Bottle Claus — A Great Follower (#286)

I recently read this outstanding article on Bottle Claus in the LA Times. Who is Bottle Claus, you ask? A future rival to Elf on the Shelf?

Bottle Claus is Claus-Henning Schulke, a 57 year old German engineer who lives in Berlin. Claus is an outstanding athlete himself — he completed the Race Across America cycling race, ran a 2:34 marathon, and has completed 6 Ironman Triathlons. But what has brought “Bottle Claus” the most attention is his work as the person who personally hands Eliud Kipchoge, the greatest marathon runner of all time, each of his bottles at the 13 aid stations during the Berlin Marathon. Due to its flat course, the Berlin marathon typically sees the fastest times (although just this weekend the world record for the marathon was set in Chicago.)

Claus is dedicated to his bottle delivery craft. He rides the course the day prior to the race. On race day, he sets out on his bicycle with a backpack containing 13 bottles filled with a blend of carbohydrates, electrolytes and water. Riding ahead of the runners, he sets up at each aid station wearing a brightly colored jacket, a sign saying “Kipchoge” on his arm, and a bottle with the mouthpiece open and ready to drink. As the pack of runners comes by the aid station, Bottle Claus shouts Eilud’s name, makes eye contact, and executes a perfect handoff of the bottle. Check out Claus-Henning Schulke in action in the video below:

The Best of Bottle Claus

After each perfect handoff, Bottle Claus celebrates with an emphatic fist pump. He then jumps on his bike, races ahead of the runners at 20+ miles per hour, sets up, and does it again. With Bottle Claus executing perfect bottle deliveries, Kipchoge set the marathon world record at the Berlin Marathon with a time of 2:01:09 (It is now 2:00:35). This year, Kipchoge won the Berlin marathon with a time of 2:02:42.

Followership

Bottle Claus is a great follower. The dedication he demonstrates to his craft is amazing. As Barbara Kellerman said in her excellent book Followership, there are six qualities to a great follower:

• Competence — a great follower has the ability to do the task successfully, efficiently, and effectively. There are five levels of competency:

  • Novice

  • Experienced Beginner

  • Practitioner

  • Knowledgeable practitioner

  • Expert

• Work ethic — a great follower is diligent, motivated, and committed to getting the job done on time and under budget.

• Judgement — a great follower takes direction but understands they have an obligation to do so only when the direction is proper and ethical.

• Initiative — a great follower knows when to demonstrate initiative, especially when given the purpose (or the why) of the task.

• Loyalty — a great follower is loyal to the organization and its goals. It is helpful to understand the organization’s purpose to keep things in perspective. Followers remember that their obligation is to the organization, not a specific leader.

• Ego management — a great follower is able to subordinate their own ego for the greater good of the team or organization.

Bottle Claus is an expert in bottle delivery, has an incredible work ethic, and demonstrates judgement and initiative during the fluid environment of an incredibly fast marathon. How many people do you have that are like Bottle Claus on your team?

Conclusion

Are you a leader? Have you celebrated the great followers in your organization lately? Are you a leader that needs to cultivate more people like Bottle Claus on your team? Then hit the button below to schedule your free consultation:

In the meantime, go on the offensive and use the story of Bottle Claus the great followerer and his dedication to doing the little things right to inspire you this week.