We as humans have a tendency to follow leaders. Be it a nation’s leader or a social media influencer, we can be quick to hit that big, blue follow button.
Have you ever asked yourself what makes the people you follow or your boss or co-workers good leaders? What does it take for you to be a good leader? Who are the people worth following?
In their second episode of People Talking People, find out what Randalyn Hill and Jennifer Maynard have to say about what makes someone worth following. Or continue reading to find the answers.
For Jennifer, it is not always the loudest person in the room or the person with the biggest title who makes good leaders. True leaders have the ability to be completely present with those they are with.
What does this look like? Not caring about having a seat at the table and instead putting your focus on consistent assistance for your team. In Randalyn’s words, “Actively recognize that your team’s needs are more important than your own.”
For Randalyn and Jennifer, these are the traits most important about a leader: servant leadership, emotional intelligence, and self-awareness. What makes these three traits so important is their ability to become transferable in whatever part of your life.
Consider being a service to your team, not just an aggressive leader. Or adding empathy to your professional toolbelt to be aware of those around you. What about knowing your own strengths and areas of growth and being vulnerable with that information in order to take you and your team to the next level? These traits can bring out the best in everyone.
Great leaders are also learners. Figuring out how to ask deep and powerful questions to your team or supervisors can have powerful impacts on how you are perceived. The more meaningful your question is, the more powerful the impact. The next time you meet someone new or see your team again, I challenge you not to just say, “How are you doing?”
Here is a fun TED Talk called The First Follower that you can watch demonstrating the courage it takes to be a leader.
As far as social media goes, why do we follow the people we follow? Is your Instagram account full of meme pages or musical influencers? Is your Twitter account full of politics? Is your YouTube all about gaming?
For me, I follow people with optimism in mind. What does that mean? It means following Gary Vaynerchuk for his latest insight on humility, patience, and hustle. It means guarding myself from any and all accounts that can potentially distract me or inspire any resistance (I’ve been reading The War of Art by Steven Pressfield) in me.
So the next time you hit the big “follow” or “subscribe” button, ask yourself, “What makes someone worth following?”
This post was written by Jermaine McClellan. He is a young professional with four years of sound engineering, studio/artist/project management, and talent acquisition experience. You can follow him on Medium here.
People, Talking People: November 2020 Wrap-up