Ladner Rotarian Avis Glaze gave the following invocation at the Rotary Club of Ladner's member meeting on July 22, 2025.
When I think about leadership these days, I also think about the notion of followership. Though seemingly dichotomous, leadership and followership go hand in hand. They are two sides of the same coin.
As Aristotle and Ghandi, said respectively: "He who cannot be a good follower cannot be a good leader," and “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”
Good followers are active participants - not passive, obsequious or servile recipients. They are engaged contributors who strive to support their leaders in achieving shared organizational goals.
Chinua Achebe, the prolific Nigerian novelist and poet puts this in the context of democracy. He said: "A functioning robust democracy requires a healthy, educated, participatory followership, and educated, morally grounded leadership."
Warren Bennis said: "If I had to reduce the responsibilities of a good follower to a single rule it would be "speak truth to power."
The leadership/followership role is dynamic and reciprocal. It is about analyzing, influencing, problem solving, building and ensuring two-way trust, being flexible, adaptable, and honest. lt also means engaging in shared responsibility, respectful challenging of the status quo, providing honest feedback and being an empathic member of your team.
As Rotarians, we practice constantly and are well versed in the art of leadership. We are both leaders and followers who have a well-developed moral compass. We translate vision into action, and think critically and analytically, while remaining loyal to the development of an inclusive, innovative, and ethical organizational culture.
We are fully aware that one is not a leader without being a follower as well.