By Matt Richter

As we wrap up 2023, I thought I would adhere to a holiday tradition and write up a list. In keeping with the leadership trope of my 2023, this list is about leadership… but, from the perspective of the follower.

I have been a follower my entire life. I always like to see myself as the Louis Howe to Franklin Roosevelt, Costello to Abbott, Watson to Holmes, Pippen to Jordan, Chewbacca to Solo, the Riker to Thiagi’s Picard… Well, you get the picture. And, yes… I am probably self-aggrandizing to put myself in such illustrious company. The key point, however, is no leader can be great without even better followers. One begets the other. A great leader without followers leads nothing. And, banally stated, a great follower with no one to follow is merely a dog chasing its tail—a truly purpose-lacking endeavor. Even the great leaders of history all were, and probably still are to a degree, great followers. Before becoming the FDR of history, Franklin was an avid follower and admirer of his cousin Teddy. Separated by party, he still ascribed to his elder’s progressive policies, advice, and career path. Oprah was mentored and followed Maya Angelou. Yves St. Laurent was a follower of Christian Dior. Gates had Buffet. And, so forth. Some of these relationships were formal, others more like mentee to mentor, but regardless, leaders as followers before becoming great themselves. So, as a perpetual follower, and one who strongly believes in the power followers have, here are 10 secrets we should all follow—pun intended.

(1) Challenge the leader. You must understand the leader’s positions, vision, and goals. The only way to do so is to question, challenge, and engage with the leader. You cannot follow a leader blindly, or your best interests may quickly become extinct or in direct contrast to the leader’s objectives. Clarify. Confirm. Ask why. But, not so much you annoy the leader to the point where she chops your head off. Balance is the key.

Speaking of following blindly… (2) Loyalty is rarely equal. But, if you are going to follow a leader, you need to be loyal to that person. That person needs to trust that your agenda aligns to hers, she can predict your actions and behaviors, she can rely on your authenticity with her, that there is a level of intimacy and engagement between you, and that you are able to execute what she needs done. Conversely, don’t expect the same in return. Expect it to a lesser degree, sure. But, the needs of the many may outweigh the needs of you. Your development is not her goal. While she may love you, may respect you, may not want you hurt… if she needs you to fall on the sword… well, let’s not get graphic. In the end, her vision and her responsibilities as leader require her to put you as a lesser priority. Never forget that and be ok with it.

Which requires you to (3) understand the political landscape. You will not be the only follower. And each of you will have your own personal agendas. Each of you will execute your leader’s objectives your way. In fact, you will probably have different objectives. And, as much as the leader may indicate a desire for alignment, sometimes those goals will be in conflict—intentionally or not. Sometimes, a leader will even set her lieutenants in opposing directions to ensure a particular end. Other times, the leader will imply approval to mollify hurt feelings but then imply the opposite to others. FDR was famous for doing this. The better you understand how the game is played in your environment, the better you can make effective decisions. All leaders are trying to maximize their followers' outputs. Don’t take this personally. Rarely is it malevolent. It is just playing politics. Know these machinations are happening and adjust.

(4) The end justifies the means. I know… I am not supposed to say things like this. But, in some cases it does. The trick is knowing when and hoping your leader does, as well. For example, in the late 1930’s, France had fallen to Germany. The Vichy government was theoretically neutral, but not really. Britain was about to engage Germany but looked like it too would fall. Canada, by 1940, was the only American nation to enter the war. If Britain did surrender and the French gave Germany access to the Atlantic, the Americas would certainly be in great danger. The US had been neutral for over ten years. The US isolationists were fervently opposed to US involvement. Chamberlain, and then Churchill, begged Roosevelt for help. But, Roosevelt didn’t have the support or the votes. So, he slyly found a way to sneak weapons and goods to the Canadians until he could do so more openly. It had to be a gradual process. Finally, in late 1940, over 54% of Americans supported aid. Another 12% supported it if we still stayed out of the war. FDR proposed, and Congress passed, the Lend-Lease Act, which was the principal means for providing U.S. military aid to foreign nations during World War II. Roosevelt helped stave off British surrender until he could lead the US into the fight. In other words, in this case, the end indeed justified the means.

(5) The end does not justify the means. As my mentor, leader, and partner, Thiagi likes to say, “Life is about reconciling irreconcilable paradoxes.” One of those paradoxes is that while the end can justify the means, it can also, equally so, not justify the means. As followers, we need to be utterly conscious of when and how what we are doing to reach a goal we believe in, is abhorrent. I’ve been picking on poor Franklin Roosevelt, so let’s continue to do so. His support of Britain prior to our legal involvement in the War was commendable. His process was justifiable in that the outcome worked. But, we can easily imagine a different possible history where it didn’t go his way and then we would have lambasted him for whatever catastrophe had occurred. That version is hypothetical. But in our reality, Roosevelt did did indeed do a horrible thing with theoretically good intent. I say theoretical, because his stated objective is hard to argue with, but nonetheless reprehensible. He wanted to preemptively protect the interior of the US from spies and infiltration immediately following Pearl Harbor. So, by executive order, he forced the relocation and incarceration of between 110,000 and 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry, into concentration camps in the western interior of the country. 62% of these internees were United States citizens. Without evidence, without due process, without anything, but fear and racist predilections, American citizens and mostly legal immigrants were detained. Interestingly, Germans were not. There is no excusing the means. Imprisoning US citizens to keep other US citizens safe is, well…, at best, oxymoronic. The means were so disconnected from the goal, FDR’s followers should have objected and challenged this path.

(6) Accept misalignments—but not too much. As mentioned above, it is impossible to have every objective from a leader align to your needs and goals. But, and this is a BIG but, they should ultimately be close. Your values—the standards by which you operate, should align to hers. Your vision for the future should align to hers. Your needs should align to her stated direction. And, so forth. But they will never gel perfectly. You have to accept some variance and as long as those differences don’t undermine your well-being and ethics, follow.

Speaking of values… (7) Ethics are vital—your ethics, that is. So, while I say you should accept some misalignments, never do so at the expense of your ethical code. Set yourself at an even higher standard than the leader you follow. Why? Because going against your own ethical code can cause havoc with how you perceive yourself and others perceive you.

(8) Be good. Competence is essential. I could spin this one in a more politically correct way, but frankly, from a leader’s perspective— “what have you done for me lately?” is important. You have to deliver for a leader. You have to be good at what you do and manage others to be good at what they do (unless you are the lowest ranking person in the pecking order). Conversely, it is also imperative the leader deliver for you and the other followers, as well. An incompetent leader won’t lead for long and it is your responsibility to stop following if they stink. In the US, whether you are conservative, liberal, or right down the middle of the political spectrum, we are currently suffering from a leadership travesty and have an obligation to vote the bums out (a technical term). At best, incompetence is prevalent. At worst, ethics are awry.

(9) Know your place. Don’t try to be king/queen. Throughout human history, our literature has been littered with stories of followers dethroning leaders and taking over. A good short-term strategy if your own agenda included becoming the next ruler in days past, but fairly impractical by today’s standards. The world has become quite big, full of opportunities. If you are going to follow someone, don’t undercut them with your own agendas, plots, and schemes. Design for them. Support them. If you must, leave them. But by definition, a follower must follow—not undermine.

Which brings us to the last secret for today. (10) Have an exit strategy. A leader will not lead forever. All reigns eventually end—by death, resignation, retirement, the axis of power shifting, etc. Be ready to move on. See the playing field and recognize the signs. Have a back-up plan. Either plan to lead in your own right, or be ready to follow someone else—or, both!