PeopleNology

1 Fear of retribution
Following out of fear is not so much following
as being tugged along at the end of a rope.

2 Blind hope
Here, the follower is desperate for some
solution, and what the leader is offering is
either the only option they see or the best of a
relatively weak set of choices.

3 Faith in leader
In this situation, the follower is blind to the
solution but is following because they have
such faith in the leader, they believe that they
will, by some magic or genius.

4 Intellectual agreement
Here, the follower understands the logic of the
argument that the leader is putting forward
and hence is following the rationale rather
than the leader as a person, who they may
respect but are not blindly following.

5 Buying the vision
When people buy a vision, they are
emotionally closing on a view of the future
that is appealing to them in some way and
pulls them forward.

6 Followers and Respect
When a person is evaluating a situation and
deciding whether to collaborate (and hence
become a follower), they judge both the leader4 Intellectual agreement
Here, the follower understands the logic of the
argument that the leader and also the solution the leader is offering to
determine what action they will take.

7 Respect for the leader
When the leader is respected, which means they
are at the very least trusted and probably liked
as well, then this enables the leader to make
proposals that followers will take seriously.

8 Respect for the solution
When the solution is respected, then the respect
for the leader is not as important, although if
the leader is not respected then the followers
may doubt the ability of the leader to make the
right choices along the way.

9 Followers and Trust
People follow those they trust.

10 Care and concern
We all have a very basic need for safety, which
we can get either by taking control ourselves,
or, as followers do, ceding this to our leaders.

11 Passive concern
Leaders make choices that can harm people. If
you carefully avoid harming me, then I can
trust you.

12 Active care
Beyond a passive concern is the active care
where you may take deliberate action, which
you would not otherwise take, to look after and
actively care for me.

13 Reliability
Leaders need for their followers to trust that
they will do as they say they will do.

14 Keep your promises
A simple rule for leaders is : 'Do what you say'.
Keep your promises.

15 Honesty
The problem with honesty is that the short term
implications can be bad for leaders.

16 Tell the whole truth
If you always tell the truth, including the
unvarnished whole truth and bad news that
others might hide, then I know that when you
say something, I have the complete story.

17 Followers and Liking
If I do not like you, then I will not follow you.

18 Goodness
If I judge you to be good, then I know you have
similar values to me.

19 Similarity
We use external similarity as a short-cut to
determine if a person is like us on the inside.

20 Vulnerability
We see ourselves as vulnerable, often with the
sense of being a child that we all have to some
degree. We see our failings, our limitations,
and weaknesses.


PeopleNology
Gregory Bodenhamer Ph.D
Powerful Human Development