Bold Followership (eBook)

Maurice A. Buford is Adjunct Professor at Regent University, USA. His research interests include servant leadership, ethical leadership, and emotional intelligence. 

Acknowledgments 6
Contents 7
List of Figures 8
List of Tables 9
Introduction 11
Chapter 1: A King in Narcissistic Clothes 13
A King in Narcissistic Clothes 13
Catching the Little Foxes 15
The Little Fox of the Eyes 16
The Little Fox of the Flesh 18
The Fox Called the Pride of Life 20
The Little Leadership Fox Trap 22
Logos Therapy 22
Self-Awareness 23
Praying for the Prey 24
Spiritual Intuition 25
A Godly Inner Circle 27
Inspiration 28
Conduct Unbecoming 28
King-Think 29
Boardroom Boldness Chats 30
Chapter 2: Decoding the Silence 31
The Moral Imperative 32
Corporate Pressure 33
Good Apples, Bad Barrels, and Ugly Barrel Makers 34
Reverse Engineering the Barrel 37
Prayerful First Step 38
The Platinum Rule 39
Transparency 40
Accountability 41
Moral Loyalty 42
Organizational Learning 43
Bold Followership 46
The Righteousness Factor 47
The Choke Factor 49
Antidotes for Fear 51
Boardroom Boldness Chats 53
Chapter 3: You Have the Right to Remain Silent. Or Do You? 54
The First Boardroom Language 54
Lessons from Uriah the Hittite 55
An Ethical Pause 56
Silent Moral Injury 57
Champion the Order 58
Comply With the Order 61
A Tale of Two Compliant Organizations 63
Creatively Sabotage the Order 65
Boardroom Boldness Chats 68
The Improvised Explosive Device (IED) Case 68
Chapter 4: Faithful Are the Wounds of a Friend 70
The Second Boardroom Language 70
In All of Your Getting 70
Speaking in with a Parable 71
The Parable of Data 73
The Parable of BLUF 73
The Parable of a Manual 73
The Parable of Corporate Storytelling 74
Speaking in with Strategic Pack 76
Speaking in with Principles 79
Historical Trust 80
Spirituality 81
Straight Talk 81
Courses of Action 82
Boardroom Boldness Chats 82
The 1985 New Coke Case 82
Chapter 5: A Prescription for Organizational Dis-eases 84
The Third Boardroom Language 84
Organizational Dis-eases 84
Distrust 85
The Consequences of Extreme Distrust 86
The Fear of Conflict 87
No Skin in the Game 88
The Lack of Accountability 89
Inattention to Results 90
The Cost of Organizational Dis-ease 90
The Gauntlet 90
Whine 91
Whispers 94
Blow the Whistle 97
Signs and Wonders 99
Boardroom Boldness Chats 99
The 401(k) Ethical Case 99
Chapter 6: Walking Away to Win the Day 101
The Fourth Boardroom Language 101
Theological Antecedents 102
The Theory and Psychology of Quitting 105
Reflective Leadership 106
Resist Until Fired 107
Retire 110
Resign 110
The Case of William Ruchelshaus 111
The Case of Fred Price Jr.’s Resignation 111
The Case of Washington’s Resignation 112
Boardroom Boldness Chats 114
The Case of Are You With Them or With Me? 114
Chapter 7: If It Is to Be, It Is Left Up to We: The People, by People, and for the People 116
The Fifth Boardroom Language 116
Unity of Effort 117
The Fierce Urgency of Now 119
Fasting and Prayer 120
Proactivity 121
Project Bold Followership 122
Leading A Twenty-First-Century Organization 123
Boardroom Boldness Chats 125
#MeToo 125
Chapter 8: Measuring Your Organization’s Boardroom Language 127
The Boardroom Boldness Language Scale 128
Step 1: Determine Clearly What It Is You Want to Measure 128
Step 2: Generate an Item Pool 133
Step 3: Determine the Format for Measurement 134
Step 4: Have the Initial Item Pool Reviewed by Experts 134
Step 5: Consider Inclusion of Validation Items 135
Step 6: Administer Items to a Development Sample 135
Step 7: Evaluate the Items 135
Data Analysis of the Shut-Up Concept 136
Data Analysis of the Speak-In Concept 140
Data Analysis of the Speak-Out Concept 143
Data Analysis of the Step-Down Concept 147
Data Analysis of the Step-It-Up Concept 150
Step 8: Optimize Scale Length 151
Discussion 152
Limitations 153
Chapter 9: The Anatomy of Bold Followership 155
Intelligent Disobedience 155
Battlefield Boldness 156
Boardroom Boldness 158
Bystander Boldness 159
Basic Boldness 160
The Biblical Traits of Bold Followership 161
The Struggle for Organizational Health 164
Five Practical Steps to Engage a Toxic Organization 165
Conclusion 167
Bibliography 168
Index 174