Leadership & Followership

Yesterday I read this post by Carolyn McCulley and thought that it gave a good and unique perspective on leadership and "followership". I hope it is as encouraging and provoking to everyone as it was to me!


"The first time I ever went whitewater rafting, I learned an important lesson. But not about rafting. I learned something about following. My boyfriend at the time was really into cycling and whitewater boating, primarily kayaking. The cycling was fine with me--we had met on a bike trip. But I always thought of whitewater boating as his thing, not mine. So when he suggested we take a trip down the James, I refused to go. Somehow, though, he managed to get me on that raft. I had whined, complained, and resisted the entire way there, trying to cover my fear. He would have none of it.

Finally, as we started down the river, he turned to me and said something to the effect of, "Look, you could do this if you would just shut up and listen to me. I know what I'm doing here. I know your capabilities. Just listen to what I tell you, do it, and you'll be fine. You're the one making this difficult."

He was right. When I stopped resisting him, we both had fun. In fact, I loved it. Though we stopped dating years ago, he gave me two gifts: a love of whitewater rafting and an insight into leadership and followership. Followership is an awkward word, but I use it purposefully. It's quite popular to discuss leadership skills, but nobody talks about followership skills. Yet both are needed. Leaders have to have people following them or they aren't leading anything. A good follower is as necessary to the team as a good leader.

Whitewater rafting provides the perfect illustration. A rafting guide is the leader of several other paddlers in the boat. Some paddlers may be novices, others may be quite seasoned. But on the river, only one person can make decisions in fast-moving water. Everyone else has to listen to the guide and paddle in unison--or else the team goes for an unwanted swim in the rough water. Because he is charged with navigating the rapids, the guide yells, "All forward! Pull hard!" But if he's the only one paddling, the maneuver won't be successful. As the raft approaches the rapids, it's important that the followers are listening carefully and doing what the guide says promptly and thoroughly. Coordinated teamwork prevents disaster.

This is the same principle found in Scripture about marriage. God has assigned the husband the role of the guide. The husband is accountable for guiding the raft according to the instructions he has received from the Bible. Likewise, God has assigned to the wife the role of the fellow-paddler. She takes her paddling cues from her husband, and together they navigate the turbulence of life. If he doesn't lead well, the boat could go in circles. If she doesn't follow well, the boat could capsize.

It's hard to be a top-notch follower, but it's worth the effort to cultivate the skill set. In my observation (and limited experience), good followers know:

- How to assess the "river skills" of a guide before getting into the boat. Once in the boat, they've made a commitment. They can't get out mid-stream. They must stick in that boat until the trip is finished.

- That because the guide has received certain skills, knowledge, and perspectives that enable him to lead, this means the follower must combat the indwelling tendency to second-guess the guide.

- That there's an art to listening well. Therefore, followers learn to listen carefully (without sinful judgment, bitterness, or a rehearsed litany of sins and failures) and then perform the instructions carefully.

- That followers can set the tone of the whole trip with their attitudes and words.

- That the river requires humility of both the guide and the fellow-paddler.

Though neither of us were Christians at the time, my boyfriend provided a blunt but needed assessment of my character and an illustration that later in life made it much easier for me to understand God's harmonious design for marriage. I think of it every time I'm in a raft--and sometimes out of it, too." - Carolyn McCulley

-Lana-