Learn to follow

Sometimes the most important thing a leader can do is follow. I write a lot about leadership and what it means to be a great leader, but some of the most pivotal moments that define us require that we take a back seat to someone else and learn to follow. There are often times when we simply do not have the best ideas or we are not in the position to lead the team like it needs to be led. These situations can vary and they do not come up every day, but they are crucial when they do.

Imagine for a moment that there is a team meeting and budgets talks or new project development or a brainstorming session is going on and the leader is in the room. Someone that is not in a leadership position speaks up with a fantastic idea that can save the company money and speed up productivity, but they are the only one with enough expertise to carry the idea out. The leader(s) will be in a special spot to crush the idea or to let it blossom by making a move of encouragement. If the leader doesn’t fall in line and show support for that lower level team member, nobody else will believe it him either. In a sports setting, it also happens when new coaches come to established teams. The team captain (official or not) has the choice to step in line with the new coach and defer to them OR the captain can rebel and influence the entire team to do the same.

Our leadership is not always about dictating and ordering (although that is needed from time to time), instead it is about how we carry ourselves and how we treat others. In the same business setting above, imagine if that lower level team member gets shut down or embarrassed by the leader(s) who tell them it’s a stupid idea simply because they don’t understand it. That team member AND all others will never have the courage to bring up outlandish ideas again in that setting, which will inevitably stifle growth. On the flip side of that coin, that lower level person can start a wave of people speaking up for improvements in their respective areas and create a quick moving culture of autonomous thinkers always looking for ways to improve their respective positions. Leadership is about knowing when to lead and when to follow. We need to be open enough to see those opportunities and humble enough to take them.

“Learn to give and take dictation” – The Red Hot Chili Peppers in the song 21st Century

 

I heard this song lyric by Anthony Keidis in 2006 and it struck such a cord with me that it’s become one of favorite songs on the double CD. What’s interesting is that most of the time, his lyrics barely make sense and he seems to be simply throwing things together that rhyme, while this is very thought out and calculated.