Leadership Needs Followers

 

First, there is a leader.  Next comes the first follower with a crucial role: he publicly shows everyone how to follow. Notice the leader embraces him as an equal, so it's not about the leader anymore - it's about them, plural. Notice he's calling to his friends to join in. It takes guts to be a first follower! You stand out and brave ridicule, yourself. Being a first follower is an under-appreciated form of leadership. The first follower transforms a lone nut into a leader. If the leader is the flint, the first follower is the spark that makes the fire.

 

The 2nd follower is a turning point: it's proof the first has done well. Now it's not a lone nut, and it's not two nuts. Three is a crowd and a crowd is news.  A movement must be public. Make sure outsiders see more than just the leader. Everyone needs to see the followers, because new followers emulate followers - not the leader.  Now we've got momentum with more joining in the fun. This is the tipping point! Now we've got a movement!

 

If you are a version of the shirtless dancing guy, all alone, remember the importance of nurturing your first few followers as equals, making everything clearly about the movement, not you.

Yes it started with the shirtless guy, and he'll get all the credit, but you saw what really happened:  It was the first follower that transformed a lone nut into a leader.  There is no movement without the first follower.  We're told we all need to be leaders, but that would be really ineffective.  The best way to make a movement, if you really care, is to courageously follow and show others how to follow.

 

When you find a lone nut doing something great, have the guts to be the first person to stand up and join in. Key to leadership - Be easy to follow!