The Courageous Follower

by Chaleff, Ira

• ISBN13: 9781605092737
• ISBN10: 1605092738
• Edition: 3rd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-11-02
• Publisher: BERRETT-KOEHLER PUBLISHERS

Summary

Many significant failures-from FEMA's response to Hurricane Katrina to the recent economic collapse-could have been prevented or mitigated if those lower in the hierarchy were successful at communicating to leaders the risks they saw in the system. Ira Chaleff's Courageous Follower model has facilitated healthy upward information flow in organizations for over fifteen years. The Harvard Business Review called Chaleff a pioneer in the emerging field of followership-this new edition shares his latest thinking on an increasingly vital topic.

Author Biography

Ira Chaleff is the founder and president of Executive Coaching Consulting Associates. He was recently named one of the top 100 thinkers on leadership by Leadership Excellence magazine.

Table of Contents

Preface to Third Edition	p. xiii
Preface	p. xvii
Introduction	p. 1
The Five Dimensions of Courageous Followership	p. 6
The Dynamics Of The Leader-follower Relationship	p. 11
The Common Purpose and Core Values	p. 12
The Paradox of Followership	p. 13
Who Does a Follower Serve?	p. 15
Self-interest and Common Purpose	p. 16
Loyalty of a Follower	p. 17
Power in the Leader-Follower Relationship	p. 18
Value of the Follower	p. 19
Courage of the Follower	p. 20
Balance through Relationship	p. 22
Mature Relationships	p. 24
Differences in Elevation	p. 25
Finding Equal Footing with the Leader	p. 26
When the Leader Isn't an Equal	p. 27
Trust	p. 29
Followers as Leaders	p. 30
Working with Other Followers	p. 31
The Courage To Assume Responsibility	p. 35
Self-Assessment	p. 38
Followership Style	p. 39
Eliciting Feedback	p. 43
Personal Growth	p. 44
Self-Management	p. 45
Taking Care of Ourselves	p. 46
Passion	p. 48
Initiative	p. 49
Influencing the Culture	p. 50
Breaking the Rules	p. 51
Breaking the Mind-set	p. 52
Improving Processes	p. 53
Testing Your Ideas	p. 54
The Courage To Serve	p. 57
Conserving a Leader's Energy	p. 59
Organizing Communication Processes	p. 60
Acquiring Access	p. 61
The Responsibilities of Gatekeeping	p. 62
Buffering a Leader	p. 64
Defending the Leader	p. 65
Buffering Others from a Leader	p. 66
Acting in the Leader's Name	p. 67
Defining a Leader Publicly	p. 68
Focusing the Creative Leader	p. 69
Presenting Options	p. 70
Knowing When You Don't Know	p. 72
Avoiding Insularity	p. 73
Encouraging Peer Relations	p. 74
Managing Crises	p. 76
When the Leader Is 111	p. 77
Conflict between Leaders	p. 79
Formal Checkups	p. 80
Building Relationships with Leaders	p. 81
The Courage To Challenge	p. 85
Effective Leadership Behavior	p. 88
Preparing a Leader for Feedback	p. 89
Giving a Leader Feedback	p. 91
Giving a Leader Input	p. 93
Challenging Indirectly	p. 94
Avoiding Knee-jerk Rejection	p. 95
Overcoming Groupthink	p. 96
The Duty to Obey	p. 98
Challenging Abuse Early	p. 99
Challenging the Use of Language	p. 101
Arrogance	p. 102
Leaders Who Scream	p. 103
Personal Issues	p. 106
Newly Elevated Leaders	p. 106
Leaders Who Have Other Agendas	p. 108
Leaders Who Won't Challenge Their Leaders	p. 109
Challenge Yourself, Too	p. 111
The Courage To Participate In Transformation	p. 113
When Is Transformation Possible?	p. 120
The Process of Personal Transformation	p. 120
The Follower's Role	p. 123
The Follower as Catalyst	p. 124
Channeling the Leader's Frustration	p. 126
Denial and Justification of Behavior	p. 127
Dedication to Cause as Justification	p. 128
Reactions to Confrontation	p. 129
Identifying Transformation Resources	p. 131
Using an Outside Facilitator	p. 132
Creating a Supportive Environment	p. 134
Modeling Change for a Leader	p. 135
Modeling Empathy	p. 136
Containing Abusive Behavior	p. 138
Positive Reinforcement	p. 140
Coping with Recurring Behavior	p. 140
Realistic Expectations	p. 142
Persistence	p. 143
Validation	p. 144
The Courage To Take Moral Action	p. 147
Leaving	p. 151
Difficulty of Separation	p. 153
Financial Contingencies	p. 155
Offering to Resign	p. 157
Query and Appeal	p. 158
The Duty to Disobey	p. 162
Threatening to Resign	p. 164
The Dilemma of the "Unreasonable" Leader	p. 165
Values Review	p. 166
Follower Self-Examination	p. 167
The Decision to Withdraw Support	p. 168
The Responsibility to Blow the Whistle	p. 170
Protecting Yourself	p. 172
When Leaders Must Be Opposed	p. 173
Evil Behavior	p. 175
If We Decide to Stay	p. 177
The Courage To Speak To The Hierarchy	p. 179
The Challenge of Many Hands	p. 184
Doing the Homework	p. 186
Framing the Issue to Command Attention	p. 188
Educating the Hierarchy	p. 190
Circumventing the Hierarchy	p. 192
Speaking Up in Multilevel Meetings	p. 194
Finding Formal Platforms of Influence	p. 196
Using Informal Platforms of Influence	p. 198
Influencing the Metrics That Influence Thought	p. 201
Patience, Performance, and Persistence	p. 203
The Courage To Listen To Followers	p. 205
Do You Really Want Courageous Followers?	p. 208
What Messages Are Number Twos Sending?	p. 212
Appreciating and Accepting Support	p. 213
Appreciating Constructive Challenge More	p. 215
Inviting Creative Challenge	p. 218
A Culture of Communication, Not Complaints	p. 220
Creating Protected Communication Channels	p. 222
Discernment: What Is the Right Action?	p. 224
The Role of the Board	p. 227
Responding to a Moral Stand	p. 230
Growth as Both Leader and Follower	p. 232
Epilogue	p. 235
Meditation on Followership	p. 237
Acknowledgments	p. 239
Select Bibliography	p. 243
Index	p. 253
About the Author	p. 263
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