Achieved Strategies

We live in a world where the praises of success quickly fade away to the question of “What will you do next?”  This isn’t a cynical statement, but merely a statement of fact.  Much is demanded from us in this rapidly changing society shaping our world – or is it the reverse?  Nonetheless, we are constantly called forward to contribute, and each time the bar is raised.  This fact also applies to leadership.

It is no longer enough for leaders to lead.  The bar is raised so high that leading becomes a redundant act.  We must pull deep from the culmination of our experiences and learn when not to lead but to also follow.

The leader/follower is a keen observer.  The leader knows when it’s best to fall back and let come forward another person’s leadership.  It’s not a dictate based on the leader’s role.  The circumstances demand this.  The elements, in a poetic sense, of a situation are the cues to the leader to become a follower. And in a strategic way, the desired outcome also triggers the switch.  In short, when a leader switches to be a follower it is to let others shine. To have their moment to succeed. To lead a team to an outcome that the leader could not do nearly as well.

For a leader to be a follower it is a self-less leadership act. It takes a humbled, experienced leader to let go of the ego’s need to be front and center. It removes distracting, unnecessary conversations and actions.  In its place are crisp, purposeful conversations and actions that lead to best possible outcomes.

There is no time or space for self-centered leaders in this hyper-competitive world.  Sure nothing can be done for the many leaders who don’t get this reality.  They will become less and less relevant in this world.  But they will not go away quietly.  We will continue to experience the horrific outcomes caused by their greed, self-centered aims, and hunger for power.  But they are really performing below the bar.

To end where I started, the self-less leader who can also be a follower continually learns from the culmination of his experiences.  The leadership spotlight is something to be shared.  It is a benefit to the organizational community.  It is a benefit to the customers.  In this New Normal, leader/followers get how connected people become when they can leave their fingerprints on that “something” that leads to success.