I’m a Follower and Proud of It
By: Ryan Fan
Tags: Culture, Business, Society, Self, Leadership

When people ask me, whether it’s randomly or in an interview, what my best leadership quality is, I tell them it’s my actions and devotion I have to the people in my charge. I am extremely devoted to my students as an instructor, but in any other part of my life, I lead by example.

And I believe leading by example is a form of followership rather than leadership — and there’s nothing wrong with that.

When I worked on a college newspaper, I was a great follower by writing diligently and doing a lot of reporting on topics we were writing about. As a runner on my college cross country team, I was a great follower in being able to lead workouts and communicating with everyone in practice, and showing up on time and encouraging effort. As a teacher, I am a great follower by following my administration’s mission for my school and by showing up every day for my students.

No one goes into a job interview touting that they’re a good follower, because we all know that society prioritizes leadership over followership. But the black-and-white dichotomy of leadership and followership must be deconstructed — because the world needs more followers to support its leaders.

“A well-functioning student body — not to mention polity — also needs followers,” said Susan Cain in The New York Times. “It needs team players. And it needs those who go their own way.”

A follower, to me, is a different form of leadership. A follower is not always honored for their work and accomplishments. It is the CEO of Amazon, Jeff Bezos, that receives credit for revolutionizing online shopping and delivery, and yet the work of warehouse workers, engineers, and everyone else that made his success possible is unsung.

Cain, the founder of Quiet Revolution: Unlocking the Power of Introverts, talks about how she has talked with far too many students who define “leadership skills” as a code for dominance and authority and simply bossing other people around. Our definition of leadership these days resides mainly in terms of political or business power, but what about thinking outside the box, serving, and creativity?

A servant-leader is the new buzz that I’ve heard lately of what it means to be a great leader. According to Robert K. Greenleaf, the founder of the servant leadership movement, “good leaders must first become good servants.” And servant-leaders sound a lot like good followers.

In the times that I have been in leadership roles, I have been thrust into those roles reluctantly. I am an extremely hard worker, devoted to the people I have in my charge, and am simply about the work more than I am about myself. I enjoy serving more than I do leading, especially as a teacher, and I do not like just telling people what to do and bossing them around.

As more of the servant-leader type of leader, when I am in the situation, I am a follower and proud of it. There’s a lot or pressure to be seen as a leader that wields and commands a lot of power and influence over others through force.

But why do it through force? In the words of Cain, “[the world] needs leaders who are called to service rather than to status.” I would much rather be respected as someone people look up to through my deeds and my ability to serve. As a follower of Jesus Christ, I believe He was the best servant-leader in human history.

It’s no secret that the world of college admissions holds “leadership” as the holy grail, that in high school, things don’t mean much on your resume unless you can claim some kind of leadership role.

Cain talks about one student who was happy until she was a freshman in college and felt such tremendous pressure to be a leader that she would completely overhaul her personality — trying to become a “freshman mentor”. She was kicked out of the program for not being outgoing enough, but because she got kicked out of the program, she spent more time working after school with the genetics teacher, found her passion for science, and published her first scientific paper at 18.

To be a good follower, in the words of psychology professor Robert Kelley in a 1988 edition of the Harvard Business Review, good followers “are committed to the organization and to a purpose, principle, or person outside themselves.” When leaders make plans, it is followers that execute those plans. Followers need to be devoted, loyal, and team players, all qualities that describe me far more than the traditional definitions of leadership.

Instead of trying to be a leader, maybe I should answer these questions with how I’m a good follower and a great team player. I am consistent and devoted, getting all my reports in on time, showing up to work every day, and being the best teacher I can for my students. Even if I lack the instructional or leadership experience of other teachers, I am one of the best followers out there.

But when we romanticize leadership skills and want everyone to be a leader in the sense of being an authoritarian boss, where is the room for someone like me, who leads by trying to serve and being the best possible follower I can be?

I try not to be someone who always seeks the spotlight than serve my neighbors — and our current romanticization with this conception of leadership leads us to love the spotlight, love being in charge, and love power much more than we love a cause or idea we care about.

So, if you’re anything like me, stop trying to be a leader. Lead by following, by serving, by doing all the things that make you an integral member of your community. You don’t need all the power and all the spotlight — you need your own tenacity and devotion to your cause, to the people around you.

I’m a follower that many people wouldn’t consider a leader — that’s who I am, and I’m proud of it.