Leaders: Regain Influence by Becoming a World-Class Follower
The adage, “Lead, Follow, or Get Out of the Way,” popped into my peabrain earlier this week, thinking it was a great way to make the point that leaders should abandon the WWII General Patton-inspired phrase “I say jump. You ask how high?”
Boy, was I wrong.
In doing some research about the maxim, I realized just how wrong I was.
The phrase wasn’t meant to demand what I understood to be the military model – at least the one portrayed in the academy-award-winning role of Patton played by George C. Scott – rather, it is far more compelling and eminently adaptable to today’s workplace.
It’s all about knowing “when to hold and when to fold.” It’s when leaders know when to lead, when to follow someone else, and when to get out of the way of stalling a project.
It’s all about becoming a world-class follower.
Lead, Follow, or Get Out of the Way
Lead: it’s about taking ownership when direction is missing.* It’s about defining a clear vision, strategy, outcomes, and goals for the team, and accepting full responsibility if the outcome fails, and giving credit to the team when the outcome is successful.
Note: direction coming from a team member or members, colleagues, or the senior-most leader.
Follow: it means being actively engaged in implementing someone else’s vision when that person has a better idea, is more qualified, or was designated as the lead.
Get Out of the Way: it requires intentionally deciding to stop conduct that slows down the process, allowing it to proceed.
Time to Build Out the Framework
Lead: the boss should step in only when the team is unable – for whatever reason – to set the goal and create the plans to tackle an issue, or the boss is uniquely qualified to lead on a matter.
Follow: when following, which requires the boss to set aside their ego, they must commit 100% to the strategy, even if they disagree with it.
- Deliver “constructive” feedback or disagreements in private, demonstrate full support in public.
- Complete assignments on time and with their best work.
Get Out of the Way: the boss delegates full authority to the people doing the work, trusts the outcomes, and avoids the temptation to tinker.
Drum Roll Please . . . Time for Regaining Influence by Becoming a World-Class Follower
Or what do leaders need to unlearn to embrace this new role?
- Make the mindset shift from orchestra conductor to concert master.
- Understand that the title is not the job; the skills and contributions are.
- Recognize that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts: the team is a puzzle, and the goal is the cumulative impact of everyone contributing their piece of the puzzle, working to its completion.
- Know that commitment is active, not passive: it’s not about being a “yes-person”; rather, it’s about pulling in the same direction as the leader with maximum commitment, contribution, and energy.
What does becoming a world-class follower actually require — and why is stepping back so uncomfortable for successful leaders?
I continue the conversation in The Best of Us at Work, including the promotion paradox, how leaders can move from conductor to concert master, and the value of world-class followership.
