[{"@context":"http:\/\/schema.org","@type":"BlogPosting","timeRequired":"P0Y0M0DT0H3M15S","copyrightYear":"2021.0","isFamilyFriendly":true,"isAccessibleForFree":true,"wordCount":"773","dateModified":"2021-05-05","datePublished":"2021-05-05","description":"it is the good followers that are targeted by management to be the next leaders. The assembly worker who has a great attitude and works hard might someday become the boss. But even if that never happens, being a good follower will make your work life less stressful.","url":"https:\/\/jobbloghq.com\/career-blog\/followers-can-be-lead-targets\/","articleBody":"Almost anyone who draws a regular paycheck is required to attend leadership training. But what about followership training? We never hear about that. Yet it is the good followers that are targeted by management to be the next leaders.\n\nSo, here you are, installing carburetors or putting bolts into holes, hour after hour. You talk with co-workers when you break for a smoke or wolf down your bologna sandwiches and try to put your body in \u201crest\u201d mode for 15 minutes.  Then, out of the blue, the boss decides to put you on swing shift. And you think, \u201cWhat am I following this guy for?\u201d Perhaps it is a test. Maybe you are unknowingly in training.\n\nIt takes just as much training and self-talk to be a follower as it does to be a leader. And it\u2019s a tough job to be your own person while following someone else\u2019s directives to the letter, sometimes shouted at you from a distance. The assembly worker who has a great attitude and works hard might someday become the boss. But even if that never happens, being a good follower will make your work life less stressful.\n\nTake it one day at a time: This is the place where you are right now, so live in the moment. Work hard for your whole shift but, before you get home, take off your inner factory clothes and change into Dad or Mom, card player or country music buff. If you try to plan for weeks or months, you won\u2019t be flexible enough to switch to some new orders or different responsibilities.\n\nNobody\u2019s a nobody: What you do for a living is not the same as who you are.  You don\u2019t need to treat yourself the way a lousy boss might treat you. Remember, while you pick up parts or tighten screws, that you might be a great guitar player; maybe you just bagged a 10-point buck or became a parent for the first time. Be happy in that part of your life!\n\n\u201cYes\u201d might be a doorway to success: when the boss asks you to take on an extra job or two, be ready to say, \u201cyes.\u201d If you\u2019re already up to your eyeballs in work, this is the time to have a two-minute meeting to ask your boss to help you prioritize work. \u201cYes\u201d might mean \u201cI\u2019ll do it this minute\u201d or \u201cis it OK if we plan this thing for a few days out?\u201d Saying \u201cyes\u201d lets your supervisor know you\u2019re ready, willing and able to fit the bill. Even if \u201cyes\u201d feels hard, you will be seen as reliable and able to manage a heavy schedule.\n\nDo what you do well: If you\u2019re careful and thorough at your job\u2014even if it is dirty, rough, or hot\u2013you\u2019ll know how to keep these same ethics throughout your life. Besides that, you might save the company money because you\u2019re less likely to break a machine or let expensive parts fall on the floor.\n\nDon\u2019t let rudeness change you: Don\u2019t let dirty talk, or even racial or ethnic slurs, poke holes in you. You\u2019re better than that! Yelling back with another snide remark won\u2019t help your life. Try to build your life with good things and can let the other stuff go.\n\nYour factory is your embassy: Become an ambassador for your company. Help with tours. Ring bells for the Salvation Army. Involve yourself in the good work of your community, especially when your company sends 10 or 20 workers to rake yards, spruce up a building or help children become better readers. Learn about the good things your company does, even if you feel you don\u2019t get your share of those things.\n\nI know my stuff: Carry yourself as one who is confident and competent; a person who loves life even during days when you feel at a loss or wonder if you left your brain at your back door. Even then, you are growing your own personal excellence where you are and how you are. Everybody can pretend they own an ivory tower; it takes real maturity to remain true to yourself. You never know; that ivory tower could catch fire and topple at any minute.