HRSouthwest: The Follower Effect with Dr. Tony Bridwell

In episode 173, Coffey talks with Dr. Tony Bridwell about the importance of leadership’s “followership” in building strong teams and cultures. They discuss Tony’s new book, The Follower Effect; the key attributes of effective followers including independent critical thinking, mission focus, and active partnership; the dynamic relationship between leadership and followership roles; the importance of follower capital including optimism, hope, resilience and self-efficacy; the role of emotional intelligence in leadership; and the reflect-rethink-act model for personal growth and accountability. Tony’s new book is available at https://www.drtonybridwell.com/books. Good Morning, HR is brought to you by Imperative—Bulletproof Background Checks. For more information about our commitment to quality and excellent customer service, visit us at https://imperativeinfo.com. If you are an HRCI or SHRM-certified professional, this episode of Good Morning, HR has been pre-approved for half a recertification credit. To obtain the recertification information for this episode, visit https://goodmorninghr.com. About our Guest: Dr. Tony Bridwell is an organizational behaviorist with 25-plus years of experience working with global organizations related to employee experience and culture. As Chief Talent Officer for The Encompass Group, a people optimization company, he leads the Firm’s organizational consulting practice and serves as Practice Leader of the E3 Leadership Academy. Most recently, Dr. Bridwell led the award-winning People Group function of the global tax and technology firm Ryan, LLC as their Chief People Officer. Before his role at Ryan, he was the Chief People Officer for Brinker International and a Senior Partner with the global culture consultancy Culture Partners. Tony is an accomplished author of seven books, an international speaker, having presented in 44 countries, and a sought-after consultant and advisor specializing in purpose and culture. Dr. Bridwell was selected as the 2015 HR Executive of the Year by Dallas HR (the local SHRM affiliate), won the 2015 Strategic Leadership Award from Strategic Excellence HR, and was most recently recognized as a 2022 top 50 HR Professional by OnCon Icon Awards. Dr. Bridwell's academic journey is as diverse as his professional one, with studies in architecture, theology, and business culminating in a Bachelor of Science in Business, a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree, and a Doctorate in Organizational Intelligence. His commitment to education extends to his role as an adjunct professor at SMU in Dallas, where he teaches MBA students Executive Leadership. Beyond academia, he is deeply involved in various organizations, including the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and the board of directors for Southwest Transplant Alliance. Dr. Tony Bridwell can be reached at https://www.drtonybridwell.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonybridwell/ About Mike Coffey: Mike Coffey is an entrepreneur, licensed private investigator, business strategist, HR consultant, and registered yoga teacher. In 1999, he founded Imperative, a background investigations and due diligence firm helping risk-averse clients make well-informed decisions about the people they involve in their business. Imperative delivers in-depth employment background investigations, know-your-customer and anti-money laundering compliance, and due diligence investigations to more than 300 risk-averse corporate clients across the US, and, through its PFC Caregiver & Household Screening brand, many more private estates, family offices, and personal service agencies. Imperative has been named the Texas Association of Business’ small business of the year and is accredited by the Professional Background Screening Association. Mike shares his insight from 25 years of HR-entrepreneurship on the Good Morning, HR podcast, where each week he talks to business leaders about bringing people together to create value for customers, shareholders, and community. Mike has been recognized as an Entrepreneur of Excellence by FW, Inc. and has twice been recognized as the North Texas HR Professional of the Year. Mike is a member of the Fort Worth chapter of the Entrepreneurs’ Organization and is a volunteer leader with the SHRM Texas State Council and the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce. Mike is a certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) through the HR Certification Institute and a SHRM Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP). He is also a Yoga Alliance registered yoga teacher (RYT-200). Mike and his very patient wife are empty nesters in Fort Worth. Learning Objectives: 1. Understand the concept of followership and its critical importance in co-creating a positive and effective organizational culture. 2. Identify the key attributes of great followers. 3. Use the Reflect-Rethink-Act model to incorporate followership into leadership style.