What will you do when your followers leave?
Leadership is such an interesting word and even more interesting place. As a leader, over a business, ministry, hospital, classroom, school system, family, you are expected to be a wise steward for those under your care. One goal of leadership is to see those under your tutelage thrive and flourish. Yet, despite best efforts, those who were once committed to your leadership will be invited (and persuaded) to leave…by a change in circumstances, personal differences, other options, and even others who reject or question your leadership.
The question to consider is — What will you do when your followers leave? There are two models that come to mind. This article explores one path and a future article (God willing) will share another.
After your followers begin to walk away (and they will), you may feel despair especially if their followship meant a lot to you — not only was it important but in your sight it was essential. The esteem to which you associate their followship can wreck your sense of confidence, direction and even organizational and/or personal vision for a way forward. Unfortunately, if despair is what greets you when they leave, you may feel compelled to dishonor your values or prior commitments and non-negotiables. Desperation can do that to us. It makes us abandon our standards and do whatever it may seem to take to get our followers back and liking us. Don’t. Their followship is fickle. Your leadership need not be.
Your leadership can be built to withstand the dissociation of the fair-weather among us. Here’s a silver lining — there are likely those who will remain loyal and ride out the storms that are sure to come (but don’t bank on or esteem their followship too highly either). And maybe these groups are not mutually exclusive. Growth, timing and/or disappointment may make them interchangeable. If we’re honest, you and I have also probably shifted between these camps.
If you do resort to desperate acts to win back fickle followers ironically you’ll end up with even less authority in their sight. Here’s the thing about the fair-weather — they know they want to be present for the successful times. They also know when someone is fighting for their attention and lose respect for those who do. Let them go. They may return (if/when the skies clear), but if not, at least you’ll still have your sense of moral, personal, or organizational dignity.
Leadership is not always enviable but it can be lived out more successfully. If you’ve ever found yourself on this first path (I have!), once you look around you’ll see the path is well worn. But trial and error can sometimes be exactly what’s needed to redirect our steps…More to come on choosing differently soon.
