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Lead & Follow


Today's post was inspired by the following quote from the book "The Dichotomy of Leadership":

"Every leader must be willing and able to lead, but just as important is a leader’s ability to follow. A leader must be willing to lean on the expertise and ideas of others for the good of the team. Leaders must be willing to listen and follow others, regardless of whether they are junior or less experienced."

One of the best ways a leader can truly lead the team is to also follow them. It is extremely empowering for your team to know that you not only listen, but trust them to make important decisions and that you are going to have their back and let them take charge.

Some people think that being the leader means you make all the of the decisions all of the time, and if you think your idea is best, to just pull rank and make it happen.

Like everything in life, it is better when people CHOOSE. 

The autonomy and flow it provides your team is extremely important in order achieve the best working environment which will in turn allow your team to perfom at their highest levels.

I personally struggle with someone in a leadership role who quickly reverts to "stroke of the pen" authority in order to move things forward. While there will be times where you have to make the call and own it, that should always come with an explanation of the "why" to your team.

Being able to give up control, to delegate and to let others take charge is hard as a leader. We are told that it is our job to make all the calls and to drive the team forward. As the leader, the team and their performance is your responsibility, however that does not mean that you shouldn't be allowing them to grow, develop and lead.

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