The Courageous Follower: Standing Up to and for Our Leaders [Paperback]

Ira Chaleff (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1605092738 | ISBN-13: 978-1605092737 | Publication Date: November 1, 2009 | Edition: Third Edition

For every leader there are dozens of followers working closely with them. This book speaks to those followers and gives them the insights and tools for being effective partners with their leaders. It is a guide that can be kept on a bookshelf and referred to repeatedly when confronted with the challenges of supporting and, at times, correcting a dynamic leader. This new edition has been updated and expanded to speak to the widespread failures of leadership we have witnessed from 9/11 to the economic collapse. Boards of Directors, Senior Managers and staff who are loyal to the mission of their organizations, will all find the expanded edition more essential than ever to preventing and righting leadership wrongs and supporting and fostering values-based leadership efforts. The main change in the third edition will be adding a new chapter on 'The Courage to Speak to the Hierarchy'. In existing editions of the book the author asserts that proximity to the leader is a requisite for influencing the leader. But only a relative few people enjoy that proximity. What are the rest to do when orders come down that seem very ill advised? The author finds that he is increasingly coaching and training to this theme and will include guidance on how to handle such situations.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Business consultant Chaleff points out that most of us at different times are both leaders and followers. Many books, he notes, have explored and analyzed the former role but almost none the latter. Following is often stigmatized, he argues, as docility, weakness or failure to excel. His handbook shows that a courageous follower can be an enormous asset to a leader, and he pinpoints five dimensions in which that courage can be demonstrated: assuming responsibility, serving, challenging, participating in transformation and, given the worst-case scenario, leaving. The book should be of value for those working in businesses where "committeemanship," or team playing, is now the rule in executive ranks.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Scientific American

We are all leaders or followers-or both. The Courageous Follower is a comprehensive guide that gives us the tools to manage the virtues, values, and responsibilities of those roles. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers; Third Edition edition (November 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1605092738
• ISBN-13: 978-1605092737
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #161,844 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Facts About Ira Chaleff

Ira Chaleff is a thought leader in the field of Followership and the founder and president of Executive Coaching & Consulting Associates.

Followership

Ira's book, The Courageous Follower: Standing Up To and For Our Leaders was first published in 1995 by Berrett-Koehler in San Francisco and was widely acclaimed. The original hardback edition was soon followed by a paperback printing.

The second expanded edition was published in 2002, also by Berrett-Koehler.It included a new chapter, "The Courage to Listen to Followers" designed to help leaders create the conditions that encourage courageous follower behaviors. The second edition was the Silver Winner of the Best Business Book of the Year award in 2002 from ForeWord Magazine, the magazine of independent publishers.

The revised 3rd edition was published in 2009 and includes a new chapter, The Courage to Speak to the Hierarchy. It examines the new power relationships that technology has created between the higher and lower levels of the hierarchy and the strategies for making a difference from any level of the hierarchy.

The Courageous Follower has been published in Chinese, Spanish, Korean, Italian, Japanese and also in a special Indian edition.

An award winning training video, Courageous Followers, Courageous Leaders: New Relationships for Changing Times, was produced based on the book.

Ira was the catalyst for the first national conference on Followership, hosted by the Kravis Leadership Institute of McKenna College and the Peter Drucker and Masatoshi Ito Graduate School of Management at Claremont Graduate University.

Ira is co-editor of The Art of Followership: How Great Followers Create Great Leaders and Organizations, published in January, 2008 as part of the Warren Bennis Leadership Series by Jossey-Bass.

Ira heads the Followership Learning Community and its wiki ("The Followership Exchange") for the International leadership Association.

He has published and has been quoted in numerous articles on Followership and its emergence as a newly recognized field of study and practice.

Ira has conducted seminars and workshops on Followership for a wide range of audiences including NASA, The Brookings Institute, Ernst & Young, The Federal Executive Institute, The Federal Judicial Center, Georgetown University, The Graduate School of Public Accounting at the University of Wisconsin, and numerous other institutions, agencies and professional services firms.

The Courageous Follower has been incorporated into many curricula, including senior- and mid-level police officer training at virtually every level of the California Law Enforcement community. It was part of the syllabus for the first course on Followership taught (by Barbara Kellerman) at the John F.Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Ira has been cited by the Harvard Business Review as one of the three pioneers in the field of followership and has been named as one of the 100 best thinkers on leadership by Leadership Excellence magazine.

Contact Information:

Washington Office: Ira Chaleff, CMF/ECCA, 513 Capitol Court NE, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20002
Phone: [phone]

E-mail: [e-mail]

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Important Concept; Format Distracting, August 30, 2007

By 

Susan R. Meyer "Life Architect" (New York, New York) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Courageous Follower: Standing Up to and for Our Leaders (2nd Edition) (Paperback)

The concept of followership is important and often ignored in a sea of leadership materials.Chaleff has tackled an important issue, and for that he should be applauded. Most of the book is clear and easy to follow, with many lists that can be used to conduct training on being a strong follower. The ways in which followers support leaders and interact with each other are useful to anyone working with teams. Chaleff has also made changes in the second edition that make it easier for followers to take a stand instead of walking away.

