Followers…

I read this headline in CNBC recently, did you see it? 

I wish I’d known earlier in my career that no one actually knows what they’re doing. 

Anjali Sud 

Well, OK.  A fairly unfair statement by the CEO of Tubi.  It could have been in jest (headlines rarely provide proper context) and to be fair I didn’t read the full article.  Even so, I’d like to believe that in my career I “knew what I was doing”.  To remain fair…  I didn’t always lead well.  And when I led poorly, my direct reports let me know. 

Much has been said and even more written over the decades about leadership; the qualities of leaders; the importance of leaders; all things leadership related.  Lord knows in our country today, many leaders are blanketed with riches beyond imagination.  But not all leaders stand above their followers:

Today, permit me to honor those followers.  To be a good and competent follower is a noble role, don’t you think?  I mean we’ve all worked for one of  “those” bosses.  And when we do, it makes our job harder.  But as a follower, we still need a leader.  And good followers have been “managing their managers” for years, true? 

"EXECUTIVE” (high powered): 

A golfer who calls the office from a cell phone every five holes to make sure employees haven’t left for the day. 

Martin A. Ragaway 

When I led teams, I welcomed their feedback on what I was doing, right or wrong.  Admittedly, when my people criticized me, it hurt.  I remember to this day one of my best salespeople (Lisa Kwiecien) speaking up in sales meetings when, as a leader, I wasn’t “connecting” with my team.  “Gary”, she would say, “You’re killin' me.”  Her facial expression that went along with the critique was priceless. 

Sometimes I backed off when criticized, sometimes not. All in all, I take great pride in the success many of my followers went on to achieve.  Perhaps along they were simply helping me learn to be a “better leader”: 

Good leaders inspire their followers to have confidence in them. Better leaders inspire followers to have confidence in themselves. 

Ron Meyer 

I don’t know how many of my followers went on to leadership roles.  In my case, after leading, I returned to a follower role for the last 15 years of my career.  As a follower, I earned great recognition because my leaders gave me the confidence that I “knew what I was doing”. 

So, “Thank you!” to those who followed me.  You helped me become a better leader.  In turn, I hope I helped you become more confident in yourself. 

GAP 

When life gets tough we could get a helmet… or… we could leverage the peace and share the power of a positive perspective.