Are You Leading The Followers Or Following The Leader?

By Eric Tippetts

Business Success Tips, General, Mindset, motivation

Do Both For Success!

For the biggest part, human beings are bred to be followers. Statistics say that in a group of 12 people, only 1 is a natural leader.

Notice that I said natural.

I firmly believe leadership can be taught and developed. And on the other side of the coin, natural leaders should be taught how to follow.

Success requires a mixture of leading and following

In today’s post, I am going to touch on both. And I will start with following. Because to be a great leader, you have to be a good follower.

Here are 5 tips to be a good follower…

“If I had to reduce the responsibilities of a good follower to a single rule, it would be to speak truth to power.” Warren Bennis

Be A Good Follower Tip #1: Be Aware

You need to be aware of both the leader and your peers. Knowing when to help and when to stay out of the way will help you when you are in a leadership roll.

Be A Good Follower Tip #2: Follow Through With Your Obligations

When you commit to something, make sure you do it well and on time.

Be A Good Follower Tip #3: Keep A Positive Attitude

No matter if the leader or your peers are being negative, as a good follower, carrying a positive and enthusiastic attitude will help others around you do the same.

Be A Good Follower Tip #4: If You Are Unsure, Don’t Assume, Ask!

Even if the leader or someone else rolls their eyes when you ask a question, don’t let that stop you from asking questions.

No question is stupid!

The wise follower always asks if he/she has hesitation in the task the leader gave them.

Be A Good Follower Tip #5: Always Support Your Leader

If a peer or someone else is speaking ill of your leader, it is only right that you support that leader; even if you agree the leader made a bad decision.

The best way to support is to tell the person they should approach the leader personally instead of talking behind their back.

Now that you have the good follower tips, here are 5 tips to be a great leader.

“A man who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the crowd.” Max Lucado

Be A Great Leader Tip #1: Show Before Telling

What I mean is, be the example.

If you are telling someone to turn lights off when not in a room, but they look at your office and see the lights on and you are talking to them, you are not setting the example.

If you tell your follower that dressing professionally leads to success as you fix your tie, you are showing that person you dress professionally and they will be apt to mimic you.

Be A Great Leader Tip #2: Be Completely Honest

There may be temptations to hide something from your followers or to even lie about an issue.

Don’t!

It is much better to be transparent. Sooner or later they will discover the truth and you will lose their trust.

Great leaders are excellent communicators. And a key to communication is listening. Listen to your followers. That doesn’t mean you have to agree with them, but listen and then explain your side of the equation.

Be A Great Leader Tip #4: Know And Admit Your Weaknesses

Great leaders are surrounded by great followers. Those followers can pick up the slack where you are weak, But you must know where you are weak and be willing to admit and ask for the follower’s help.

Be A Great Leader Tip #5: Make The Vision Clear To Your Followers

By letting your followers in on the vision, they can also dream and imagine too. They will feel a sense of ownership and their creativity will come to life.

“The greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things. He is the one that gets the people to do the greatest things.” Ronald Reagan