Leaders Don’t Always Know Where They’re Going - Grasshopper

A long-standing myth is that people who lead know which direction to go. That’s often not the case.

Take the Biblical story of Moses leading people out of the desert. There was a lot of meandering and many, fruitless paths followed until the correct one was come upon.

 

Leaders are people willing to try new things, especially when the thing they’re doing isn’t working. A follower will follow the same path; a leader will blaze new trails.

 

A leader has the mindset that she/he will find a way. The follower, left to their own devices, will often get in their own way.

 

Can a follower turn into a leader? The answer is always “Yes” with the following caveat: If they develop the habit of trust. That’s a fancy way of saying to trust there is a part of you that knows.

 

Once you have that realization, you’ll be able to lead with confidence. That doesn’t mean you’ll always choose the correct path, it means that you’ll know how to adjust when heading down a dead end.

 

“Follow the leader” is a child’s game that illustrates what you have to do to become the leader. You have to emulate the qualities and actions of the leader until you own them - meaning until they become second nature to you. It’s at that point you can strike out on your own and lead your followers to the Promised Land.

 

Be a teacher, not a preacher. “Do as I say, not as I do” is a formula for the lost leading the lost. Lead by example and know for sure that your followers will become leaders.

 

All the best,
John