Being a Good Follower

I've spent the past year or so reading up on the latest leadership materials, examining how I can grow in this area.

Yesterday, I realized clearly that I have a lot more to learn about being a good follower, too.

To make a long story short, a colleague sent out a "Reply to All" email implying that our supervisor hadn't followed proper procedure and that my team and I had received an extra, unnecessary benefit.

I immediately realized that this was a mistake, and that our supervisor had followed proper procedure. But I was left feeling on the outside and insulted.

Paul writes in verses 12-13 of chapter 5 that, "...we ask you to be thoughtful of your leaders who work hard and tell you how to live for the Lord. Show them great respect and love because of their work. Try to get along with each other..."

This passage is set within the context of Christian leadership and the church, but the parallel to secular workplace leadership is obvious.

I see that I was wrong, again.

If my colleague had emailed our supervisor privately, it would have been easy to clear things up with very little emotional energy spent. Since he put out the post to the whole group, my feelings were hurt.

I've been guilty of emailing a couple of messages to the whole group and creating a stir. I thought I was standing up for my friends. But what I was actually doing was undermining people in leadership who are responsible for telling me "how to live" at work.

Before I can be an effective leader, I need to become a more positive follower. This requires great humility. I need to pray for more humility.

Lord, give me humility to become a better follower. I will stand up for my friends when a moral law has been broken, but otherwise I will defer to my leaders.