Part 3 - How Do You Create Followers?

In the first two messages of creating strong followers, you told me as a potential follower that I have a purpose, to help you accomplish something that you can’t do alone, something in which I see merit, value and possibility, something that might pique my interest and maybe even inspire me. To complete this project, task or mission, as I call it, you need me and my abilities. The greater degree to which you require my unique personality, experience, skills or talents the greater my sense of significance, purpose and meaning. Now not only am I interested but I’m starting to realize this work as an opportunity, a place for me to contribute. I’m intrigued, I’m interested, I want to be a part of this venture. I’m becoming engaged. 

Now if you really want to build engagement on your team, you need to create a sense of ownership. Remember, we care about those things we own. Teams are no different. So how do you do that? 

That takes us to the third message that you need to share with your team in order to create strong followers. 

Message #3 is “you belong”.

You see, we as humans are social beings, we were made to be in community. Social isolation is deadly for us. Why do you think solitary confinement is the worst possible punishment?  Even introverts require periods of interaction and connection after they’ve recharged their internal batteries while being alone. 

The third law of contribution is that we want to work with and for the benefit of others. When I use my skills in conjunction with other people using their unique skills, it’s like putting the final and missing piece in the puzzle. I not only have a connection but I also have a purpose. My work connects me in a deeper, significant and productive way to other people even though they are doing different but complementary work. It tells me I have value, that I matter. Sure you get a sense of accomplishment when you work alone creating your own puzzle piece as it were but you see it’s true value when you plug your piece into the larger picture. 

Don’t forget, our real sense of purpose comes when we are working on something bigger than we can do ourselves.

The added benefit of working in community, alongside our colleagues, shoulder to shoulder is that we naturally begin to communicate about how to work better together. We start to see better connections between our work, discover efficiencies to make work easier and find shorter paths to better results. In that process, we become decision-makers, process architects and ultimately team owners. 

This is the point of message #3: “you belong”. As a team leader, you want to create a community in which your people can strive and thrive. We become loyal to the communities in which we belong. Whether it’s a group facebook page, a team potluck or an NFL team jersey, we want tangible indicators that attest to our belonging. You’d do well as a leader to find conspicuous ways to let your team tell others that they belong. 

Think about it.