Enthusiasm is a contagious energy. Once you’re assigned a task and you accomplish that task, you will want your efforts to be accepted by the group. Your level of enthusiasm will have a direct effect on the group or the leader’s feelings concerning the task. Display an upbeat and energetic behavior when performing and promoting tasks. Mission accomplishment will often rest with the followers’ enthusiasm as will as the leaders.

Effective followers need to take a "proactive stance" toward organizational problems. Being proactive means more than taking initiative. Our behavior is a function of our decisions, not our conditions. We have to take the initiative and the responsibility to make things happen. This includes building effective relationships with your supervisor. Highly proactive people recognize the importance of accepting responsibility.

A proactive follower critically considers policies and actively presents suggestions up the chain-of-command that will directly contribute to unit success. Making the unit better is a task that needs to be "owned" by the followers within the individual units and squadrons.

Beating your head against a brick wall isn’t the most efficient or effective way to get to the other side. A better approach is to take a step back and reevaluate. A second look will usually reveal a better way around the wall (i.e., go around it, climb over it, or dig a tunnel under it.) The point is choosing another option is less painful than trying to break through the wall. Apply this same principle when approaching an assigned task. Take a few minutes to reevaluate a task before wasting time and energy trying to overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Use your brain before you use your head.

As an effective follower, your job is to make the squadron work in spite of good or poor leadership. Complaining about policies and poor leadership is very easy and natural for us to do. Think about the offshoot of your complaints. By complaining about decisions and leadership, you undermine the chain-of-command. Instead of complaining, find creative ways to make the situation better. Keep in mind that complainers can sink the morale in a squadron very quickly.

The CAP Core Values are the bedrock to a trusting environment. Lip service to them will do nothing but undermine the mission of the individual units and the entire Civil Air Patrol. Applying these values in your everyday life is a personal thing. You can’t force them on anyone, and you’ll eventually be able to spot a fraud. Having a personal mission statement that you can refer to throughout your life will help you incorporate these values in your lifestyle and increase your effectiveness as a dynamic follower. (See lesson on CAP Core Values for more information on this topic.)