How Being a Good Follower Improves Your Leadership Ability

A good follower today becomes a good leader tomorrow. An organization’s Leadership is always in trouble when those who have not learned to follow well are in leadership positions. Only one who has been a good follower can make a good leader. Good following does not mean blindly following a bad leader, but this implies being a follower or mentee to a good mentor and leader who can help you discover and maximize your potentials. Arrogant followers rarely make effective leaders. As a follower who desires to someday be a great leader someday, I advice that you know that for your leadership to grow you must be people oriented.

You must know what it means to be under authority and how authority should be exercised. You must first conquer yourself before you can conquer the world. Nothing so conclusively proves a man’s ability to lead others, like what he does from day today to lead himself. Know it that when a leader does not respect himself, the people will not respect him or her. I have discovered that the smallest crowd you will lead is you, but it is the most important one. If you can lead yourself well, then you will gain the opportunity to lead others correctly.

As a person who aspires to lead well, I could do with you knowing that whenever you see a good leader, emulate him and when you see a bad one please protect yourself from his or her negative influence. When you stop growing and learning you start dying. Take a major look at yourself, review your performances and know areas you need to improve on. One quality that will help you a lot in life is teachability A teachable spirit will make people lend you their support, knowledge and wisdom which makes you and your leadership move from good to great.

Practice, Patience and accountability are three characteristics that will help you fine-tune your leadership and personality. Great leaders like Jesus Christ, Mahatma Gandhi, Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, jnr., Margaret Thatcher, Sam Emeto, Godwin Onuoha, Nelson Mandela and many other practiced what they believed, they were not  impatient and they were very accountable to the people that  follow them . Few worthwhile things in life come without hard work. The problem with many people in this generation is that they want instant gratification, but know it that in life nothing great has ever been done with that patience and hard work. Develop yourself through self-discipline. Power can be seductive, so be conscious of what you do with your authority and position. Maximize your strength and work on your weakness, this will empower and increase your leadership accountability. I wish you the best in your leadership journey.

©IFEANYI ENOCH ONUOHA