I used to think the most prestigious seat in any group was the leader’s.

They get the fame. The reputation. The spotlight. The glory. And I watched a lot of people land in that seat who… weren’t actually trained for it. They’d been promoted, elected, or just loud enough to end up there — and then the whole team had to live inside whatever that person was or wasn’t ready to hold.

I’m not usually trying to be that person. I want to change systems from the inside… without needing the crown. In most rooms, I don’t want the crown.

What I didn’t understand for a long time is that being a good follower is harder than being a good leader.

A team with a bad leader and good followers will usually end up in a better place than a team with a good leader and bad followers.

Good followers know how to move together. They help shape the path. They push back on bad decisions. They say when something doesn’t feel right — when it isn’t aligned with their purpose, or the purpose of the team. And if a leader keeps dragging them somewhere they can’t stand behind, they’ll just start walking in the direction the team feels is right… and the leader is forced to “follow.”

Bad followers do the opposite. They follow the leader blindly, even against their own intuition. They’re afraid to stand out, or afraid to be wrong, so they hand their power over to “authority” — and create a single point of failure, a single point of power. And as we know, where power is concentrated, corruption sneaks in.

Take a team whose leader says they should set up their new base in the desert.

Good followers push back. Is this aligned with our mission? Will this lead to our success? Does this feel right for me? They’re constantly checking whether the path being chosen still matches why the group exists. If they end up in the desert, it’s because they share a belief that it’s the right place.

Bad followers go to the desert… and when it fails, they blame the leader. “He’s a bad leader,” they’d say. “Someone else should be leader.” As if swapping the crown fixes the real problem — that they gave up their power. Their ability to co-create the journey with their team; the fact that God / the Universe can speak through anyone… if we’re willing to listen.

So maybe it’s time to stop blaming your boss for everything you think is wrong, and start seeing how you can lead a change as a follower.

How to be a good follower

1. Work on yourself. Understand your feelings and sensations (Circling).
2. Listen for the leader. Being isolated from the group means leaders often don’t hear the murmurings of their people. Listen. Understand it deeply. Separate fear from truth.
3. Have the courage to speak out — The Courage to Be Disliked, the courage even to be kicked out of the group. Speak for others if no one else will. Or speak for yourself if they do.

Only then will the world not be plagued by bad leaders — it’ll be directed by good followers.

To love something, you have to understand it, be around it, have a relationship with it. We fear things because we don’t understand them. When we fear, we don’t see, we run; we don’t listen we defend; we don’t ask, we assume.

Fear has been the cause of countless atrocities, like racism, segregation, genocides. When individuals have the courage to reach across the aisle, tracks, borders and meet a fellow human being, friendships develop, wounds are mended, nations are healed. Our minds were meant to be just as open as our hearts.

When we allow a crack to form in the programs we’ve carried with us our whole lives, we step away from stereotyping people based on their gender, skin color, or religion and start to see them as individuals. We see them based on their likes and dislikes, strengths and gifts, kindnesses given and kindnesses returned.

For example, Daryl Davis, a black man, built a friendship with a leader of the KKK And over the course of 10yrs, by practicing patience, kindness, and grace, turned his heart against the ideology where he not only left, but publicly denounced his previous beliefs and acknowledged Daryl as a friend. Daryl has since helped many members leave and stands as a testament to the power of connection.

What are you afraid of? What are you not allowing yourself the possibility of understanding? Where is your mind and your heart closed?

Maybe it’s time to open up?…

Simply put, because you aren’t courageous enough to stand for what you believe in. We aren’t courageous enough. We, collectively, have decided to sell ourselves for money, prestige, food, shelter, security, and comfort.

Once we have the courage to stand for what we each believe in, individually, the world, our customs, our traditions will accommodate. Companies will no longer lie, steal, cheat. Politicians and governments will no longer be corrupt. Food will no longer contain additives that are harmful or be grown with agricultural practices that destroy our world. We have allowed all that to happen for fear of death, pain, poverty, and/or humiliation.

Nurture the strength and courage to say what needs to be said, to do what needs to be done; to go against the grain. It starts with small every day things, in small every day moments. It starts with listening to that internal guidance system. As you gain and exhibit that courage, you make it easier for others.

So go! Let your light shine! On the highest of mountains and lowest of valleys...wherever darkness is, let it shine.

When we hear the word, "meek" we often associate it with weak. It's easy since they rhyme! But the real definition of meek is quite surprising. Meakness is the quality of utilizing or leaning on less of your power/resources/skill than you have access to. Meakness is strength under control. Ones who are powerful, but humble, patient, gentle, and self-controlled.

For instance, think of the stock trader that only risks a small portion of his assets, versus the one that plays on margin.

Matthew 5:5 (KJV):
“Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.”

...which one will be ready to handle an unexpected change or dip in the market? Which one will be prepared to play (trade) at a higher difficulty? One will succeed, the other will be wiped out.

If you're going through life utilizing every possible ounce of power, cunning, skill, or resources at your disposal you'll be the type of person who betrays friends, lies, cheats, or steals...since latent in relationships is vulnerability and that vulnerability is tantalizing to ones who are seeking power. This vulnerability, however, is safe around the meek, for though they could use it, they will not. Not because they are afraid to, but because they choose not to.