Where the book falls short is primarily in design, in my opinion. The switch from single- to double-spacing made me feel like the editors were trying to stretch the material to meet a pre-set number of pages.Overall, though, the book provides much to think about.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Fine Balancing Act of the Courageous Follower, September 8, 2004

By 

Serge J. Van Steenkiste (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Courageous Follower: Standing Up to and for Our Leaders (2nd Edition) (Paperback)

In The Courageous Follower, Chaleff focuses on the relationship existing between the formal leadership of an organization and the followers, all the people who ultimately report to the leadership team directly or indirectly. Chaleff also examines the interaction among followers within the leadership team in their relationship with the ultimate leader of the organization (pg. 14, 32).

Like Peter Drucker in The Essential Drucker, Ira Chaleff acknowledges right away that leadership may be informal and distributed throughout an organization (pg. 14). Knowledge workers, who are considered partners rather than employees, can only be helped. The close supervision of knowledge workers is often illusory because of their unique expertise.

Chaleff is conscious of the potential negative baggage associated with the word follower by making clear that a follower is not the same as a subordinate (pg. 15). Chaleff recognizes that being a courageous follower can be a risky proposition. Contingency plans are in any circumstances a necessity, whether the follower is courageous or not, in a fast-changing global economy (pg. 20-21, 163-165). However, a respectful individual who is not afraid to speak and act on the truth, despite the inequities in the relationship between employee and employer, is a force to be reckoned with (pg. 20, 25).

Not everybody is called upon to become and remain a courageous follower. Chaleff divides followers into four profiles that he calls respectively, implementer, resource, individualist and partner. Only the partner, who sooner rather than later dares to challenge on a regular basis the orthodoxy of the leadership team in a constructive, non-confrontational mode, can be counted on as a courageous follower (pg. 40-43, 51, 66, 103-104, 147-148). Readers cannot conclude from this assessment that the contribution of the remaining profiles should be downplayed. However, working closely with an existing or new leader open to the feedback from courageous followers is on its own an excellent growth opportunity (pg. 45, 217-218). Chaleff reminds his audience that well-balanced professionals should take ownership of their career and look for growth opportunities both inside and outside their organization (pg. 45, 47-48).

Reasonably, Chaleff recommends that the follower take an incremental, step-by-step approach to becoming a courageous follower (pg. 22). There is no silver bullet for developing the profile of a courageous follower. Credibility must be earned during the process. As Chaleff states, service is an art and art is developed through commitment and discipline (pg. 85, 150-152).

Passion for the job, initiative, buy-in, loyalty, trust, open mind and communication skills are some of the key ingredients in the establishment and development of a relationship based on courage (pg. 29, 48-50, 53, 62-63, 74, 84, 157). These ingredients take on an even greater importance when a conflict arises between different leaders. Often, these adversaries put pressure on their respective constituencies to build a strong alliance against the "enemy (pg. 81-82)."

Courage cannot lead to disobedience unless special circumstances such as the preservation of life and the respect of the law are deemed important enough to supersede the human tendency to follow orders (pg. 101-103, 170-171, 178-181, 183-185). Leaving the organization will sometimes be the only option left to the courageous follower to maintain his/her integrity after having exhausted other options (pg. 155-187). However, courage does not need to be absolute. The courageous follower could decide to stay after trying in vain to convince the leadership team or leader about the perceived right course to follow (pg. 185-187).

Courageous following is a two-way street. A great leader is not afraid to develop courageous followers because of his/her sense of self-worth (pg. 29, 50, 106-116, 125-128, 189-212). Similarly, the courageous follower is willing and able to directly or indirectly comfort and confront the leader, at the right time and at the right place (pg. 61-62, 97-98). The courageous follower should not abuse his/her access to the leader. Otherwise, access will diminish over time (pg. 64). Developing this talent pool can be critical to the success and/or survival or an organization because of the dangers of groupthink, self-censorship and lack of concern for legal niceties (pg. 99-101, 122, 130-131, 189-193). Unfortunately, a common response is to devalue the individuals taking the stand with potentially disastrous consequences as the recent wave of corporate scandals convincingly demonstrates (pg. 215-217).

Courageous followers, conscious of the importance of buy-in, are flexible enough to see their ideas tested on a small scale with good measurements before a full-blown implementation is considered (pg. 55-56). Furthermore, courageous followers offer if possible at least three different options with their respective pros and cons to get this buy-in (pg. 74-76). Acting along these lines encourages consensus building in pursuing success.

Although leaders receive much value from courageous followers, leaders also need to keep their channels of communication open with their peers as Chaleff rightly points out (pg. 76). A leader's peers, especially those who do not belong to the same professional circles, can provide him/her with an extremely valuable service in further refining the leadership skills in a multitude of settings (pg. 76-77). Alternatively, an outside facilitator can be called in to coach the leader (pg. 139-140).

Changing a leader's behavior is usually more challenging than altering his/her policies for these people gravitating around the leader (pg. 87, 93-94, 132-134, 145-147, 183-185). In all these interactions, the negative feedback should not be directed at the leader himself/herself in order to keep communication channels open (pg. 94-95). When genuine transformation happens, it should be acknowledged and celebrated (pg. 152-153).

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Transforming!, October 3, 2004

By 

Emily Barnes (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Courageous Follower: Standing Up to and for Our Leaders (2nd Edition) (Paperback)

This is a significant contribution to the workplace no matter the environment. Chaleff integrates sound principles of human decency with enormous respect for human potential. The result is a practical approach to managing yourself and your leader especially when the stakes are high.