“Lead, follow, or get out of the way.”  Thomas Paine in “The American Crisis, No. 1” (December 19, 1776.)

It’s a quote commonly used in business and leadership, and people tend to correlate the role of the leader as being the person who is out front.  You know, the one with the bugles, big title, or the big office.  These are the ones who are supposed to have the big ideas, big visions, and “born” leadership qualities.

They have great charisma, great looks, and a “larger than life” presence.  However, nothing could be further from the truth.  Leadership is more about an approach, principle, or philosophy.  True leaders have the ability to understand the big picture, communicate the vision, and then rally people around a cause.  Leadership has nothing to do with a title or rank, but has everything to do with commitment.  It’s possible to lead from anywhere in the pack.  Leaders can be out front, or they can even be in the back of the pack.

Leadership Power

Traditional leadership courses address the issue of power and its relationship to leadership.  This includes what type of power a leader has and how the leader wields that power.  An excellent read on the types of power utilized and some of the associated principles can be gleaned from a book titled The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene (Viking Press, 1998.)  While you may not agree with some of the laws and how the author addresses them, the fact is that they are, at the very least, thought provoking.  With all that being said, the reality is that a leader is no better than the followers want them to become.

Implementation

The ability to develop a plan and cast the vision for the direction of a team is only part of the solution.  Effective leaders understand that they must have implementers to take the vision from paper to reality.  This implementation comes when followers buy in to the vision and work in concert to achieve that vision.  They understand that when the team succeeds collectively, they succeed individually, not the other way around.

Followership

When followers understand they have the ability to lead from the middle, or even the back, of the pack is the moment when the team truly begins to move toward true success.  Followership is not about making the boss look good, or sacrificing yourself or your principles to a leader you do not believe in or respect.  Leaders who understand followership know it is incumbent upon them to be the leader who is respected and is someone the team can “buy in” to.  When followers truly feel this level of respect for their leaders, they will work for the good of the team.

Leaders who do not have the respect of the followers will never be able to lead them anywhere.  It doesn’t matter how many strategic planning and team building sessions the leaders make followers sit through, the followers will not follow.  It’s not a matter of having a good vision.  Followership is about people buying into something bigger than self.  In the fire service we typically see this in the “you go I go” mindset of the company / unit.

Tying it Together

It is a matter of lead, follow, or get out of the way.  Leaders who understand that there are times and situations where it is best for them to check their egos and step aside to allow someone else to carry the ball and the team to a higher place will not only advance themselves individually but the team collectively Forbes/followership-a-valuable-skill-no-one-teaches/.  Followers who understand that they have the ability to positively impact the direction of the team will not only advance themselves individually but the team collectively.  Either way, leaders and followers are symbiotic to the success of the team.  One without the other leads to failure.  In the end leaders shouldn’t get “too big for the britches,” and followers should recognize when they have the responsibility of being more than a member of the “roster.”

“Followership is a discipline of supporting leaders and helping them to lead well. It is not submission, but the wise and good care of leaders, done out of a sense of gratitude for their willingness to take on the responsibilities of leadership, and a sense of hope and faith in their abilities and potential.” Reverend Paul Beedle