What Is Your Follower Type?

When I present the Black Greek Success Program, I love to tell my college Divine Nine fam about my tumultuous terms as a college chapter president. One reason is I want college D9 members to understand that leadership is a process where those in elected and appointed positions are engaged in a process, not merely taking on a title. Also, as an NPHC speaker (of sorts), I think it's important to let college members know that it's common to not understand what good leadership looks like. Finally, I've learned that a great leader knows and listens to the folks in follower positions, especially if they're engaging in followership.

In leadership studies, there's a phenomenon that has been researched increasingly over the past 30 years. It's called followership. Following, in a basic level, is doing what you're told. Followership, however, is a set of behaviors of people in follower positions based on what Robert Lussier and Christopher Achua called a "mutual influencing relationship." In other words, followership is based on how the leader and follower affect one another.

And it gets deeper. A management professor by the name of Robert Kelley explored the types of people we typically find in follower positions in organizations. His research came up with his Five Follower Types model. It's really cool to watch the light bulbs go off when I share this with college D9 members. What I love is giving them the language to understand their own behaviors so that they can start to identify their own leadership identities even without titles.

So, what are these follower types?

• Effective

• Conformist

• Passive

• Alienated

• Pragmatic

Effective Followers: These are the MVP chapter members! They think critically, actively participate, and aren't afraid to voice their opinions. They're usually self-starters who consistently contribute, because they want to make things happen. While all of that is great, sometimes you have to slow these brothers or sorors down to make sure they don't burn out.

Conformist Followers: These folks are all about following the rules and doing what they're told. Not bad, right? Not until you realize that don't always think critically. So, if you're looking to challenge the status quo, good luck with these chapter members. The key to breaking conformists out of their norms is to keep them focused on the behaviors needed for a healthy chapter and to lovingly remind them of the value they bring to the chapter.

Passive Followers: These members tend to be neither uninvolved nor thinking critically. They might show up to meetings. When they do, they're most likely in the back unwilling to actively participate. Their lack of engagement actually winds up being more work for the chapter president! To get the most out of passive followers, I find it's helpful to spend quality brotherly or sisterly time with them to find out their "why." Be warned that getting them get involved may be a gradual process, not instantaneous.

Alienated Followers: These brothers and sorors are critical thinkers, but they're not involved often out of cynicism. They might feel disconnected from the group or disagree with its direction. I've been the alienated follower, because I've felt ignored. What would've gotten my attention is for chapter members to, at least, acknowledge my input, especially if I'm providing input based on my expertise.

Pragmatic Followers: These are the chameleons. They adapt their behavior based on the situation, often playing it safe and avoiding taking strong stances. The other side of that is that pragmatists tend to be really good at reading the room. Keep these chapter members close to help understand the true dynamics among everyone.

Why does this matter?

When you put all the Divine Nine organizations' aims, ideals and values together, there's a pattern of brotherhood/sisterhood, servant leadership, and personhood. In our servant leadership, we often look to solve pressing social issues. That being said, it's important for chapter members to recognize the role they play. That's why I see followership as a path to leadership.

By each chapter member understanding their follower type, they can engage in followership to:

• Build stronger teams by leveraging each other's strengths.

• Improve communication by taking into consideration how people tend to respond to how thoughts and information are shared.

• Foster a more inclusive environment by encouraging everyone to participate based on understanding how they see things.

Reflect

Take a moment to think about your own follower style, ask yourself what kind of follower you are, and realize that there's no right or wrong answer! The goal is to become more self-aware and use that knowledge to contribute positively to your chapter.