The age-old business
challenge: how to get the most out of people? We all know the different
kinds of leaders from the coercive drivers, authoritarian rulers,
coaching/affiliative partners, and so forth. A lot of good material is
written on these archetypes and how to become a better leader. What I’d
like to briefly share, however, is a slightly different twist: How to
become a better follower.

Not in a passive sheep-like sort of
way, of course. In this context, I use the term “follower” to mean one
observing and being attentive. The most successful leaders are, in
fact, the most adroit followers. And in addition to being very good at
following the various characteristics and potential opportunities of
their particular market segment(s), they are extremely effective at
following (observing) people, especially themselves.

What does it mean to “follow oneself”? Self-awareness. As Daniel Goleman eloquently puts:

Self-awareness
means having a deep understanding of one’s emotions, as well as one’s
strengths and limitations and one’s values and motives. People with
strong self-awareness are realistic – neither overly self-critical nor
naively hopeful. Rather, they are honest with themselves about
themselves. And they are honest about themselves with others, even to
the point of being able to laugh at their own foibles.(1)

But
another key characteristic of self-aware people is the ability to tune
into others. And tuning in to others gives us the ability to understand
them – which of course leads to the opportunity to empathize, motivate,
and enthuse.

How do you get started becoming self-aware? It
starts by honestly looking inward. It also helps to have what I call a
“personal advisory board”. I liken this to a board of directors, where
the company is You, Inc. These directors have “joined” because of what
they can offer, and they have a vested interest in the success of the
company (you).

Your personal advisory board can obviously help
you vet ideas, provide advice and guidance, create connections, etc.
But, the board’s real power lies in its capability to help you grow
you. We all have our obvious strengths and developmental opportunities.
But we also all have what are known as hidden strengths and invisible
blind spots. These “don’t know what we don’t know” areas provide the
fertile ground for substantial growth.

Once you’ve begun tapping
into the unlimited potential of You, Inc., the ability to help grow
others flourishes by design. And when you can get an entire
organization of people who are excited, motivated, and driven to
realize the vision you help articulate, you’ve not only unleashed
incredible potential, but you’ve also become a world-class follower
that others want to access.

(1) Goleman, Daniel; Boyatzis, Richard; McKee, Annie; Primal Leadership – Learning to Lead with Emotional Intelligence; Harvard Business School Press; 2002; pg 40.