Download Courageous Followership Chapter 4

The courage to challenge
• Should be willing to challenge a leader’s
behavior and policies – behavior is the
most difficult
• Leaders and followers are BOTH
guardians of the purpose. Part of the
courageous follower’s role is to help the
leader honor the contract. If we do not
challenge a leader about dysfunctional
behavior, the contract is slowly voided.
• Appropriate behavior – skillful questioning
• Preparing a leader for feedback
– Defuse defensiveness: convey respect and
remind the leader of the value of honesty
– Link to valued outcomes
– Create empathy: “I understand what you are
up against….”
• Giving feedback
– Focus negative on behavior – avoid being
personal
– Use “I” statements
Assertive Communication
• The ability to communicate clearly and
directly what you need or want from
another person in a way that does not
deny or infringe upon the other’s rights.
• Use I-statements rather than youstatements; produce dialogue rather
than defensiveness.
Assertive vs. Aggressive
Assertive
Aggressive
Verbal
Statement of wants. Honest statement of
feelings. Direct statements which say
what you mean. I statements.
“Loaded” words. Accusations.
Subjective terms. “You”
statements that blame or label
Nonverbal
general
demeanor
Attentive listening. Generally assured
manner, communicating caring support.
Exaggerated show of strength.
Flippant, sarcastic style.
Air of superiority.
Voice
Firm, warm, well modulated, relaxed
Tensed, shrill, loud, shaky;
cold, demanding; superior,
authoritarian
Eyes
Open, frank, direct. Eye contact, but not
glaring or staring
Expressionless, narrowed,
cold, glaring; not really
“seeing” others
Stance and
posture
Well balanced, straight on, open, erect,
relaxed
Hands on hips, arms crossed,
feet apart. Stiff, rigid, rude.
Hands
Relaxed motions
Clenched. Abrupt gestures,
fingerpointing, fist pounding.
I-statements: Three components
1. A specific and nonblaming description
of the behavior exhibited by the other
person
2. The concrete effects of that behavior
3. The speaker’s feelings about the
behavior
I-statement examples
Behavior
Effects
Feelings
When you come late to We have to use
our meetings
valuable time bringing
you up-to-date, and
others end up doing
your share of the work
And I resent that
When you interrupt me
I lose my train of
thought and don’t get
to make my point
And that makes me
angry
When you don’t
complete your team
assignments
It disrupts the team’s
ability to complete it’s
mission
And that concerns me
Assertive communication
• In addition to using I-statements:
– Empathize with the other person’s position
in the situation
– Specify what changes you would like to
see in the situation or in another’s
behavior, and offer to negotiate those
changes with the other person
– Indicate, in a nonthreatening way, the
possible consequences that will follow if
change does not occur.
Assertive Communication: An example
• “When you are late to meetings, I get angry
because I think it is wasting the time of all
the other team members and we are never
able to get through our agenda items. I
would like you to consider finding some way
of planning your schedule that lets you get
to these meetings on time. That way, we
can be more productive at the meetings and
we can all keep to our tight schedules.”
• Giving a leader input
– Feedback is given in response to actions taken; input
advises on actions being contemplated.
– Principle should be to include all key players, not a
bilateral agreement.
• Challenging indirectly
– Find ways to engage rather than alarm the leader.
– Questions to shift perspective: “Is there another way
we can look at this situation?”
– Anticipating questions others might ask of the leader
about her policy: “How would we respond to the
concern that….”
• Avoiding knee-jerk rejection
– Don’t ask for and don’t expect an immediate action or
decision – allow time for the leader to “think about it”
– Keep the door open for the leader to reflect
• Overcoming groupthink
– Group self-image of infallibility and superiority
• The duty to obey
– If we choose to continue being a follower of this
leader and if the policies are not morally repugnant to
us, we have the responsibility to implement the
policies.
– We have the right to challenge policies, but do not
have the right to sabotage implementation.
• Challenge abuse early
• Challenging the use of language
• Arrogance – leaders believe they are
qualitatively different from their followers
• Leaders who scream
• Personal issues (e.g. infidelities, sexual
harassment, substance abuse)
• Newly elevated leaders
• Leaders who have other agendas
• Leaders who won’t challenge their leaders
• Challenge thyself, too – BEFORE challenging
the leader.