Every leader needs their followers in order to successfully achieve their goals. Identifying and cultivating the right followers can go a long way in guiding your nonprofit organization to success. Followership plays a very important role in this. To the unversed, followership refers to the ability to follow someone’s directions, be part of a team, and help deliver what’s expected. Followership can get a bad rep, but it is essential to leadership and organizational success. Let’s take a look at how followership can help a nonprofit leader.
It Encourages Motivation and Engagement Among Staff and Volunteers
Learning how to encourage followers by inspiring them and recognizing their efforts can drive up motivation levels and improve engagement. It can also lead to healthy competition between team members, as they try to figure out the best way to execute an organizational initiative. A leader who appreciates their followers can also keep morale up and ensure that organizational staff and volunteers remain committed to the cause at hand.
It Can Help You Achieve More
Followership and leadership are two sides of the same coin. When you motivate employees and appreciate them, it can help you be more enthusiastic too and get more done. Think about it. If you are leading a team that is uninterested in what they are doing, it will be difficult for you to complete a project or introduce change. Working with engaged and enthusiastic followers can help you feel more excited, and you can achieve your goals.
It Can Introduce You to New Ideas and Solutions
Followers aren’t sycophants who will do exactly as you say. They are still independent-thinking individuals who believe in you and want to help you go after the goals you have set for the organization. Their motivation and commitment encourage them to think outside the box and offer up suggestions that can help you navigate a difficult situation.
For example, suppose that you have a fundraiser coming up, but one of your vendors just pulled out. Your followers might be able to arrange for a quick replacement so that you’re back on track.
It Allows You to Delegate More
Having resourceful followers also lets you know that you can rely on these individuals to get things done. If you are working with a disengaged staff, you might be unsure about the outcome and feel compelled to do things alone. This concern takes a backseat with having a loyal set of followers. These individuals are as committed as you are to the objective at hand and will do their best to deliver what’s expected. This can reduce your stress as a leader, and you can delegate some of your responsibilities to your team to focus on other things.
Wrapping It Up
Engaging in followership allows nonprofit leaders to achieve their goals more easily. It can boost team engagement and motivation levels and offer an outlet for new ideas. You can also count on these people to support you, so you won’t have to micromanage.
Remember, followership is essential to a leader’s success, which ultimately benefits the organization. If you want to learn how to cultivate followers and learn from them, get in touch with our team at Stratagems. We can introduce you to a variety of leadership solutions that can help you grow as a leader.