“The Courtiers relations with his prince, and urges the duty of employing his qualities and accomplishments so that his prince may lead to seek good and shun evil. Princes need to know the truth, their difficulty in finding it, and the Courtiers duty to encourage them in the path of virtue, Virtue not wholly innate, but susceptible to cultivation” from the Fourth Book of the Courtier by Baldesar Castiglione 1528
Million of words have been written about being a great leader, an effective leader, a dynamic leader, but few have been written about the importance of being a great follower. There are certain qualities that assist someone in becoming a leader. Yet, as with many things those traits can easily be abused. Our current social and political world is filled with examples of leaders left unchecked, unchallenged and unaccountable. Without a doubt we need people to be leaders, be the ones who step first into the flood, the first to speak up, the first to take a stand. But great leaders are lost without great followers. Followers who are willing for a time to put aside their own aspiration to lead, put aside their agendas, their egos their desires to serve a leader as committed followers.
The quote above paints a picture of a follower serving a leader, in that following there is a clear role defined. The follower is not there to agree and encourage self-centered, self-serving behavior and actions. The follower is there to question, to instruct, to challenge—to take to task a leader straying from the “path of virtue”. It is easy to point to failed leaders, failed companies, failed institutions and blame the leaders. Yet, maybe the responsibility lies with the followers. Yes it is the responsibility of each of us to take ownership of our actions.
Too often we allow leaders to force, to demand, to bully us following into submission. Sometimes our fear stops us from speaking up. Our fear of losing our position, our role, our standing, our benefits of being a quiet agreeing follower. For me as a father I became a much better one once I listened to the critique of my children and apologized for my failings. If my children had not spoken truth to me the damage done may have never been seen by me or others and its toll would have been taken none-the-less. You see, being an effective follower is just as crucial as being an effective leader. The two roles are interdependent, the two empower the other to stay on the “path of virtue”. Great followers have great leaders.
This role I may be describing comes with risks, with the potential for complete failure. This role is tied to a leader’s willingness to listen to, to desire, to accept the critique of a strong follower. This critique when delivered with humility and sincerity will have a far better chance of being heard than one given in harsh insecurity. The goal of the follower’s critique or challenge must always be in support of the advancement of the leader and their agenda no matter the context. Yes, it is assumed that the agenda is truth-filled and beneficial to all. When the agenda veers off course the dedicated follower should be promoting a course correction. Even the most influential, effective, leaders can make bad decisions, make the wrong decision, fail to stay focused on the goal. But an equally discerning follower will see those impurities and not be afraid to bring them to light in efforts to refocus the leader—therefore re-centering the two’s dependence on each other.
Just imagine an organization, a company, a church, a country where great followers are valued as much as great leaders. Imagine the impact, the influence, the benefit for all if our culture embodied the followers that support a leader. Imagine if as much effort, resources and time were being poured into cultivating great followers. Imagine our world where our children brag about what great followers their parents are. Imagine the depth of the relationships where truth is spoken, encouragement dispensed, rebuke common and desired. I think all that I am expressing here fails quickly if we put our own desires, our self service, our egos at the fore. Maybe the first step in this culture of following is to understand our utter hopelessness without a community to support us, to empower us, to challenge us.
We must start to plant seeds for this community now in the midst of its antithesis. We must put away our selfish desires and step into a life immersed in humility, in service, in transparency—without fear. I want to follow a great leader—I think we all do. Yes, some of us will be great leaders but we can all be great followers. I think to be a great leader you must also be a great follower. In a way, being a great follower is more demanding than being a great leader. Being a great follower requires a clear acceptance that we are not the leader and that our role must be one of encouraging, challenging, critiquing, and supporting a leader. The goal of a committed follower is difficult, it will ask you to put aside your ego and agenda to serve another. Yet, I cannot help but think that there is no better place to understand the demands of being a leader than in the following of one.