Great Leaders Create More Leaders, not followers

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 There are many people who can brag about being leaders. They have people who follow them, they are successful, they don’t have to worry about anyone getting in the way of them. They always had the upper hand with their wit, and their vision was to crush all competition and be the best. Yet, they neglect the real purpose of leadership, which is to guide and help their followers to become leaders. Whether they disregard their followers out of fear, or out of sheer carelessness, people who lead need to learn how to become true leaders, and in turn, their followers will learn how to become leaders who will revere their own leaders, instead of resenting them.

1. Teach.

Leaders are teachers. Leaders teach their followers new skills and old lessons for them to utilize every day in nearly every aspect of their work environment and their lives. Buddha was one of the world’s greatest teachers who became one of the world’s most honored leaders, and led many of his followers who both suffered and were reinvigorated through the journey to enlightenment, which ultimately taught them about life and how to live it.

2. Help followers grow.

It’s similar to nature. Think about how plants help other plants grow. Bigger plants help the smaller plants reach new heights by communicating with them nearly telepathically through vibrations called nanomechanical oscillations, as scientists found in last year’s studies. Plants literally tell each other they can grow and help other plants once they have prospered. In this aspect, they’re real leaders, and can teach humans a lesson or two.

3. Don’t hold a follower back from achieving their full potential.

Leaders don’t hold people back, they move people forward. Leaders represent their followers, and if they’re constantly behind on work, it reflects poorly on the leader. Communication between leaders and followers must be consistent. Let them know that if they do their best, they will succeed, which is true. They will become more independent and won’t have to be babied by their boss. Instead, they will be lifted by leaders.

4. Don’t degrade followers.

They allow followers to make mistakes, but strongly guide them in the right direction after they make those mistakes. It’s a shame when there are so many people who abuse their rights as the head of a business or profession, exploit their employees out of fear that their employees are secretly going to take over the business and overthrow the boss. That should only happen if someone’s the boss in the movie “9 to 5″. Dolly Parton would make a hit song off of that. Allow subordinates to work as hard as they can and reward them for their effort accordingly.

5. They don’t care about how many followers they have.

“Hitler had millions, Jesus had 12.”

6. They create more leaders than followers.

They help followers realize that they’re not just stuck in their position. Anyone who has ever felt stuck or blocked knows how heavy that feeling is, how harshly it weighs one down. Everyone wants to be free and successful. The world needs more leaders to help the next followers become new leaders, who will then go on to collect their own followers to thrive in their teaching. Everyone leads differently, everyone learns differently, and we all thrive in the experience. No matter how negatively or positively rooted one’s intentions are, true leaders will always make sure that they make their followers feel comfortable enough to triumph in their aspirations. Friendly reminder to follow your dreams.

Thanks for reading my blog.

Are you Leading?

Dr. Deepak A. Patil

CEO, Lead ThySelf

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