A Good Team Member

Everybody wants to be in the spotlight.
Everybody wants to be the very important person.
Everybody wants to be the one driving the direction.
That's why leadership seminar is very popular.

But the "triangle" of the organisation is a triangle.
There is no leader position for everybody, and should you want to be in such position, you need to earn it. Before you are a leader, you need to become a follower - or team member.

There is a role of a leader. There is a role of a member.

I think people should get feedback on how well they are when they are playing both roles.

The question is: What makes a good follower?
The fact is people often get feedback when they play the role of the leader; but people rarely obtain feedback as a follower/ team member.
Everybody pays too much attention on the leader, that they forget that to become a good follower also needs skills and development.
Perhaps because the general assumption that a good team member should just follow the directions of the team leader; it is as if their position exists just to support the leader.
After all, without a team member/ follower, it is impossible for somebody to become a leader.

See the last sentence above.
Don't you think it is strange that there will be no leader without member, while people can come collectively without any leader, yet we hear people teach more about how to become a good team leader and not become a good team member as well?

Come to think of it. One does not simply label somebody who blindly follows the leader as a good team member. A team member can do more.
And one does not simply label somebody who interrupts the leader's direction as a bad team member.
In the world where innovation is at the heart of the progress of everything, and when the competition is tough, there is no way one team can succeed if the team members will only follow the team leader blindly.
Becoming a team member is an active role; he/ she is an active listener, active thinker, and active doer.
More people means more ideas, and that's one of the strength of working in teams rather than working alone... and having people following you from behind.

Not only ideas, a team member also provides something that a leader in his/her position may not have: feedback for the leader's personal and professional growth. There is no feedback better than the feedback coming from your customers.
And to be able to provide the right feedback, one should also have the leadership skill: knowing what to say, how to say, when to say, and having the courage to actually say it.
This makes it clear that leadership is not only about leading others; it is also about leading ourselves, so that we can carry on with whatever role that is placed or trusted in us... either we are in the position of a team leader, or team member.

Applications: For team-building activities, always rotate leadership each time a different activity/ challenge is introduced, and at the end of the day, provide feedback to everybody in the team, both when they are playing the role as team leader and as team member.

Diandra Epifania Kanter

Astra Jardine Executive Trainee

Reflections from my year in Hong Kong

September 2017 - September 2018