannot agree on a course of action there are usually two reasons: disagreement about the problem or disagreement about the solution. It is important to figure out where the disagreement lies to find alignment on potential solutions.

The Problem Direction

If a team member is not bought into the premise of a problem it can be impossible to find a solution. If everyone can agree or compromise on the following questions it means you have established the problem direction.

  • What is the problem?

  • Is the problem worth solving?

  • Who are we solving the problem for?

It may not be possible to compromise on a problem direction. If that is true, skip to the Effective Followership section and start there. Until a problem direction is solidified no solution space can be established.

The Solution Space

Once the problem direction has been established it is possible to explore the solution space. Finding agreement or compromise on these questions should lead to a potential solution.

  • What is the solution?

  • Does the solution solve the problem?

  • Is the ROI of the solution worth it?

Effective Followership

If the team is able to reach consensus or agree on the problem direction and solution space then followership should be easy. It is when teammates disagree with some parts of the problem or solution where the following tactics can be most useful.

What if I am wrong?

If you want to be a good follower you need to ask yourself this question every time you disagree with a team member. By simply considering this idea it means you become a more open and valuable team member in any discussion. If you find yourself vigorously fighting for a direction and simply cannot understand how anyone could disagree with you, that is the most important time to consider this. I have found it valuable to actually write out ways in which you could be wrong, as well as the outcomes, to see if it aligns with what other team members are thinking.

“Yes, if...” Instead of “No, because…”

We have all seen the value of using “Yes, and...” to improve brainstorming and team communication. If it seems impossible to riff off an existing idea it is important to consider possible ways to make the solution work. A common response is to simply say no, and sometimes a more helpful one is to give a reason as to why the answer is no. However, both of these responses stop the solution completely and don’t allow for exploration of the solution space. 

A diverse team will have a variety of perspectives so it is worth considering that other members of the team simply do not share your point of view. Instead, it is worth considering that the solution must move forward, so what would make that solution work for you? That is where you answer with “Yes, if…” and add your perspective to the solution space. This can often lead to compromise that can work better for everyone.

Disagree and Commit

There is always a limit that teams reach where it is clear there is no compromise. This is simply a reality and these decisions are often the hardest to make. I hate when a decision gets to this step. However, that does not mean a compromise is the only solution or the best solution. A good follower will recognize when the disagreement has reached this point and will agree to commit to the direction anyway. This means wholeheartedly contributing to the solution and supporting the team even if that solution fails. Saying “I told you so” is a failure to commit even if it comes after the fact and it rarely helps the next iteration of a solution. The ultimate goal is to find the right solution in the fewest possible iterations and anything that distracts from that is not helpful.

Disagree Internally, Defend Externally

Disagreement is important. As mentioned above, having a diverse set of viewpoints will lead to disagreements. However, to provide confidence to external parties and to support the team internally, it is important to manage how those disagreements are displayed. A big part of disagreeing and committing is defending the direction of the team even when you do not agree. 

It is important that every leader considers how best to establish a culture where team members can freely disagree internally. There should be ample opportunity to do this before a decision is made, but even if that is not possible, it is up to the good followers to defend the team direction externally.

If team members disagree both internally and externally it can lead to a toxic culture where there is a lack of trust and loyalty. If team members are required to defend internally and externally it can lead to a culture that stifles other viewpoints. It is up to the team leader to establish good follower practices that enable rigorous internal debates and consistent external stability. 

This is a great opportunity to lead by example and ensure as the team leader you keep disagreements internal.

Conclusion

Team members will disagree. In my experience the natural friction caused by a variety of perspectives on a problem produce a better solution than a single monolithic voice. There is always a cost to managing this sort of challenge, but the potential upside is also incredibly valuable. Not only does being a good follower build trust between team members, it is also a good way for a leader to prove they care about the ideas from their team.

Good followers are good teammates. Everyone should be a good follower, especially the team’s leader.

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