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Leading as a follower begins with a simple idea: No matter how little of your work responsibility is under your control, you always retain control of your dignity as an individual. Most Americans no longer work in extremely dangerous or hostile work environments, but many people still work on jobs where they have little control over their job content or their workplace. Most current workplace struggles, as a consequence, are no longer about the right to unionize or bargain collectively but about the right to human dignity on the job.
Improve even the simplest things
Often, the simplest thing you can do to add to the dignity of the workplace is to clean it up and make it more cheerful. Many people take the attitude that physical conditions in the workplace are solely the responsibility of management, and that they should not be spending their own time and money for the benefit of the company. But putting together a work detail one weekend to paint the walls of your office a brighter color, instead of waiting for maintenance to do it three years from now, can brighten everyone's attitude, both through the doing and through the end result. It will also make an impression on your group's leader and make him or her more receptive to your next suggestion about ways to improve work flow or profits.
Use information to build team spirit
An effective leader pursues information so that he or she can make the best possible decisions. But often, information is valuable not for what it can do for you, but for what it can do for others.
 | Every person in your office or plant has a birthday. Take the responsibility of acknowledging those milestones with a card and a brief ceremony. Everybody has important family moments. Acknowledge these events also. If your company has a newsletter, take the responsibility for your group to supply it with information. If there isn't a newsletter, start one, even if it is just a photocopied single sheet of paper. You can contribute to the cohesiveness of the group by showing co-workers how much they have in common, and you can also help to build team spirit. |
Ask on behalf of the group, never for yourself
Leading as a follower may ultimately improve your leverage with management when you want to ask for a more significant change. When you do ask for a significant change, such as upgraded training, ask on behalf of the group, not yourself. If you couch your request in terms of how the group benefits, it may be taken more seriously. In order to demonstrate leadership in these situations, it has to be clear to whomever you're speaking that you represent the goal or needs of a group, not yourself alone. Group aspirations are why the need for leadership exists, after all.
Get your group involved in the community
Companies and organizations exist within their larger communities, so take it upon yourself to improve your group's ties to the community as a whole. The public relations department or the head of the company may be making charitable grants, but that doesn't stop you from organizing a group to help in an area where you think you can do some good. A playground near your workplace may need some cleanup or improvement. You can organize it. If there is an accident or a local disaster, help with a fund-raising effort. Is there a mentoring program or a literacy program to which you can contribute? All of these are opportunities to demonstrate leadership and involvement.
 | Most companies and organizations attempt to portray themselves as at least outwardly benevolent. Take advantage of that fact to gain volunteer time and access to company resources. It may get you noticed by higher levels of management. |
Get a logo
If you are indeed a team, get yourself a team logo. At NASA, every space mission has its own logo, and mission members wear their logo patches proudly, to let other people know what projects they are working on.
Don't pick fights with your bosses
Workplace dignity provides fertile ground for leadership opportunities. This doesn't mean actively seeking out confrontations with management. It means looking for ways to add to the value of the worker in the workplace.
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