Why best leaders are great followers?

As leaders, it’s equally important for us to know how to follow as it is how to lead. In fact, many believe to be a good leader, you must first be a great follower and continue to follow well as you continue to lead well.

I would suggest that great leaders are equally in tune with how to follow well as how to lead well. So here are a few thoughts on following:

1. Good followers are finishers. They get the job done, take projects across the finish line and make things happen on their own.

2. Good followers anticipate. They understand what needs to be done next before having to be told, and they are always looking for ways to make the process better.

3. Good followers criticize in private and praise in public. Enough said on that.

4. Good followers are trustworthy. When given an assignment, a leader can be assured it will get done. Dependability—this is incredibly important.

5. Good followers are vision copycats. They take on, embody and live out the vision and mission of their leader and of the organization, helping set and model a cultural standard.

6. Good followers make their leader better. They push their leader and know how to "lead up" appropriately and intentionally.

7. Good followers lead themselves. They don’t need to be managed and aren’t needy. They are self aware and don’t need all the attention from the leader.

8. Good followers are principled. They are humble, disciplined and have complete integrity. They know it’s not about them, and what you see is what you get.

It is very good statement and it inspire us to do good job at the nice job place.

 Well, everyone can’t nice and intelligent successful leader, if you have enough money you can be any type of leader but you can’t be successful and  result driven leader.  Someone who came to a leader post through several years of hard working experience, problems, problems solving skills, brainstorming practices, time management skills and many more, from this types time tested experience, he could be a great followers of his commitments, assignments and business leads – that is why it is so.   

Leaders. Those who lead from the front. Make big decisions. Steering the ship. Inspiring others. Huge responsibility.

Many of us aspire to be leaders in our chosen calling.

So we develop role models. Those we look up to. And try to emulate their leadership traits - decisiveness, boldness, and when necessary - single mindedness.

In today's world leadership is even considered a position of authority. The buck stops with the leader. Leadership is almost considered a personal trait - you either have it or you don't.

Yet in ten years as a hiring specialist, I've noticed something quite ironic.

Leaders are rarely born.

In fact, most leaders spend most of their lives as effective "followers" before stepping up to leadership.

They develop most of their expertise whilst following others. In many cases, some of the highest performing leaders once never aspired to leadership - even may be tried to avoid it.

One of the most important assets of being a great follower is that it allows you to learn more - and learn more quickly. Those who follow better gain more knowledge from others leaders.

The greatest achievers never try to re-invent the wheel. They realise the world is full of people with the skills and knowledge they are looking for. Rather than learn everything from scratch, or rely purely on self-study, they understand the fastest way to learn is to emulate the best. And then build on it.

The faster you learn, the faster you will accelerate to positions of leadership. This is why some of the greatest leaders of all time have insisted early on their careers to find the best mentor possible. Warren Buffet for example, once famously knocked on the offices of the economist Benjamin Graham literally harassing him to give him an opportunity to work under him. For hardly any money. He spent nearly a decade under his tutorship before deciding to go out and set up his first investment business.

Leadership requires knowledge. And knowledge is often only developed through following others effectively.

Another benefit of being an effective follower is that it allows leaders of the future to develop their mettle. To earn their spurs. To get that big break.

Often, in an attempt to accelerate to leadership overnight, becoming an effective follower is overlooked. People move jobs just to gain promotion. They set up their own businesesses so they can be "the boss". They emphasize education, qualifications or finances over one important thing. Experience.

Although sometimes necessary, moving to leadership without experience as a follower can often be counterproductive.

It's often said that the harder you work for something, the more you value it.

That is very true of followers who earn the right to become leaders. Through years of hard work and being loyal to others, they finally get the reward for their graft. Often this means they treat the opportunity to lead with more privilege and value. It can even mean gaining more respect from others who have seen them work their way to the top.

But perhaps the most important asset of being a good follower in leadership is the fact that it brings important perspective. Once-upon-a-time followers know what it is like to be led. What they expect from a leader. How to be an effective team player.

Being a good follower brings empathy. A quality essential in leadership, and found recently to be lacking in most organisations across the world, including many of the largest businesses.

You see the paradox of it all is that great leaders understand that there is no line between being a leader and a follower. To be effective, you need to be both. Just like great religous and philosophical leaders practiced what they preached, the same is true of leaders in all callings.

Great leaders never emphasize the authority of their leadership.

In fact, they spend most of their team serving their teams, relying on their advice and following them when necessary. And only making tough decisions when they have to.

Seeing the world from the perspective of your followers is critical in leadership.

All of us want to be successful.

And in many cases this involves becoming great leaders - for our businesses, our societies, even our families.

Yet in an attempt to be strong leaders we should never overlook that following others well is just as essential to success.

Hiring managers should ensure they analyse leaders of the future in detail - to ensure that they have also demonstrated following others well.

Agree with the expert's answer given by Mr. Khalid Ghaffar. Thank You 

Many of us aspire to be leaders in our chosen calling. So we develop role models. Those we look up to. And try to emulate their leadership traits - decisiveness, boldness, and when necessary - single mindedness.

In today's world leadership is even considered a position of authority. The buck stops with the leader. Leadership is almost considered a personal trait - you either have it or you don't. Leaders are rarely born, most leaders spend most of their lives as effective "followers" before stepping up to leadership. They develop most of their expertise whilst following others. In many cases, some of the highest performing leaders once never aspired to leadership - even may be tried to avoid it. Following others well is the fastest route to leadership.

Here are some reasons why great followers make great leaders.

1. The better you follow, the more you learn
2. Followers often earn the opportunity to lead
3. Followers develop empathy

Thanks

Totally agree with given answers

Followers lead by setting themselves as example to co-followers. Thus they become leaders. Those leaders keep continuing to lead by self examples instead of changing their attitudes differently, they become great leaders. Knowing, Doing and Becoming the core principles of becoming great leaders. 

Full agree with answer add by mr. Khalid

I agree with the rest of the answers.

i fully agree with the answers been added by experts..........thanks.

The best leaders are known to be great followers because they also knew that "Fathers always remain Fathers".