Learning from Your Followers

3 things you can learn about yourself by looking at your followers:

1. If nobody is following you, you aren’t a leader. Doesn’t mean you can’t be a leader, but sadly, you currently are not.

2. You succeed where they succeed, you suck where they suck. The people following you will often mirror your strengths and weaknesses. What they suck at, you’ve sucked at leading them in. What they are good at, you’ve done well at leading them in. Maybe you have some strengths or weaknesses you didn’t know about.

3. You are barely better than them. If you have a bunch of 7 and 8 caliber people following you, then you are probably an 8 or a 9. If you have a bunch of 3 and 4 caliber people following you, then you are probably a 4 or a 5. Maybe you are better than you thought. Maybe you are nowhere as good as thought.

Take a look at your followers and tell me what you learn about yourself.

Leaders Have Followers

What do you call a leader with no followers? A man taking a walk. Seth Godin, in his book Tribes, wrote “You can’t have a tribe without a leader, and you can’t be a leader without a tribe.” Have you ever known someone who thought they were a leader but had no one following them? Maybe it was you. It seems obvious that having people following you is a basic requirement if not a definition of being a leader. Many "leaders" I know don't get this. The term leader has been redefined by many to mean someone who is responsible, someone you can count on, someone who is there when you need them and will make sure the job gets done. These are all great things. A great leader should definitely be reliable but a reliable employee, coworker, volunteer isn’t necessarily a leader. Leaders impact others. Leaders motivate others to action. Leaders influence the behaviors and decisions of others. Leaders have followers. Think about the different areas of your life. Are you a leader at work, at church, at home, in your neighborhood? So who is following you?