CHARLESTON AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. –
Many of us would probably like to answer "yes" if asked if we thought we were a good leader, but think about it for a minute, are you?
If you answered "no," are you right?
Leadership requires many qualities, traits and attributes ... do you think you have them? You could search the Internet, read books or talk to others and you are bound to come up with dozens of things a good leader has, but I want to talk about one thing all good leaders should be able to do: be a good follower.
What makes a good follower? A follower is someone who is dependable, responsible, and committed, someone who has initiative and can learn from their surroundings. We have countless examples of good followers, and I bet you can think of a few who aren't. Many of us probably think about being a good a leader, but how many consider how good of a follower we are?
Do we follow the orders given, whether we agree or don't, and carry them out as if they were our own? If we don't have the same opinion, do we provide feedback to our superiors? Are we able to anticipate what our supervisor wants accomplished, or can the boss count on us all the time?
As followers quite often we say, "When I am in charge, I would..." It is good to think of better ways to do something, as every leadership action is an example of good or bad. Be sure to get all the facts because sometimes there are reasons why our leaders do what they do. Regardless what we question, always remember our place. When times are tough, think about what it takes to be that good follower we would want working for everyone.
So many of us want to grow up to be good leaders, so start now by being a good follower. Through being good followers, we will be able to develop our leadership skills, even if our supervisor takes an approach we don't agree with. Being able to carry out the direction from our superiors will help us deliver those instructions in the future.
What about those of us in leadership positions today? We all work for someone, and should think about what we need to do as followers so we can provide sound leadership in turn. Our military has been built upon many principles and traits such as character, trust, service, excellence, integrity and honor; however, without good Airmen who are ready to follow their commanders, supervisors and Wingmen into the future, we would not be what we are today: the greatest Air Force in the world!