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A Good Leader Knows The Team’s Colours.
Leadership can be a very challenging task. As leaders we don’t always get to choose who is on our team. In fact very often a leader inherits a team, of which most of the members have been there far longer than the leader, and may even know more...
Creativity and Innovation Management- why products fail.
There is no sure fire route to commercial success but the probability of success can be increased. This is important for at least two reasons: a)Resource Management. The Economist (2003) states that 3000 bright ideas result in 100 worthwhile...
Increase Your Buying Power With Capital Gains Reinvestment
Increase Your Buying Power With Capital Gains Reinvestment When it comes to selling property capital gains reinvestment can be an important strategy for homeowners and commercial and business owners. The Internal Revenue Service requires capital...
Innovation Management – the harsh facts of life for all innovators
Your opinion doesn’t matter. The end user’s does
Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.
There are other useful...
Maximize Your Website Traffic: Basic Concepts
So you've built your website. Now, what will you do to attract
traffic? You can use any number of possible strategies from
search engine optimization to writing articles, from issuing
press releases to creating joint ventures, to name just a...
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The Importance of Followers
In his July 1997 Toastmaster magazine article called "How to Be a Great Follower", Richard G. Ensman, Jr. stated several qualities he believed are important for this role. He wrote: "Whatever your career or position in life, you'll often find yourself serving as a follower: as a subordinate, a member of a committee, or a participant in a work team. As you strive to fill that role, remember the vocabulary of great followership." The following traits are among those mentioned in the article.
* Complementary - understanding the strengths and limitations of the leader and filling in where needed * Loyalty and Commitment to the leader and their work. * Understanding and articulating the vision and integrating it. * Candor - speaking one's mind clearly, crisply, and convincingly (in private if necessary). * Listening attentively and observing the subtle nuances of what the leader is saying. * Predictability as a good trait because stability is needed within a group. * Helpfulness which is demonstrated when unexpected needs, questions and details arise. * Efficiency which means doing the task quickly and with little cost or aggravation. * Insightful - asking probing questions and fostering new perspectives. * Creativity in striving to develop the ability to bring novel solutions to problems. * Honesty as good followers can be trusted with resources and acting with high standards of integrity. * Persistence in problem solving. * Practicality which leads to thoughtful, positive suggestions. * Communicative with progress reports and developments. * Cheerfulness maintained by an even-tempered disposition and smile - whatever the circumstances
In this writer/publisher's opinion, these qualities are important no matter what your position! These traits are important for whatever role you are performing. Incorporating them into your daily life will benefit you and those around you regardless of whether you are
currently the leader or follower.
Another aspect of the role between leaders and followers is, of course, delegating tasks and responsibility. If you don't trust your followers enough to include them in the decision-making process, then you are probably making decisions based on your needs and your perception of the situation- which could be inaccurate. You do this without benefiting from the insight, creativity, and input of those you lead. And you may not be making the best choice because research shows that decisions made by groups of five or more are superior to individual decisions. If you don't trust these people enough to share information with them and ask for their input and opinions when decisions need to be made, why are they on your team?
When you don't trust your followers enough to delegate responsibility to them and leave them alone to get the job done, you are communicating to them that they are inadequate, incompetent, and just don't have what it takes to accomplish the results you want. Which, obviously, is not an effective way to either increase self-esteem or build a team.
The importance of followers is critical to the success of any professional or personal organization. Without them, the day-to-day running of the group would cease to exist. There'd be no one to do the "real work" that keeps the unit alive and well. Treat followers well and you will be rewarded with the type of behavior and attitudes listed above. Your rank of leader will be enhanced as you will have a well-rounded a nd more smoothly operating unit. A dream that can come true!
