“You can not lead by following” – Sir Alex Ferguson
My husband would be very proud of me for even seeing let along using a quote by the man who was the manager & coach of his favourite football/soccer team, Manchester United.
I was scrolling along a few minutes ago & came upon this quote & it sparked a thought for me as to how true it is. As a leader, we need to play our role which is to lead. Each leader is also a follower of a bigger team or a bigger vision & that is fine but in the area which you are leading in, are you truly leading?
I acknowledge that there are different leadership roles & some people may have an aspect of leadership in their role & be called leaders but those I would categorise here as team members. This I believe applies for those who are actually leading, vision casting & has the ability to determine the outcome of a team/group. Here are my thoughts & hear me out….
There are some leaders who listen to their followers & what their followers want; that is not leading, that is demand & supply. In this circumstance, that leader would find that they may be keeping up with the supply & keeping their followers happy but there is no growth as the decision making process is going in circles.
Then there are leaders who lead by following the trends of what other leaders are doing; that too is not leading but copying. A leader is called to own their own role, lead, vision, and create the pathway which will work for their area of leadership. As every area/organisation/team/group is different, you can’t apply what works for one to the other & expect it to work the same way.
There are also leaders who lead by following everything a higher or another parallel leader says & applies it to their area of leadership; this too once again is not leading, but being a messenger & to be a channel of communication from a higher leader to others.
A leader has to grow, has to inspire not just themselves but their team, has to cast a vision that relates & that people can capture. A leader has to work hard & be committed, has to renew their mindset, accept change & adapt as circumstances hit. A leader has to see the bigger picture as well as the small, be willing to deal with the issues & problems even it means having that difficult chat to challenge the people who are not doing what is right or required, or even removing someone from a position in their team
How do you see your leadership?