Everyone wants to be the boss. That’s not strictly true but, as anyone who has ever been appointed to lead a team, a division or a company will know, there are few feelings to compare with sliding your feet under the boss’s chair for the first time, knowing it’s your chair now. Sometimes it’s better to follow than to lead.
It’s no wonder that so many acres of digital screens and square miles of newsprint are devoted to the art of leadership.
It’s a mixture of excitement and fear
You begin to think of the fame and glory and, of course, the more bankable rewards that are waiting if you can pull off this assignment.
Your predecessor didn’t cover themselves with glory and you know why, you watched the mistakes they made and wondered how long it would take before everyone else knew.
You won’t make those mistakes. No, but what if you make others? What if people don’t respect your decisions? Supposing they don’t think you’re up to the job?
Power and responsibility. Excitement and fear.
Do we really need leaders?
Despite the growing belief that we are all equal, we know deep inside this is not true. Left alone without any leadership, how many cops would report for duty, how many team members would turn up for practice, how many executives would have their reports in on time?
We are creatures who cannot function without the borders and social boundaries that have for centuries given meaning to human exerience. Without them, society slowly falls apart. (See Why Borders Matter by Professor Frank Furedi)
There are always going to be more followers than leaders so we may as well know how to do both. For it is a fact that the best leaders are those who first learned to follow.
Learn to become a good follower
Don’t think of it as a lesser role than the leader’s. Consider that you’re at an earlier stage of your career growth, so being a good follower gives you endless chances to learn. Never forget that your leader didn’t become one overnight: they had to start as a follower too.
The same applies to anyone, from the head of state to the manager of the local supermarket. They all started as followers and absorbed the positive (and hopefully rejected the negative) lessons provided by their mentors.
If you have a good leader, they will know that one of their key responsibilities is to help create new leaders from among their followers. This has been a guiding principle of leadership for decades, so your ultimate quality as a leader is highly dependent on how well you can follow.
Here are some thoughts
Use your brain
Even though you’re following, get used to analysing and reasoning for yourself. You’re not supposed to be a mindless drone who obeys every rule and every instruction without having your own point of view. Modern managers know the dangers of surrounding themselves with subservient, uncritical followers and will do their best to avoid them.
What if you disagree?
Supposing your leader asks you to do something you know or believe is ill-advised? Should you speak up or respect their authority and carry out their instructions anyway? If it all goes wrong, as you suspect it will, you can always say, “Well that’s what you told me to do.”
Let’s ask the question another way. If you’re driving your car alongside a large river and your satnav instructs you to turn left, would you, knowing that you’d end up in the water? Of course not. If you’re given an instruction at work that you believe will not achieve the desired result, it is your duty to say so.
If your boss decides to ignore your advice, they may have good reason or poor judgement, only the results will tell. Of course, if it’s your leader’s habit to give you flawed instructions, you may think it’s either time to apply for their job or move elsewhere.
Help others
One of the first thing a leader looks for is anyone in their team who has a natural talent for working with others, for obvious reasons. If you unselfishly offer to stay behind to help some colleagues finish their work, without neglecting your own, you will immediately identify yourself as someone who has leadership potential.
Leadership is about sacrifice, not about power, money and prestige. In well run organizations, the boss eats last. If you can demonstrate your understanding of that principle, you will have made your first step towards becoming a leader.
Learn from the best
A retired British special forces sergeant was once asked what kind of recruits he prefers to train and his answer surprised the interviewer. “I prefer to work with the university graduates. The guys who come here with degrees, they’re going to be senior officers one day and every one of them will work hard to convince you he’s a great follower. They know it’s something they have to do if they’re going to be great leaders.”
Hidden in that soldier’s answer is an interesting insight: as their sergeant, he’s the leader of these well-educated recruits but he knows that, before too long, their roles will be reversed. Imagine what a tight bond of mutual trust and respect that creates. Helping colleagues who are your equals will have the same effect if, one day, you become their leader.
Every airport book store is stacked to ceiling with self-help books on leadership. Read them by all means, but learn everything you can about the art of following too.
Showing dissent, if handled properly, is not a sign of refusing to accept authority, it is what is expected of you if your primary interest is the team and the organization, not your own comfort.
Think about this
Test yourself on these key qualities that you need to follow and to lead:
Loyalty: Are you loyal to your employer, its leadership and its high standards of ethical behaviour?
Courage: Do you speak your mind? Leaders rely on their followers to keep them informed about important matters they may have missed.
Working style: Do others judge you as a diligent worker? Do you help people even before they ask you? Are your team members and other colleagues comfortable when asking your advice?
Judgement: Has your poor judgement ever resulted in bad decisions? If not, you’re probably not making enough decisions. Like wisdom, good judgement is earned. As a leader and as a follower, it’s probably your most valuable asset.
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