You Ain’t Leading

Do you even know if they want to cross the bridge?
Renjith Krishnan/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net

File this under Humanistic Leadership. Lots of people like to think they are leaders, but if no one is following you, you ain’t leading.

It’s amazing how many leaders don’t get this. They get mad at people for failing to see how brilliant they are or how important the work they think needs to get done is. If people aren’t following you, the problem must lie in the stupidity of the followers who are refusing to follow. Right? Wrong. If people ain’t following you, it’s your fault. And launching ad hominen attacks on the people you would like to have follow you isn’t going to endear you to them.  

If you want people to follow you, you first need to take the time to find out what it is THEY want to accomplish. They could care less about what you want. What they want to know is how you are going to help them accomplish what THEY want. But unless you are willing to find out what THEY want, you aren’t going to be able to help them see how your plan of action will help them. If you want people to follow, you need to step back, consider the problem from their perspective, and help walk them through step by step how what you are proposing is going to help them and you get to your shared goal.

Never underestimate the intelligence of your followers. They aren’t stupid if they aren’t following you, they are just being skeptical, and that’s a good thing. If you want to lead people, you first need to give them a good reason to follow you.

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