FOLLOW-ship

Extract from Canadian Army Training Memorandum, No 30, September 1943

Major General Worthington—4 Cdn Div once said, "What I want is some good FOLLOW-ship, not so much LEADER-ship."

Here is the same idea, given by the 2 Bn Lincoln and Wellands.

What a Follower Seeks in a Leader

1.     He wants to follow a leader who is not afraid … not afraid of his position, not afraid of his own boss, not afraid of a tough job. not afraid of the people who work for him, not afraid of honest mistakes—either theirs or his.

2.     He wants a leader who believes his work is important, and all those who are in it with him.

3.     He wants a leader who gets a kick out of his work and helps his followers to get a kick out of theirs.

4.     He wants a leader who gets a kick out of seeing a man do what that man thought he would never be able to do.

5.     He wants a leader who will fight for him until hell freezes over, if the leader believes him to be in the right.

6.     He wants a leader who will tell him what's what when he knows darn well it's coming to him, and a leader who will do it without losing his temper.

7.     He wants a leader who recognizes him as a person, regardless of his experience, school or training. and regardless of his religion, race, station in life or the lodge he belongs to.

8.     He wants a leader who knows most of the answers but who will admit it if he doesn't know, and go get the answer.

9.     He wants a leader who is predictable—that is, one he can depend upon to be the same all the time.

10.     He wants a leader he can't put anything over on but who is human enough to look the other way when he occasionally makes an ass of himself.

11.     He wants a leader who he knows understands him, to whom he is not afraid to go when he has been a fool, when he's ashamed, when he's about washed up, or when he's proud and happy.

12.     He wants a leader he can get to when he really needs him and can get away from when he's through with him.

13.     He wants a leader who can show him how to do a job without showing off or showing him up.

14.     He wants a leader who will give him a chance to try something hard he has never done.

15.     He wants a leader who he believes sincerely wants him to succeed and who will be proud of him when he does.

16.     He wants a leader who respects his pride and never corrects him in the presence of others or gossips about him.

17.     He wants a leader with the authority to promote, demote or let him go, as he knows he deserves.

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