A critically important moment in any team occurs when a leader is wise enough to know that they need to follow instead of lead on an issue or initiative.
This doesn’t mean they simply defer to those with more subject expertise or give decision rights to those with more experience on the issue.
Instead, they craft a temporary team or task force and then appoint someone else as the team leader. Their role is now to serve as a team member and to follow.
The team views a leader who can follow as well as lead in an entirely different light. The humility, confidence, and self-awareness that becoming a follower projects serve to elevate the leader’s credibility and create a trusted bond with the team in a way nothing else can replicate.
Choosing to follow suggests a leader who can occasionally give up control when that is what is required to create a great team outcome. Holding the team above personal comfort is something only the strongest leaders would do.
A leader who doesn’t know when and how to follow suggests they likely don’t appreciate the ingredients of great team leadership. No leader possesses the deepest knowledge, skill, and expertise about all issues and topics.
While turning to others and deferring to their expertise is a valuable move, leaders who “get it” understand the need to step aside completely on occasion and to serve the team rather than direct it.
By relinquishing control, leaders demonstrate they are not the center of authority and status on the team and that others are expected to lead as well. In the role of a team member on a given initiative, leaders who know how to follow also get the chance to model the behavior they hope to see in others as teammates.
Followership is a much-undervalued leadership competency. Leaders who believe a lack of authority prevents them from being effective need to rethink their understanding of leadership.
Followers will always be more important to leaders than leaders are to followers. That’s why a leader becoming a team member is so symbolically important. Playing the role of a team member on occasion is how leaders show the team that they truly serve them.
When was the last time you served as a team member on a project or initiative? Tomorrow is not a day too soon.
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