GROW AS BOTH LEADER AND FOLLOWER

Human beings give meaning to their lives through constellations of commitments. The commitments they make span the range from personal development, to family, to groups and organizations, to vocations and avocations, to local or global causes, to perceived spiritual truths.

Some of these commitments are solitary pursuits for knowledge or pleasure, but most are inextricably social in nature. As soon as we enter the social arena, we are involved with leadership and followership roles. The less rigidly that our culture or an activity prescribes these relationships, the more fluid they may be; in some situations we lead, in others we follow, and in still others we move back and forth between these roles or share them equally with our fellows.

As we make our unique journeys through life, we have ample opportunities to grow in these roles. Sometimes we succeed in our roles, and sometimes we fail. We must be careful to learn from both these experiences and also careful not to learn too well from either. Success leads us to rely too heavily on what has worked for us in the past, and failure leads us to rely too heavily on others whose ends appear successful but whose means may be questionable.

Growth in both the leader and follower roles requires consciousness of how we perform them now and how we might perform them better in the future. Growth requires motivation, especially our own internal motivation, and a commitment to the hard work needed to change comfortable behaviors and develop well-honed skills. Finally, growth requires feedback loops from others to help us gauge how we are doing and how much more there may be to do.

As a leader and a follower—for yes, you are both—use the laboratory of your relationships to generate the necessary conditions for growth. As a follower, do not place too much blame on leaders for what is wrong; and as a leader, do not place too much blame on followers. Each has the capacity to influence and improve the other. Work to develop the courage and skill to use this capacity effectively.

When we improve in our roles as leader and follower, the common purposes to which we have committed ourselves benefit. This is the meaningful legacy we leave in the wake of our life trajectory.