About the Author
Copyright 2002 by Virginia Reeves. This article may be reprinted; inform the author via mailto:rainbowop@onemain.com. For more on creativity, success, communication, and enhancing your skills and talents for more growth, please click on http://www.rainbowopportunities.ws or mailto:millionairemindset@GetResponse.com (for free bi-monthly e-zine)
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Creativity - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
Creativity (or creativeness) is a mental process involving the generation of ... Wallas considered creativity to be a legacy of the evolutionary process, ... |
en.wikipedia.org |
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Creativity For Life |
An exploration of creativity in everyday life, with articles, quotes, reviews and other creative resources to awaken creativity in daily life. |
www.creativityforlife.com |
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AdCritic.com: Commercial Ads |
FROM CREATIVITY: Emerging Directors, Unite In the time it took to write this, three new directors popped up. Here are twenty to get acquainted with. ... |
www.adcritic.com |
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National Curriculum in Action - Creativity - |
Ordering Creativity packs: print and video materials. This website gives practical ideas on how to promote pupils' creative thinking and behaviour. ... |
www.ncaction.org.uk |
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Ten Steps for Boosting Your Creativity |
Experiments performed by the JPB Creative Laboratory show that watching TV causes your ... a weekly report on creativity, ideas, innovation and invention ... |
www.jpb.com |
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Category:Creativity Techniques - Mycoted |
This is a general category of Creativity and Innovation Techniques, ... I like to think of these creativity techniques as tools in a toolbox in much the ... |
www.mycoted.com |
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Creativity at Work: The interplay of business, art and science |
A resource for training and development in creativity and innovation in organizations. Has a newsletter, and some articles and essays by 'Corporate ... |
www.creativityatwork.com |
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Crayola Creativity Central |
Crayola Creativity Central offers kids arts and crafts ideas for rainy day fun. We also have coloring books and pages, art and craft projects, games, ... |
www.crayola.com |
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Pages tagged with "creativity" on del.icio.us |
All items tagged creativity ??? view popular ... Perspective for Creative Leaders · save this. by aromay to creativity business management ... 1 hour ago ... |
del.icio.us |
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Creativity Web - Resources for Creativity and Innovation |
Creativity Web Home Page Resources for Creativity and Innovation ... The Creative Process · Multiple Intelligences · Idea Recording · Your Creative Space ... |
members.optusnet.com.au |
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gapingvoid: "cartoons drawn on the back of business cards": how to ... |
So you want to be more creative, in art, in business, whatever. ... Companies that squelch creativity can no longer compete with companies that champion ... |
www.gapingvoid.com |
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Creativity Quotes | Creativity Quotations | Creativity Sayings ... |
Quotes on Creativity - part of a larger collection of Wisdom Quotes to challenge and inspire. Find Creativity quotations and links to quotes on other ... |
www.wisdomquotes.com |
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Ideas by Creativity Pool |
A free database with new ideas and possible inventions. Add your own, or bring an existing idea to life. |
www.creativitypool.com |
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CREATIVITY |
Creative problem solving depends on using the right tools, tricks, ... Search for the latest books on Creativity (or anything else) in the Quantum Books ... |
www.quantumbooks.com |
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Creativity Tools, Creative Solutions & Creative Problem Solving ... |
This page explains a wide range of techniques which can help you generate creative solutions to your problems. |
www.mindtools.com |
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The 6 Myths Of Creativity |
A new study will change how you generate ideas and decide who's really creative in your company. |
www.fastcompany.com |
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CreativeClass.org |
Richard Florida's "The Rise of the Creative Class" examines creativity and its effects on economic development. |
www.creativeclass.org |
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TIP: Concepts |
The relationship between creativity and intelligence has been always been a central concern of psychology ( Guilford , 1950). Much effort has been devoted ... |
tip.psychology.org |
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American Creativity Association (ACA) |
An incorporated non-profit organization promoting personal and professional creativity. Association membership is represented by four multidisciplinary ... |
www.amcreativityassoc.org |
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CREAX - Portal for creativity and innovation |
A resource for links on creativity and innovation on the web. A selection of 690 links is divided into 67 categories for the visitors convenience. |
www.creax.net |
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