Why follow you?

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Followers get behind leaders who are headed in the right direction. So what happens when the passion is gone and the direction isn’t clear?

I’m grateful for the courage of Amy Langer, who was the speaker at the Good Leadership Breakfast last Friday. She warmed our hearts on Valentine’s Day with sincerity and goodness! Watch a sample here.

Center stage and on camera, Amy admitted she’s an accountability freak – I joked that her childrens’ bedrooms must be really clean. “Not as clean as I’d like!” she quipped.

Kidding aside, her willingness to reconsider her own values at work led to a remarkable leadership turnaround. In the midst of the Great Recession, she honestly evaluated whether or not holding “accountability” as her primary personal/professional value was healthy.  With business down 25% and dropping, she admits focusing on “getting things done” wasn’t helping. The fun was gone, and she found no joy in the vision of “getting the firm back to where we were before.”

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The magic came back by carving out a new direction: exploring “what’s possible” by reinventing the firm and her approach. An executive coach helped her and business partner John Folkestad work together to rediscover their love for the business. When the new direction became magnetic, her leadership and her natural passion was contagious again.

So what can we learn from Amy about answering the question: Why follow you? People will follow when:

1. You love the direction you are headed.
2. You lead by example in ways that are positive in every context: planned or unplanned, north or south, personal or professional.
3. You know how to get people working together in ways that feel good.

We’re all grateful that Amy’s business is doing well again and her passion for community involvement is so strong. She agreed spontaneously to match the Bucket of Good Will drawing – and the guests at the Good Leadership Breakfast collectively contributed more than $6500 to the Washburn Center for Children in Minneapolis. Goodness grows!

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Good leaders make a habit of honest assessment to ensure they love the direction they are headed – both personally and professionally. And they are willing to reconsider their core values and assumptions to make sure people are still following.

Today’s blog begs you to answer the question: Why follow you?

Good leaders will be grateful for what you are thinking.

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