Leader? Follower? Can You Be Both?
I woke up this morning with a question in my mind: what’s the difference between a leader and a follower? Which quickly led to another question: can you be both a leader and a follower? For me, this blog provides a place for me to explore a bit and so, I’m going to see if I can’t sift through my thoughts to arrive at answers to these questions.
What’s the difference between a leader and a follower? As I hold this question and mull it over, it strikes as pivotal in some respects. What I know for sure is that being a leader is about so much more than holding a specific title. You certainly might be a leader by virtue of the fact that you’re a CEO, founder, president, chairperson, etc;. But the title’s not enough. Leadership is about vision, it’s about risk-taking, it’s about showing up and standing up and playing the game even when others are dropping out. Leaders are required to take a stand and invite others to stand alongside. Leaders have to be willing to get it wrong, in order to get it right (whatever “it” might be). In other words, a true leader cannot wait for the perfect idea at the perfect moment. True leaders put themselves out there when things are less than perfect, knowing that as they move forward, step-by-step, perfection will be attained.
Followers, on the other hand, don’t need to hold a vision, they need only subscribe to another person’s vision. Followers don’t need to risk taking the first step; instead they can follow in the footsteps of another. Followers can pull out of the game for a bit, take a breath, and then dive back in when they’re ready. All of this might make it sound like followers have got it far easier than leaders. And I think that this is a bit of a misnomer. Why? Because as a follower, you’ve actually got to exercise a bit of gumption. You’ve got to use your wits and ascertain whether the vision you’re subscribing to is subscription-worthy. As a follower, your role is to lend support to your leaders, and so you’ve got to know what support is required of you in every moment. You’ve got to be able to “read the play” so-to-speak. The role of follower is no less difficult than the role of leader; it’s just different.
So, can someone be both a leader and a follower? As I ask this question, a vision of flying geese comes to mind. What I remember about geese flying in formation is that they absolutely always have a designated leader. They also, however, have a system whereby, when the leader gets tired, the leader “steps back” and another goose takes the position of leader. So now, the follower is the leader, and the leader follows for a bit. In other words, while there is a definite leader and follower role to be held, when it comes right down to it which goose is the leader or follower isn’t nearly as important as all of the geese realizing that they’re on the same team, playing the same game, moving towards the same objective.
Bottom-line: every team needs a leader, and every team needs followers to support the leader’s objectives. More importantly, however, every team member — whether they are leader or follower — has to realize that the overriding fact is that they’re a team. The entity of team trumps the individual roles — at least when the team is all on the same page. So, leaders, followers, ask yourselves: are you on the same page? And if you’re not, how are you going to get there?
Leaders are People Too
I’m here at the official end of my work week, looking back with gratitude and curiousity at what has been one hell of a roller-coaster ride, to say the least. Ups, downs, twists, turns — these are the directions that my journey has taken this week, ending with a bit of goodness to sort of “round it all off” if you will.
While hurtling along on this thrill ride, I’ve found myself dealing with the whole spectrum of emotions: everything from sadness and anger, to joy and gratitude. There’s even been a bit of wonder in there. And what I noticed is that a lot of people, myself included, had difficulty at times being with that whole emotional range. When I stood in the place of possibility, curiousity and optimism, most people were fine and comfortable hanging around. But whenever I succumbed to the realm of sadness, anger or grief, all the “fixer-genes” seemed to come out — nobody wanted me to be in that space, and if I was going to be there, then they were going to leave. It was as though I wasn’t allowed to experience that particular quality of emotion.
Well, here’s what I want to say — to myself ,to my chorus of saboteurs, my family, my friends, my colleagues, and heck, even to those of you who’ve never met me: leaders are people too. By which I mean that everyone, no matter who they are or what they’re trying to achieve in the world has ups and downs, joys and sorrows, fears and quandries. And furthermore, everyone is allowed to have these, to experience these, to be with these,and to move forward when they’re ready.
This isn’t about perfection or imperfection. This is about getting, really understanding, that a complete life is marked by a complete range of experiences. EVERYONE will experience joy, fear, sadness, anger, frustration, curiousity and whatever else you can think of. Leaders, followers, optimists, pessimists, realists — everyone. And when they do, there’s something to be said for simply allowing the experience to be, for bearing witness and standing alongside the person, rather than running to fix or trying to move them along.
Speaking (well, writing) as someone who’s just felt my world rocked by fear — as someone who doesn’t often get this scared — trust me on this. Leaders are people too. And sometimes, that’s all you need to know.