“The best leaders were & are great followers. Great followers learn how to lead without the power given by position.” – Randy Blincow, Founder, Healthy Rhythms Life Coaching

Two quick stories. In one, I am a Business Unit Controller responsible for the financial integrity and performance of a mid-size business. A salesperson called me about an order he wants to place for a customer that falls below acceptable price levels. He’s a bully. He needs this order to make his quota for the current period, and he comes out both guns blazing to try and get me to approve the order. No dice. It’s a bad order any way you look at it.

In the second story, which takes place much earlier in my career, I am a General Accounting Supervisor. After conducting an audit of scrap reporting on the manufacturing floor – which has been a major problem for the plant – I find yet another discrepancy that needs to be reported. A few minutes later, the manufacturing supervisor over that area enters my office. The first thing he does is ask if he can sit and talk with me. Then he admits that my audit is correct and should in fact be reported as such. Finally, he asks – literally begs – me to consider not entering this one report because he believes he will lose his job if I do. Because of my need for integrity, I told him that I will have to enter the report. But because of his demeanor, I also tell him he will have my full support with management that he be given another opportunity to correct the problem. He was granted that opportunity and succeeded.

In both stories, my counterparts were not in a position of authority over me and therefore had no real power over me. One of them had not yet learned the secret of being a great follower, but the other was fully aware of his need to recognize his position.

If you are going to lead without the power given by position, it will require humility. When you need something from someone over whom you exert no real, given power, pretending to have that power is not going to be a successful path. Great followers that properly exhibit this attribute will become the better leaders. Most importantly, once they become leaders, they continue to grow in this attribute of humility, which makes them the best leaders they can be.

Some regard humility as a bad thing. I have told many high-level leaders that having a high degree of self-confidence is part of the package that got them there. Consequently, if you are going to be a good leader, you need to intentionally humble yourself to earn the respect of your followers.

Humility is not merely recognizing your shortcomings; part of it is knowing what you are good at. When you know your strengths, you can utilize those to teach others that might not yet have the experience they need. When you know your shortcomings, you can surround yourself with people who have strengths in those areas. A self-confident & humble leader is not concerned with exposing a weakness, because he/she knows this is the path to greatest success for the organization and everyone within that organization.

While it is never too late to learn anything, humility is a trait best honed before you get to a leadership position. Follow with humility! Then lead with it, too.