It is very common today to hear a leadership expert talk about leaders and followers. And for years, I have gone along with it. But recently, it dawned on me. People are never really following you, the leader. They are merely collaborating with the leader so that together they can get to a common destination or achieve a shared vision. It’s never about following the leader.
The verb to collaborate comes from two Latin words. The Latin com- (which means together; with; joint; jointly) + the Latin labōrāre, (which means to work, labor, toil). It literally means to labor together.
That’s all people are doing, they are toiling together with the leader to achieve a common goal. They are not there to behold or follow a charming or charismatic leader.
In fact, when I think about it, as a leader, I don’t want followers. I want people who are fully engaged and laboring together with me to achieve a common goal and share the benefits of doing so.
In addition to that, great leaders are servants of their people. They serve the frontline employees who then serve the customers. Great leaders don’t want people going after them. If anything, they go after the people to serve them.
It’s okay to have Facebook followers, but when it comes to leadership, you want collaborators, not followers.
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