\n\nIn the end, followership training just might remind you of the kind of person you would like to be, or the person you\u2019d like to be your friend. Management seeks out good followers in the hope that they will also be good leaders. If that promotion comes, you\u2019ll be a leader of others. Then you\u2019ll have another leader higher up the ladder for you to follow. It never stops, does it?","name":"Followers Can Be Lead Targets in the Chain-of-Command","headline":"Followers Can Be Lead Targets in the Chain-of-Command","mentions":[{"@type":"Thing","url":"https:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/wiki\/Q188307","name":"wiki-salvation-army","sameAs":["kg:\/m\/0m6qk","https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Salvation_Army"],"@id":"https:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/wiki\/Q188307"},{"@type":"Thing","url":"https:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/wiki\/Q1251441","name":"wiki-boss","sameAs":"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Supervisor","@id":"https:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/wiki\/Q1251441"},{"@type":"Thing","url":"https:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/wiki\/Q1481075","name":"wiki-leadership-training","sameAs":"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Leadership_development","@id":"https:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/wiki\/Q1481075"},{"@type":"Thing","url":"https:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/wiki\/Q99738111","name":"wiki-swing-shift","@id":"https:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/wiki\/Q99738111"},{"@type":"Thing","url":"https:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/wiki\/Q116112084","name":"wiki-follower","@id":"https:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/wiki\/Q116112084"}],"subjectOf":{"@type":"Blog","url":"https:\/\/jobbloghq.com\/hr-blog\/","name":"The Job Blog - Career Blog","description":"blog for human resource managers and employers","inLanguage":{"@type":"Language","name":"English","@id":"https:\/\/jobbloghq.com\/#Language"},"about":"https:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/wiki\/Q656365","@id":"https:\/\/jobbloghq.com\/career-blog\/"},"author":{"@type":"Person","url":"https:\/\/jobbloghq.com\/beverly-mapes\/","name":"Beverly Mapes","description":"Beverley Mapes bio, business owner of Top of the List, hires employees as main human resources manager for her company.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/beverlymapes\/","https:\/\/topofthelist.net\/about-us\/our-team\/beverly\/"],"@id":"https:\/\/jobbloghq.com\/beverly-mapes\/#Person"},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/jobbloghq.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/the-job-blog-lt-horiz.png","name":"The Job Blog logo","height":"116","width":"818","@id":"https:\/\/jobbloghq.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/the-job-blog-lt-horiz.png"},"url":"https:\/\/jobbloghq.com\/","employee":[{"@id":"https:\/\/jobbloghq.com\/beverly-mapes\/#Person"},"https:\/\/jobbloghq.com\/amber-schneider\/"],"alternateName":"Job Blog HQ","additionalType":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Internet_forum","https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Blog"],"name":"The Job Blog","description":"A resource website containing helpful blog articles and forums for job seekers, employees, recruiters, employers, and anyone with a career.","telephone":"+1 (616) 284-5446","contactPoint":"https:\/\/jobbloghq.com\/contact\/#ContactPoint","foundingDate":"2024","areaServed":"https:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/wiki\/Q30","@id":"https:\/\/jobbloghq.com\/#Organization"},"inLanguage":{"@id":"https:\/\/jobbloghq.com\/#Language"},"about":{"@type":"Thing","url":"https:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/wiki\/Q484275","name":"wiki-leadership","sameAs":"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Leadership","@id":"https:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/wiki\/Q484275"},"mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/jobbloghq.com\/career-blog\/followers-can-be-lead-targets\/"},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/jobbloghq.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Leadership-1.jpg","name":"Followers Can Be Lead Targets in the Chain-of-Command","height":"747","width":"1136","@id":"https:\/\/jobbloghq.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Leadership-1.jpg"},"@id":"https:\/\/jobbloghq.com\/career-blog\/followers-can-be-lead-targets\/"},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Career Blog","item":"https:\/\/jobbloghq.com\/career-blog\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Followers Can Be Lead Targets in the Chain-of-Command","item":"https:\/\/jobbloghq.com\/career-blog\/followers-can-be-lead-targets\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]