What did I sign up for? What are they signing up for?
If you say “yes” to a leader, you say “yes” to their way of life. That should be a profound truth for you both as a leader and a follower. If you have people who don’t agree with your way of life, they will struggle to follow you, and if you find that you are trying to attract followers with good looks and charisma, you will find your leadership and your followers to be fleeting. It is only when the leader and the followers attain harmony of vision that real progress can be made. So, it is of utmost important that you make known your way of life at every turn. Don’t try to hide it or dial it down out of fear that you might lose someone, or that you’ll never attract the right number of followers. The truth is, it’ll never work out for those who follow you because they believe you are something you are not, so just be honest. You want the people who follow you to know everything about who you are and still choose to follow.
But then there are the outliers. Even when you are living out authentic leadership, you need to be aware of those followers who want privilege and position instead of wanting to learn. These are the ones who are the most demanding and threaten you with abandonment occasionally if you aren’t giving them opportunities to elevate often enough. They worm their way into your organization not to fulfill the vision, but to use you as a shortcut to their own designs. You must take care to protect yourself from these individuals, because they will suck the life out of your organization and poison the other followers along the way.
Take five minutes and consider:
If you want authenticity in your organization, it starts with you. Is it immediately evident to everyone who spends time with you what you are about? Are you living out loud with clarity, or you are you disguising a double life that you fear to reveal? Take time and evaluate everyone in your organization. Are they following the leadership you are giving, or are they simply hanging around trying to advance their own agenda?
This week I encourage you to lean into every part of what makes you a great leader. Lead those who want to follow you and resist the temptation to be the leader you think everyone wants you to be.
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