When Weak Leaders Choose To Follow Strong Followers

When Weak Leaders Choose to Follow Strong Followers

"Many times we lack confidence because the people we spend the most time with would rather take us down a notch than lift us up." ~ John C. Maxwell

Often, the weakest link is the person with the leadership position.

I have witnessed this many times in my career at all levels of authority within profit and non-profit organizations, traditional and volunteer organizations. It's not pleasant for the leader, those being led, those on the team, and those they support. As a matter of fact, it's ugly!

Weak Leaders vs. Strong Followers

Strong followers prey on weak leaders. Strong followers have the ability to influence and guide the weak leader to see it their way and do what they want done. Instead of doing what is best for the team or organization, the weak leader ends up doing what is best for the strong followers.

Note: Strong leaders should and do follow strong followers when what's driving them both is motivation and inspiration to do what's best for the team and those being served by the team. In this lesson, I'm defining the "strong follower" as self-centered, concerned only with their own self-interest and other like-minded individuals that may be on the team.

Leadership is Influence. Everyone is a leader on the leadership scale between 1 and 10. When you completely understand this, you will know that leader vs. follower is just a play on words. The strong follower is also a leader. In fact, the "strong follower" is more of a leader (influencer) than the "weak leader." That's why the weak leader is following. Make sense? Leadership is influence, not position.

How do these weak leaders find themselves in a position?

You may be wondering, "Why then is the strong follower, not in the leadership position?" It's a common question, but most don't know enough about the principles of leadership to know the answer. There are many reasons, but I'll focus on what I believe to be the most common. The strong follower doesn't want the responsibility of having the position.

Strong followers don't have to pay the price of the weak leader's decisions. The weak leader, the team, and those being served have to pay the price. The strong self-centered follower gets what they want while others, often many others, pay the price. The strong follower is happy. And the others? Often not so happy.

"It takes courage to be a strong leader, but a lot less courage to be a strong follower." ~ Tracy Breeding

Don't Miss the Point

The weak leader, in a position of authority, is responsible for three main reasons:

1. They are not motivated to lead and have not developed themselves to be able to lead in their current position. They think they can direct using the authority and associated rights of their position.
2. They are weak, insecure, and choose to follow their strong followers to make them happy because they have the loudest voices on the team. As John C. Maxwell says best, "If you want to make people happy hire a clown. If you want to get results, hire a leader."
3. They are weak, insecure, and choose to allow the strong followers to be on the team. There are two issues here: the weak leader allowed them to join the team, and the weak leader is not strong enough to remove them from the team.

Note: Ultimately, the very top level leader, "The Lid," as I've written about previously is responsible for allowing weak leaders to be in a position to follow strong followers. The organization can't rise any higher than the lid on the organization. Read more about the "Law of the Lid" Read more about the "3 Things High Impact Leaders Do"

Weak Leaders

When weak leaders lack confidence, they still may want to lead but have not developed themselves as leaders. They truly do not understand what they really want is a leadership position. Many don't have a clue what it means to lead once they get the position. Their desire to have a leadership position is far greater than their desire to develop themselves to lead well once they get the position.

To many, having a leadership position and being a leader is the same thing. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

The majority of those with a leadership position at any level have not read one single leadership book or attended one single leadership seminar, but yet, as a result of their own ignorance, think of themselves as high level leaders. They don't know what they don't know. They are on the leadership scale between 1 and 10 as we all are. But, they are low on the scale.

If they are following a strong, self-centered follower, they are obviously below them on the leadership scale. And, the strong followers that are only looking out for their own self-interest, are pretty low on the scale to begin with.

An insecure, weak leader's hunger for position, recognition, and credit feeds their desire which gives them the strength to accept the responsibility of the position. However, accepting responsibility and mastering it are two very different things.

What the weak leader must know and do.

The key is not to do what's best for the weak leader: try and make everyone happy. When this happens, the strong followers will dominate. If you want to lead at a high level, you must do what's best for the team. Everyone already knows what should be done. They also know who is not doing it.

In order for a weak leader to make the transition to become a strong leader, they must:

1. Understand that they are the problem.
2. Intentionally grow and develop themselves continuously to lead at a higher level.
3. Do what's right for the right reason at the right time for the right people.
4. Effectively address the self-centered strong followers by growing and developing them as effective team members or removing them from the team and no longer allow them to contaminate the team and the team's mission.

Weak leaders create distrust among the masses when following strong followers. This action decreases the weak leader's influence. Strong leaders build trust and increase their influence with everyone. With leadership, the higher you go, the more your character will be tested.

"Sometimes the greatest value a leader can add to other people comes through telling them the truth, showing them where they can grow, and helping them change. Some people spend years on a job being resented by their boss and fellow employees, but are never told about their problem or given a chance to change and grow. As a leader, you have the chance to help them.

Sitting down with people and telling them where they fall short isn't easy. And, there's no guarantee that they will acknowledge their problem or change. There's a strong chance that you will have to let them go. If you are having a hard time making that decision, ask yourself this question: "If I needed to hire new people, knowing what I know now, would I hire these individuals?"

If the answer is yes—keep them.
If the answer is no— let them go.
If the answer is maybe— reevaluate in three months.

If the answer is still that you don't know, the answer is really no. Your emotions are making it difficult for you to accept a hard decision." ~ John C. Maxwell

FREE downloads available:

Click here to access Chapter 11 “Get Out of the Way and Lead” from my book, Defining Influence.

Click here to access the first 5 chapters of “Blue-Collar Leadership: Leading from the Front Lines.”

Note: I encourage you to be a river, not a reservoir. Please share my blogs with others if you find value in them. I believe in abundance and write them to help others become more effective, successful, and significant.

Make an impact!

Mack Story

My passion is to help you live with abundance, achieve success, choose significance, and leave a legacy. In other words, I want to help you make a High Impact !

Popular posts by Mack:

• The #1 Reason People Don't Reach Their True Potential
• The One Reason Lean Fails or Succeeds
• When Weak Leaders Choose to Follow Strong Followers
• 5 Levels of High Impact Delegation
• 7 Signs It’s Time to Fire Your Boss
• Hate Mondays? Stop Goofing Off on Saturdays!
• 7 Ways High Impact Leaders Use Conflict

Mack’s story is an amazing journey of personal and professional growth. He began his career in manufacturing on the front lines of a machine shop. He grew himself into upper management and found his niche in lean manufacturing and along with it, developed his passion for leadership. He understands that everything rises and falls on leadership.

Mack is the author of Blue-Collar Leadership Series, Defining Influence, & 10 Values of High Impact Leaders. He's an inspiration for people everywhere as an example of achievement, growth, and personal development. His passion inspires people all over the world! Order signed copies here.

Mack’s experience as a John Maxwell Certified Leadership Coach, Trainer, and Speaker includes an international training event in Guatemala with John as part of the Cultural Transformation in Guatemala where more than 20,000 Guatemalan leaders were trained.

Contact Mack at 334-728-4143 or mack@mackstory.com for Keynote Speaking, Corporate Training, Professional Leadership Development, Cultural Enhancement/Transformation, and Process Improvement.