“I need my team to think more independently,” a founder told me recently.

He had just closed a difficult quarter. Execution gaps. Slower decisions. A visible drain of energy across the organisation.

“They wait for me too much,” he said. “Everything comes back to me.”

I paused and asked, “When was the last time you changed your mind because of them?”

He looked slightly surprised.

“That’s different,” he replied.

But it isn’t.

Leadership begins with belonging

Many of us still tell ourselves an outdated story about leadership: that it’s about dominance, being exceptional and proving that you’re better than everyone else. But in today’s world, leadership doesn’t begin with standing apart – it begins with belonging. Before anyone grants you influence, they need to believe you’re with them, not above them.

Leadership is a relationship, not a solo act. The strongest leaders I have observed are often those who first master something less celebrated — contributing meaningfully, advancing collective goals and building shared ownership. By working with and on behalf of their group, they prove their commitment to the collective unit, giving people a reason to follow them. Whereas leaders who stand at a distance create a separation between ‘I’ and ‘they’, slowly eroding trust and loyalty.

So this week, let’s explore the value of followership for leaders, particularly in today’s corporate environment. What does it mean to follow well? And how might doing so strengthen leadership rather than diminish it?

What the research suggests

In their Harvard Business Review article, organisational researchers Kim Peters and Alex Haslam note that leadership emerges from a two-way relationship between leaders and followers. Think of it as a shared identity rather than a fixed hierarchy. Leaders are most effective when they’re seen as ‘one of us’, working in service of the group’s goals, not just themselves.

You can see this dynamic inside any organisation.

Some leaders are known for speaking first, projecting confidence and being certain they have all the answers. Others take time to listen, collaborate deeply and advance shared interests. When the pressure rises, guess who the room turns to?

Research from Royal Marine training illustrates this. Recruits who described themselves as natural leaders struggled to win peer confidence. Those focused on strengthening the unit — contributing, executing, supporting others — were more likely to be recognised as leaders by fellow recruits.

Interestingly, commanding officers evaluating the same recruits tended to favour the self-declared leaders. Where you sit influences what you value. This divergence helps explain why candidates who perform strongly in panels sometimes struggle to build genuine followership once inside teams.

The implication is straightforward: striving to appear exceptional can undermine your ability to lead. Influence is conferred by the group, not claimed by the individual.

Why this matters more today

The command-and-control style of leadership stems from the hero myth: a visionary commander, in charge of a passive group, singlehandedly saves the day with infallible insight and judgment. Perhaps this was true once upon a time (although I have my doubts!), but it certainly isn’t how leadership operates today.

In an era defined by complexity, specialisation and relentless change, expertise has become increasingly distributed – and no leader has all the information. Those who cling to the illusion that they alone have the answers quickly get insulated and outpaced. The capacity to listen, learn and adapt – classic followership skills – can give leaders a decisive edge by reducing blind spots and expanding organisational intelligence.

Following is the foundation of leading

Leadership and followership are fluid roles. To become better leaders, we must understand when to step forward and when to defer. There are many examples of leaders who have succeeded through strong followership behaviours – from Alan Mullaly, who led Ford’s turnaround through structured listening and cross-functional alignment rather than unilateral directives, to Indra Nooyi, whose tenure at PepsiCo was famously marked by intellectual humility and candid dialogue with frontline teams.

Research shows that the traits that predict good followership – emotional stability, curiosity, integrity, work ethic – also predict strong leadership performance. This overlap isn’t accidental. The behaviours that make someone valuable inside a team are the same behaviours that make others willing to be led by them.

Why do leaders find it hard to be good followers?

Owing to deep-rooted misconceptions around leadership, many leaders focus heavily on dominance, visibility and the appearance of competence – rather than engaging in deep listening and learning. The fear of seeming uncertain or weak keeps them from asking questions, seeking feedback and changing course.

The fact is that when you’re given authority, people usually comply. The problem isn’t whether they follow you – it’s whether they want to follow you. Leaders who prioritise image over empathy and inquiry slowly lose the discretionary effort of their teams.

Practising followership as a leader

Leaders can inspire trust, amplify influence and stay connected to on-the-ground realities by practising key followership behaviours. Here’s what that looks like:

1. Listen actively to learn, not confirm.

Let go of ego and listen with the sole intent of understanding. Resist the urge to frame your response while others speak. Discipline your attention by taking notes and asking at least one clarifying question before offering your view. Summarise what you heard to ensure accuracy and signal respect.

2. Shift course when needed.

Don’t just listen as a performative activity. Followership means genuinely adjusting based on what you hear. When leaders visibly pivot after receiving new information, they model the humility and willingness to learn that they expect from others.

3. Tie decision to mission.

Ground your choices in a shared purpose. Instead of “How can I get my way?”, ask, “How does this support what we’re trying to achieve?” Make that link explicit. Over time, people will recognise you as someone in service of the organisation’s broader goals and collective success, not just your own advancement.

4. Make things happen.

Ideas are easy; execution is hard. Followers are the ones who get things done, with a clear grasp of the organisation’s nuts and bolts – budgets, timelines, technical constraints. Leaders who don’t quite know how to translate a plan into reality not only lose the respect of their teams but risk deploying strategies that don’t align with how work actually takes place.

5. Foster two-way questioning.

If you spot a gap or potential issue, say so respectfully and with evidence. At the same time, welcome dissent. Be open to viewpoints that diverge from your own. Invite people to uncover pitfalls and inefficiencies. Frame these challenges around the shared goal: “If we want X outcome, what could be getting in the way?”

6. Seek feedback proactively.

Make improvement a part of your leadership identity. Be curious. Ask competent peers and team members, “What’s one thing I could do better?” The capacity to keep growing keeps you adaptive, prevents stagnation and inspires a similar coachability in the people you lead.

7. Put the team first in visible ways.

Volunteer for unglamorous work that moves the group forward. Share credit publicly. Make sacrifices when it’s all hands on deck. These acts rarely go unnoticed, slowly building the trust and loyalty that great leadership

Which brings us back to the founder.

He wanted his team to show more independence. That instinct was right. But telling people to take ownership rarely works. It grows when they see that their thinking shapes decisions — including the leader’s.

If you want people to step forward, they need to see you stepping back occasionally.

In many organisations, authority already exists. What is rarer is the willingness, especially at the top, to be part of the group before standing ahead of it.

Perhaps that is the part we underestimate.

Leadership does not begin with leading. It begins with learning how to follow.