"The Ten Rules of Good Followership"

Col Phillip S. Meilinger, United States Air Force and dean of the School of Advanced Airpower Studies at Air Univeristy, Maxwell AFB, Alabama, shares his Ten Rules of Good Followership in an article prepared especially for Concepts for Air Force Leadership. His rules are listed here, but one should read the full article to receive the complete message. Don't blame your boss for an unpopular decision or policy; your job is to support, not undermine.

1. Fight with your boss if necessary; but do it in private, avoid embarrassing situations, and never reveal to others what was discussed.


2. Make the decision, then run it past the boss; use your initiative.


3. Accept responsibility whenever it is offered.


4. Tell the truth and don't quibble; your boss will be giving advice up the chain of command based on what you said.


5. Do your homework; give your boss all the information needed to make a decision; anticipate possible questions.


6. When making a recommendation, remember who will probably have to implement it. This means you must know your own limitations and weaknesses as well as your strengths.


7. Keep your boss informed of what's going on in the unit; people will be reluctant to tell him or her their problems and successes. You should do it for them, and assume someone else will tell the boss about yours.


8. If you see a problem, fix it. Don't worry about who would have gotten the blame or who now gets the praise.


9. Put in more than an honest day's work, but don't ever forget the needs of your family. if they are unhappy, you will be too, and your job performance will suffer accordingly.

This is a repost with edits from June 18, 2010, and yet another transitition from the About Leadership tool in the Leadership Toolbox.