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Leaders and followers: what tango teaches

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This lesson illustrates the symbiotic relationship that exists between leaders and followers. So much time and emphasis is spent building leadership muscles that sometimes we forget followership skills are as equally important to accomplishment, as is leadership.

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In his book titled, "The Power of Followership" Dr. Kelly, a renown expert in followership, suggests that more than 80% of task/project accomplishment can be directly attributed to follower performance; while leaders account for less than 20% of the total contribution toward the goal. On your own please continue the learning experience and see what you a find out about the underappreciated skills of the follower.According to Derek Sivers Leadership is "over glorified". His TED Talk is an eye opening look into the power of the First Follower and how the First Follower can transform a "lone nut into a leader".Did you know, good followers have all the leadership skills that leaders have? "There are no leaders without followers"...check out this YouTube video to learn about characteristics common to good followers and how followers have positive impact on leaders and organizations.Check out my sister's TEDxCMU Talk and see how she learned to be led and her Epic Change.Check out this link to dive deeper into the concept of Dynamic Followership and how it is an essential ingredient to effective leadership.Dive deeper still by clicking this link to examine followership styles and their relationship to job satisfaction and performance.Keep learning about the importance of followership by following this link and learning about the Courageous Follower and the Art of Followership.Ira Chaleff's books, "The Courageous Follower" and "The Art of Followership" are excellent resources to better understand and apply the dynamics of followership. Moreover, his website has a wealth of followership resources to continue your quest to become a great follower.

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