Leadership in businesses tends to focus greatly on the performance and role of the leader, with a lot of emphasis on developing employees’ skills in this area. Clearly, leadership is not confined to those candidates at the top of the corporate tree, but is an important component in the armoury of any manager. Leading project teams, driving new initiatives, making change happen, pushing different ideas or ways of operating all require leadership.

But how important is the individual leader in this whole agenda? Back in the late 1980s, Meredith Belbin recognised the importance of having a mix of skills and styles to create optimum team performance, rather than relying on one charismatic individual.

When you think about it, it is not actually the leader, per se, who is the most important component in any form of change or innovation happening in businesses. Sure, you need individuals with new ideas, vision, and the guts to challenge the status quo. In truth, in order to make lasting change or create sustainable, enduring initiatives, there is another important individual required: the first follower. This is the individual who recognises a good idea, becomes the first to offer support to the originator in meetings and effectively helps recruit others to the cause. Without these individuals, many good ideas would get lost in meeting mayhem.

So, think about it: if you are looking to make change of any sort in your organisation, or you feel you are likely to struggle to capture your fair share of colleagues’ hearts and minds when sponsoring a new initiative, then consider who you could encourage to become your first (and second) followers. Pre-sell your ideas outside of more public business forums, persuade and influence others in advance, and optimise your chances of success.

On the other hand, you may just get to where you want to go by becoming a first follower yourself, supporting and giving life to someone else’s vision. Look around the business for individuals with similar corporate aims and see where you could positively exert the most influence and help someone to drive their initiative to the next stage.

First followers can be powerful. First followers can create leaders.

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