"Follower"

I like leadership. I like the thought of hopefully being a leader one day, and I have had opportunities to learn from and follow great leaders. There are a lot of books, conferences, podcasts, and other outlets of media that speak on leadership and look to empower leaders. I am not at all opposed to any of these. Mark Miller in his book, "Leaders Go First" He talks about the fact that leaders need to always thirst for wisdom. A quote from his book says, "The more I learn, the more I know how little I know."

However, to my knowledge not a lot of books, podcasts, or conferences talk a lot about being a follower worth leading. Maybe I'm not looking in the right places or I haven't exposed myself to enough books, and if these exist please let me know because I would love to read them.

So today I want to blog about being a great follower. Maybe I could make this a "5,10,15 things that make a great follower" blog ... but I think I will pass this time.

1. As a follower you are valuable! Like old reliable appliances, in both design and purpose. Develop a desire to learn a multitude of different tasks. Whether that is cleaning, moving, packing, writing, organizing, clicking a mouse, etc etc ... The biggest problem with a lot followers is itchy feet. When things don't go well we tend to think that we know better than the leader and as a result we don't want to do as much. "If you are truly willing to serve, then you will do so in any capacity." - Mark Miller.

2. Have respect for your leaders. Take into account that most areas of leadership are not one-dimensional, actually none of them are. There are a lot of logistical matters that go into making the physical tasks possible. Don't speak poorly of them and be ready to encourage and push through your tasks with excellence and determination, even the mundane tasks.

3. Take initiative. This one is easier to explain, never assume that anyone is going to do fill a need that is open. If you see something that needs to be done then take care of it, become your own champion of the mundane tasks, which leads quite well into my next thought ...

4. Do the mundane tasks. Easier said than done, I loathe stuffing letters, moving heavy objects, setting up tables and chairs, cleaning grease traps and washing dishes by hand but they need to be done. Find ways to push through the mundane, listen to music and dance as you work, think about a new series you want to watch on Netflix, just make sure you finish. Go a step further and volunteer to do the mundane tasks, you're valuable like an old appliance remember? So, be that trusty appliance that people can go to when they need to finish a task.

5. Know your limitations. Pay attention that your skill set, as well as your body. If you're not good at working with computers then don't take a task that involves computers. If you're tired and not feeling well don't try to lift or move something that takes a lot of focus, precision, and care to lift or move. A servants heart is invaluable, but know when you may not be able to do something to completion. If you start a task, seek to finish the task. With that being said ...

6. Glean your terrain. Leave no stone unturned. Seek to know your area and your leaders so well that you know where they are weakest and be willing to provide stability. Fill a space, change the time on a clock when the power goes out, rearrange a storage closet. Look for ways to improve the looks and efficiency of your surroundings.

7. Stretch yourself. Ask for harder tasks, enter uncharted waters and volunteer to work at or on a task in which your knowledge is limited. In this, if you push through, you will have become that much more valuable to the champions around you who are working on the logistical tasks that make the physical tasks possible.

8. Learn, soak it in. Like an old sponge in both use and design seek to learn more about tech tasks, set-up and tear down, cleaning, and many other things that I don't have nailed down yet. Look for ways to improve. Make it possible for leaders to do what only they can do and this will help the entire machine run smoothly.

Remember followers, It is not about you. As hard as it is followers need to develop the ability to be okay with not being noticed for holding doors, cleaning buildings, pressure washing walls and decks, but to do them anyway because it helps others do their job well. Make your leaders look good, and in turn you will look good as well.

I don't know everything there is about the art of being a follower but hey I'm still learning, and learning is my favorite part.