We are all living in that failure of followership, right now, in this very moment. It’s called the 2016 presidential race.
2016 Presidential Race
Nowhere is the responsibility of followership more acutely felt than this year’s presidential campaigns. Let’s be clear. When it comes to organizations, few rival the size and scope of the United States of America. If you live in the U.S., like it or not, you’re a player in this game.
It’s a healthy exercise to assess our nation’s health as we would any organization. Let’s get started!
Regardless of your political affiliation there is a singular truth; our society has a bad habit of placing blame on a leader. Remember Derek Sivers and the Dancing Guy? Leadership is over-glorified.
Now, it is absolutely not fair to jump into a current situation, point fingers and say “guilty!” We are talking about a collective set of choices made over time. But those are choices made by individuals (U.S. citizens) who may or may not have considered their sense of purpose along the way. And along the way there have been many signs indicating the failure of citizen followers.
Here are the big ones:
Many great business leaders get all of this in the context of their businesses. They attract great followers who demand the best of each other and their ostensible leader. How do great leaders and followers put teeth behind their demands? Transparency. Core values. Respect. Functionality that is true to its purpose.
This is the path of Teal organizations.
A Teal-Colored Solution
If the 2016 U.S. presidential race is a synonym for failure of followership, then a Teal organization is its antonym. Why is that? The very nature of a Teal organization self-corrects the failure of followership from its inception. Here’s how:
Now it’s time for your question. As someone who holds a leadership position … what efforts and principles will you follow? What is the difference you want to make?
Bruce Peters has spent the last 15 years living his own “Third Act.” Based on his personal experience and in working as a guide for hundreds of leaders, he has designed a unique process for getting beyond where you are and into the creation of your own Third Act for you or your organization. It starts with the question of what is the difference you want to make? Learn more at www.beyondteal.com.