Just as there are different types of leaders in this world, there are different types of followers as well. Perhaps you read my recent post about What I Learned At Salsa Class Last Monday. Or maybe you watched the video by Derek Silvers showcasing the Shirtless Dancing Dude. Everyone is important to the team and everyone’s strengths must be maximized as they act to cover for each other’s weaknesses as well. Sometimes, this can be a challenge to understand and a metaphor can provide some assistance.
First, A Dance
Many people have taken a dance class in their life and, for both those who have and those who haven’t, there are some common threads across these classes. I’ll use my salsa class as an example. Tonight, as I was dancing, I looked around the room. I was blown away by the number of men who were leading and the number of women who were following. I, as a woman, was also a follower. Throughout the course of my dance, I was stopped multiple times by my partner. He tried to correct me and said that I was doing the dance wrong. While everyone has room to improve, the steps were still not correct despite his explanations. Perhaps, the problem wasn’t my steps. Maybe, the problem was that the leader was unable to explain the steps in a way that I, and other people, could understand. What does this mean?
A Relationship to the Business World
Perhaps, you are the head of your company. Maybe, you’re in a leadership position somewhere on the board. I have heard from many leaders in the business world that the rest of their team isn’t holding up their weight. There’s a never-ending list of things to do and nobody in their company can do anything correct. What is a leader going to do if the rest of the team isn’t able to work effectively together? What happens when the work isn’t being done correctly?
Leaders Must Take Responsibility
When someone is being a leader, it is important to realize that they have a significant amount of responsibility as well. Sometimes, when the work isn’t being done correctly, it is because the leader isn’t effectively explaining it in a way that their followers can understand. This is what happened in the dance. The leader has to alter his style and explain the steps in a way that his partner can follow. The same is true in the business world. Being a leader is about more than giving orders. It is about placing everyone in a role where they can excel and maximize their talents for the benefit of the team and the company. This is where the dance metaphor becomes a powerful example for leaders in every facet of the world.
Source:
https://www.thebalance.com/lead-the-team-how-to-become-the-person-others-follow-1918610
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/22/learning/what-makes-someone-a-great-leader.html