Leaders and followers should and can be equally valued
“Are you a leader or a follower?” That question is arguably one of the most common sentences I have heard fly out of any interviewer’s mouth.
It is an exceptionally valuable question.
Without the distinction between what a leader is and what a follower is, it can be difficult to gauge someone’s work ethic, personality and overall nature.
Society puts a great deal of weight on the two terms. Leadership is often associated with words like pioneer, innovator, power and influence, while followership is often linked to words like assistant and companion.
It seems that considerably more words correspond to the word leader. There’s no wonder so much value is placed upon this word, let alone the act of leadership itself.
Categorically speaking, however, pitting a sense of leadership versus a sense of followership puts people into boxes — the kind of boxes that are hard to break out of.
In high school, as college applications and tours neared, I became increasingly aware of how important it was that I fit the form of what most universities want in student leaders — more accurately, the leaders of the future. It’s a pretty substantial expectation to put on students, whose main responsibilities are showing up to class and doing exactly as a teacher says.
How are young students supposed to become efficient leaders when all they know is how to follow teachers, coaches and parents?
So, as my anxiety about not fitting the bill of a successful college student sunk in, I began taking on more than I could chew — more than anyone should chew.
As soon as my first year of college began, I kept the mindset that future employers only want leaders as well. If colleges wanted leader-like students, then surely prospective employers would only want even stronger leaders.
So, I attempted to take on everything — every extra credit assignment, every class project leadership role, every extra article. Eventually, I realized that being a leader in a high school of 1,000 students is much easier than being a leader in a university of nearly 12,000 students.
Sometimes I question whether or not I ever gave myself the chance to choose between being a leader or a follower. At the time, it felt like I had no choice. Why would anyone want to simply be a follower?
This is where those boxes come in. We aren’t taught we can be both. Many people see leaders and followers as two separate beings, but it doesn’t have to be that way.
I wish that I allowed myself to be both a follower and a leader. After all, there are important traits in both. There are strengths and weaknesses in both.
Leaders are important. Without leaders, the country, the world and society as a whole would, most likely, not have the strongest sense of direction. However, it is important to remember that all leaders were once followers too. And as cheesy as it sounds, leaders are formed out of followers.
Everyone must begin somewhere. Some of the most important things we learn growing up are when we follow others.
I think it’s time we stop seeing leaders and followers as separate. Rather than valuing a sense of leadership higher than a sense of followership, it is time to start thinking about what we value in people.
What if, instead of asking for leaders, we ask for people who are passionate, people who are ready to contribute in any role they best fit?
It is important that we strive to ask students to be innovative, compassionate and dedicated to the work they do.
The class presidents, the group project managers and the team captains would all still be “the leaders.” But with this mindset, the leaders and followers alike would all be passionate, capable and, most of all, equally valued.
Hailey Stewart can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter at @Hailey_ann97