Educational Session Abstract 2011 Midyear Clinical Meeting New ...

Educational Session Abstract
2011 Midyear Clinical Meeting
New Orleans, Louisiana
310-1
The Herd, The Pack, The Horde! Using the Concepts of Leadership and Followership
to Separate Yourself from the Flock
Hertig, J. B.
Purdue Center for Medication Safety Advancement, 6640 Intech Blvd, Ste 120, Indianapolis,
IN, 46032, USA. Email: john.hertig@gmail.com
Kelley, L. R.
The term followership is not new. In an article entitled “In Praise of Followers,” Robert
Kelley described how, more often than not, corporate success is due to practicing good
followership rather than good leadership. Followership principles can be translated to the
practice of pharmacy to empower new practitioners to seek less-traditional and unique
leadership opportunities. Not everyone can hold traditional leadership positions; however,
new practitioners can take charge of their own practice and become effective pharmacy
followers, exhibiting key leadership characteristics while assuming a supporting role. As a
new practitioner, there are seven steps that can be taken on your path to effective
pharmacy followership: 1. Redefine followership and leadership; 2. Maximize your
strengths and improve on your weaknesses; 3. Engage in continuous performance evaluation
and honest feedback; 4. Seek opportunities and be your own advocate; 5. Find a
mentor and be a mentor; 6. Ask why; 7. Always present solutions to problems.
Learning Objectives:
1. Define followership and describe its importance in leadership situations.
2. Evaluate a set of behaviors using the Seven Steps for Effective Pharmacy
Followership.
Self‐Assessment Questions: (True or False)
1. Followership is not a person but a role, and what distinguishes followers from
leaders is not intelligence or character but the role they play.
2. Incorporating good followership and the Seven Steps into daily practice has great
potential to advance the pharmacy profession and improve patient care.
Answers: 1. (T); 2. (T)
© 2011 American Society of Health-System Pharmacists

Educational Session Abstract
2011 Midyear Clinical Meeting
New Orleans, Louisiana
310-2
The Herd, The Pack, The Horde! Using the Concepts of Leadership and Followership
to Separate Yourself from the Flock
Kelley, L. R.
University of Michigan Hospital and Health Systems; 1500 E. Medical Center Dr, SPC 5008,
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-5800, USA. Email: lrkelley@umich.edu
The need for leaders in our profession continues to grow. A key statistic: when asked
whether pharmacy students had any interest in pharmacy leadership, 62% indicated they
would like to pursue this option. Yet, when the same question was posed to current
practitioners, only 30% indicated interest in pharmacy leadership. Multiple reports have
been published regarding the leadership gap, and although the gap may be narrowing,
many new practitioners are still hesitant to pursue leadership positions. As such, there
appears to be barriers for practitioners, especially newer practitioners, to pursuing
and/or obtaining leadership positions. Following this educational session, participants
will be able to translate key followership principles to the practice of pharmacy.
Particpants will be given tools to seek out less traditional and unique leadership
opportunities, helping fill critical leadership gaps.
Learning Objectives:
1. Describe ideal conditions for motivating followers.
2. Evaluate the role of followership within your organization.
Self‐Assessment Questions: (True or False)
1. Exemplary followers are best led through a “selling” leadership approach.
2. Value congruence (alignment) is crucial to successful followership.
3. Exemplary followers are Independent, innovative, and willing to question
leadership.
Answers: 1. (F); 2. (T); 3. (T)
© 2011 American Society of Health-System Pharmacists