1. Session 8
Followership

2. Objectives
Comprehend the importance of followership and the role it plays in leadership.
Know the qualities, behaviors and principles of effective followership.
Comprehend how the skills of followership led to the success of the “No Name Company.”
Know that effective followers support seniors.

3. Objectives
Comprehend the concepts of initiative, drive, dedication and resourcefulness in the context of followership.
Apply followership skills to your experiences in the midshipman battalion training system and NROTC.

4. Readings “Damn Exec” VOE 129-131 “No Name Company” VOE 45-48
“Followership is a Form of Self Discipline” VOE 44-45
“A Message to Garcia” FNL(2001) through 27-18
“The Subordinate: The Art of Followership”

5. Overview
Discussion of followership
Class Exercise: Role Play

6. How Do You Rate? Name some of your positions of followership.
What defines a good follower?
Chain of Command?
Professionalism?
Self-Discipline?
Legal orders?
Loyalty?
Name some others.

7. Role Play
The midshipman battalion has been doing neighborhood clean-up on weekends for several months. The community that has benefited from this effort purchased tickets to a major league baseball game for 1930, Friday night for the entire battalion. The Cubs are playing the Diamondbacks and Sammy Sosa can potentially break Mark Mcquire’s single season home run record. It’s Friday, The battalion has arranged for a bus to take the Mids together to the game at 1730.

8. UH-OH!
The LT taking everyone to the ball game gets a telephone call from the Commanding Officer and is told that the University President will be taking Congressional VIPs through their newly renovated battalion area at 0800, Saturday morning. The LT tours the deck and finds the usually spotless battalion area a mess. The contract janitorial workers are gone for the day and unavailable. The LT tells the battalion commander to have one company stay behind this evening, miss the game and clean up the area. The battalion commander does not know about the VIP tour set for the next morning. Alpha Company is chosen to stay behind.

9. Summary In order to lead you must first know how to follow.
Throughout your career, you will always be a follower regardless of the level you attain as a leader.
You must continuously refine your followership skills in order to be an effective leader.
You must be able to carry “A Message to Garcia.”

10. Assignment “Criticism and the Naval Officer”
VOE
“Chapter Seven: Achieving Effective Communications”
VOE

11. ??? Questions ???