Great Leaders are Great Followers

The men’s group at my Church last year was having a discussion about leadership.  During our conversation, the discussion turned toward how important it is for a leader to be a good follower.  This is also known as Followership.

Let’s examine this concept further.

In an article titled, “Why the Best Leaders are Followers,” Michael Hyatt identified several followers in history that eventually became good leaders in their own right.  He used several examples from the Bible to make his point.

• Joshua followed Moses for 40 years and then led the people of Israel into the promised land.
• Elisha worked with Elijah for over 10 years before taking his place.
• The Apostle Peter followed Jesus and after his crucifixion, Peter became a leader of the new Christian faith.

Aristotle was a follower of Plato and eventually became a great philosopher in his own right.  He understood the value of being a good follower.

Aristotle said, “He Who Cannot be a Good Follower Cannot be a Good Leader.” Share on X

Warren Buffett worked under the tutelage of Economist Benjamin Graham for over 10 years before starting his own investment company and rising to the top of the industry.

These are only a few examples.

There are three key truths about being a follower that helps followers find success as a leader.

Followers Propel Organizations Forward

Think about it.  If everyone in the organization acted only as a leader, the progress of the organization would come to a screeching halt.  Accomplishing anything becomes impossible.  Good followers buy into the vision of leaders and help the organization accomplish its mission and achieve its goals.

Great followers propel the organization forward and learn what it takes to gain followers, which will serve them well as they become leaders.

Followers Understand Successful Leaders Equal Successful Organizations

In January of 2007, Dan Flynn was selected to be the next Chief of Police for the Marietta Police Department.

I was bitterly disappointed.

I was one of the finalists for the job and believed I was the best choice.

After I recovered from my initial shock, I knew all eyes in the organization would be on me.  How would I react to the new chief?  Many in the organization would take their cue from me.

My support of Chief Flynn as the new leader of our department was important.

I introduced Chief Flynn to our department at the first full supervisory staff meeting a few days after he started.  I said, “Chief Flynn has been selected as our new police chief.  Although I am disappointed I was not selected, the decision has been made.  I intend to support Chief Flynn to the best of my ability because I know when he succeeds, our department succeeds.  I ask that each of you do the same.”

For the next year and a half, I walked the talk.  I supported Chief Flynn, followed him and learned a lot about good leadership from him in the process.

Chief Flynn continues to be supported almost 11 years later.

When leaders succeed, so do organizations.

Great Followers Learn How to Lead

Who is the best leader to learn from?  The ones you are following within your organization.  Even good leaders have some not so good traits.  You can learn from them as well.

What can you learn?

As a good follower, you learn how to lead others.  You learn how to treat those around you.  You learn what it takes to get things done.  You learn how to interact with others.  You learn what it takes to make good decisions.

This makes a lot of sense to me.  Followers learn how to be successful as a leader from the leaders they follow.

Have you ever thought about how important a follower is to a leader?  After all, if a leader has no followers, then he or she is really not a leader.

I recently ran across a great video from several years ago titled, “First Follower: Leadership Lessons From Dancing Guy.”

I encourage you to watch the video and listen as the narrator describes what happens.

Leaders must continue to be a good follower even after becoming a leader.  This can be extremely important to your organization and how well others follow you because they are watching your example.

How well do you follow those leading you in the organization?

Do you always have to lead, even among your peers, or can you demonstrate that truly great leaders can also follow other leaders for the good of the organization?

Truly great leaders understand the need to be both a leader and a follower and the best timing for both.

Great leaders are great followers and great followers become great leaders. Share on X

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