Too many “leaders” are like the man in the poster – standing on an island and calling for his followers to come over and join him. He got there on his own. Surely they should too.

But did he really get there on his own? Has he already forgotten his grandfather who taught him to make rafts as a child? Or his mother who taught him to swim? He deceives himself when he believes that he’s a self-made man.

Certainly he would be a more effective leader if he were still standing on the shore with his followers – depending on them to help him think through the best way to get to the island and then trusting them to work with him to implement the plan.

It is oftentimes very difficult for a new leader to move with true dependency on his/her followers. Yet the most mature leaders have grown beyond this initial uncomfortableness to achieve an even stronger leadership.

Categories: Affiliation

Tags: affiliation