Five Tips for Following

I am not a "natural" leader. I am much better at the behind-the-scenes stuff. I am great at getting things organized once someone else has come up with the idea and has brought me on board. But I'm not the "idea person." I need a leader for that.

Many times we just sit back and criticize our leaders/bosses because we don't think they are doing the job right. We wouldn't necessarily want to be in their position, but still we talk behind their backs. Or perhaps we are envious of their position, and secretly think we should have their job.

Well, there are better things to do with our strengths while we follow or work our way up to the leadership position. For those of you who find yourselves in any of the above situations, here are some helpful tips for "following-the-leader," excerpts from The Enlightened Manager Blog.

1. Balance out the leader's strengths. If you work for a highly directive leader, one way to balance their strengths would be to ask good questions and strive to create a balance of advocacy and inquiry in the group. Or if your leader is a big picture thinker, you might contribute some of the detail-oriented bits that the team needs, to create a well rounded approach to issues.
2. Observe and learn. Learning from your own mistakes and triumphs is powerful. Learning from the mistakes and triumphs of others can be even better. Rather than sitting and making judgments of the leader, use your follower time to make observations about the whole team.
3. Boost your Leader Up. Leading teams can be tough, so when you see your leader making a good point or trying to lead a necessary but difficult conversation, offer your support both verbally and with your body language.
4. Practice your Challenging Skills. Challenging the group might include sentences that start "I'd like us to look at this from another angle..." or "I think there is something we are overlooking...." or even "I'm worried that we're making a mistake."
5. Relax a little. For those of you in leadership roles, it can be draining at times. When you are in situations when you are a regular-ole-participant, kick your feet up a bit (at least mentally) and enjoy a brief respite from the demands of leadership. Strive to be the employee that you would like to have on your team.

I hope these tips are helpful for you. Perhaps they can make your following a little less stressful. We can all use that. And hopefully you can have a little better opinion of your leader/boss because leaders need a lot of good followers to get their jobs done. Be a good follower. That way, if you someday do become the leader, you will have built a good reputation and will have some loyal followers of your own!