Behavior-Based Leadership
and Followership
Training
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July 1, 2025
Point of Reference: A Leadership and Followership Perspective
What is your point of reference?
A point of reference—whether called a benchmark, landmark, lubber’s line, or even a buoy—is something that provides orientation and direction. For leaders and followers alike, a point of reference helps clarify purpose, guide behavior, and measure progress. In leadership, the concept of a “lubber’s line,” a fixed mark on a compass indicating direction, is particularly useful. It symbolizes the steady guide necessary for navigating an organization through both calm and stormy waters.
Lubber's
Line
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Whatever you want to call it, it is used to show some kind of place that gives the person a particular point that helps orient their efforts or goals. The "Lubber's line" is the best fit for leadership. Let's use this concept for the purposes of this training
The Importance of Direction in Leadership and Followership
Imagine a ship without a reference point—adrift, potentially circling the ocean aimlessly. Early sailors relied on the North Star or the Southern Cross to maintain their bearings. In organizations, the equivalent of these celestial guides might be the mission, vision, or core values. Whether you are a formal leader setting the course or a follower supporting the journey, you must understand the organizational direction (Northouse, 2022). Without shared reference points, followers may become disengaged or disoriented, and leaders may struggle to rally their teams toward a common destination (Kellerman, 2008).
Shared Direction and Mutual Accountability
Leadership is not just about setting goals; it’s about fostering shared understanding of those goals among followers. Reference points such as sales targets, performance benchmarks, or value statements anchor organizational behavior. While leaders may set these points, followers interpret, act upon, and provide feedback about them, co-creating the path forward (Carsten et al., 2010). This mutual accountability reinforces alignment and enhances team cohesion.
Importantly, the reference point may vary depending on your position in the organization. A top executive may focus on strategic market positioning, while a front-line employee may orient their actions based on a daily production quota or quality standard. Both are valid points of reference, and both are essential to achieving broader goals.
Leader-Follower Alignment
The concept of liminal leadership where leading and following occur simultaneously—emphasizes the dynamic interplay between direction-setting and direction-taking (Fuzie, 2023). Leaders must consistently communicate the organizational point of reference and remain open to follower input. Likewise, followers must understand how their actions contribute to shared objectives. Misalignment between leader and follower reference points can result in organizational drift, reduced performance, and morale decline.
Putting It all Together:
Whether formal or informal, every member of an organization plays a role in aligning actions to the point of reference. Leaders must be vigilant in monitoring direction and progress, while followers must be engaged, aware, and informed. Just like the lubber’s line keeps a ship on course, a clear reference point in an organization keeps people focused, persistent, and purposeful (Locke & Latham, 2002). Without it, efforts are easily misdirected. Both leaders and followers must know where they are going and why. The journey is a shared one, and it begins with clarity of purpose and direction.
A point of reference may be many things to many people, but as a leader you need to be able to give everyone (followers) some organizational direction. This direction may be in the form of "organizational goals," a "values statement," or sales "targets/marks" or even production "benchmarks." Whatever you call it, these are reference points. Your status or position in the organization, will determine what your point of reference is. For the top leaders, it may be out in the organizational environment, for a line worker, it may be a production team goal, or maybe even just the clock, but time is also a point of reference. Anything that gives a sense of purpose or ideals (as for Don Quixote in the song below) may also be considered a "point of reference." Without a point of reference to either measure gains or loss, or give direction or even an underlying idea of "why we do what we do," it is hard for us to move people to a certain place.
Quotes to Put into Practice…
Don Quixote's point of reference from the musical "Man of La Mancha" was evident in the song "The Impossible Dream" - Lyrics by Joe Darion
To dream the impossible dream, to fight the unbeatable foe, to bear with unbearable sorrow, to run where the brave dare not go. To right the un-rightable wrong, to love pure and chaste from afar, to try when your arms are too weary, to reach the unreachable star.
This is my quest, to follow that star, no matter how hopeless, no matter how far, to fight for the right without question or pause, to be willing to march into Hell, for a Heavenly cause.
And I know if I'll only be true to this glorious quest, that my heart will lie peaceful and calm when I'm laid to my rest. And the world will be better for this, that one man, scorned and covered with scars, still strove with his last ounce of courage to reach...the unreachable star.
Here's a YouTube link for the song with lyrics, sung by Frank Sinatra:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjI7VeIA7ZI
References
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Carsten, M. K., Uhl-Bien, M., West, B. J., Patera, J. L., & McGregor, R. (2010). Exploring social constructions of followership: A qualitative study. The Leadership Quarterly, 21(3), 543–562. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2010.03.015
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Fuzie, C. M. (2023). Liminal space: Reshaping leadership and followership. Authors on Mission.
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Kellerman, B. (2008). Followership: How followers are creating change and changing leaders. Harvard Business Press.
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Locke, E. A., & Latham, G. P. (2002). Building a practically useful theory of goal setting and task motivation: A 35-year odyssey. American Psychologist, 57(9), 705–717. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.57.9.705
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Northouse, P. G. (2022). Leadership: Theory and practice (9th ed.). SAGE Publications.