People follow you because they want to follow you. They like you. They like what you stand for. And they believe in you. They believe in your leadership.
They know that leadership is not about you. It is about what you stand for. They know that leadership is about where you are going.
Leadership is about people. It is about who you are. It is also about how you treat other people. Leadership is not about what you have. It is about what you do for other people.
People follow you because of what you are doing for other people. If you are not doing anything to make a difference, then you are serving yourself.
According to Tim Irwin, ‘Inspiring others to give themselves unreservedly to the mission is not a management technique. Effective leadership is far more personal.’ He is right. If people don’t believe in your mission, if they don’t trust you, they won’t follow.
If you want people to follow you, give them the following things:
Give them your trust. When you say you want to do something, make sure you do it.
Treat them as they would like to be treated. Make them special. Lift them up. Give them something to believe in.
Show them the way. Create a place where they are free to make mistakes, where they are free to learn.
Above all, make sure they know where they are going. Tell them why you are going there.
If you don’t know something, admit it. Let them know that you don’t know everything.
Whenever they need you, be there for them. If you work for them, they will work for you. Because leadership is about serving other people. The question is, are you serving your people?
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