Leadership vs. Following

The Herd Instinct

Biology wires us to follow. To stray from the herd was once a death sentence.

The Follower is driven by the question: "What is everyone else doing?"

He looks for the beaten path. He seeks the "best practice." He buys the course that promises the blueprint. He wants a map that has already been verified by a thousand others.

He trades his autonomy for safety.

The Leader's Burden

The Leader is not the one with the loudest voice. He is the one who is willing to be wrong.

Leadership is the acceptance of the risk of navigation. The Leader looks at the wilderness and decides where to cut the path. He has no map. He has only his internal compass: his vision, his values, and his judgment.

This is terrifying. If he fails, there is no one to blame.

Internal Authority

The shift from Follower to Leader is the shift from External to Internal Authority.

The Follower asks: "Is this allowed? Is this correct?"

The Leader asks: "Is this true? Is this necessary?"

You become a leader the moment you stop looking over your shoulder to see if you have permission. You grant it to yourself.

The Solitude

Leadership is lonely. It requires you to stand apart from the consensus.

Your friends, your family, and your culture will try to pull you back into the herd. They will call you reckless. They will call you arrogant.

Let them. They are merely the voice of the collective fear.

The world is filled with sheep looking for a shepherd. But you cannot lead them if you are still bleating in the flock. Step out. Walk your own line.

Explore next

The mechanism of following: Need for approval

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