Following from in front and Leading from behind

susie.wee — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 02:29:00 GMT

I had an interesting experience when going out to lunch with my team. They took me to one of their regular lunch spots where I had never been. I kind of vaguely knew where it was, but I didn’t know exactly where it was.

I had to drive separately to get back for a meeting, so we split up in the parking lot to get into our cars. For some reason I ended up getting into my car and out of the parking lot first. Since I vaguely knew where the restaurant was, I started heading in the general direction of the restaurant. But, since I didn’t exactly know where the restaurant was, I had to follow them. But, I was in front of them. So, I had to follow from in front.

So there began my little adventure. I kept going towards the general direction of the restaurant. But, I kept looking in my rear view mirror to see where they were going. I looked in the rear view mirror to see which lanes they were getting in, and then I switched into those same lanes, but did this many cars in front of them. I actually followed them from in front for about three turns… all the way into the parking lot of the restaurant. It worked perfectly! And, it was actually pretty fun!

So, why am I writing all this? Well, I thought it was pretty funny to follow from in front. And then I thought about how it applies to work. Sure, as a manager I’m the official leader of my organization. But, in many ways, my team members “lead from behind” while I lead by “following from in front”. I mean that I lead by getting the best ideas from my team and others around me and I use these ideas to help guide all of us forward. Now, I think I have a good idea of my own every now and then, but I’m also perfectly happy to push forward the great ideas that my team members have. Hey, a great idea is a great idea no matter where it comes from. And actually I’m kind of proud of my ability to pick out great ideas from my team.

We’re all familiar with the concept of “Leading from behind”.

What do you think about the concept of “Following from in front”?

Have you followed from in front?

Research, Technology, and Teamwork blog by Susie Wee : leadership

Following from in front and Leading from behind