Why Would Someone Follow You?

“You’re not a leader until someone chooses to follow you”

This isn’t a famous quote I’ve seen somewhere, it is my learning from lots of reading and listening. It is something that comes up a lot in conversations with leadership teams when we are talking about branding. We are often engaged to help with external brand strategies but branding has to start from inside the business. It is the culture, the customer experience that forms such an important part of the brand and this needs to be driven by strong leadership.

So the question I ask the business leaders I work with while we are working through their archetypal brand positioning is “why would someone choose to follow you?” Most have never really thought about that?

We talk about what role their leadership plays in the growth of the business, what success looks like for them, especially in the time they will actively work in the business. We talk about leadership style and what the culture is in the business as a result of that.

Let me ask you… “Why would people follow you?” Here are some starting points that I hear:

• They respect me.
• I have some form of status, e.g. fame, fortune, etc.
• I am an expert in my field.
• I’m decisive and make things happen.
• I’m charismatic and attract others because of that.
• I like to inspire others.
• I have a clear vision for the difference we can all make.
• I’m creative, and can be relied on to come up with the right solution.
• I’m positive and optimistic, my team believe in me.
• I have been described as a “diehard”, it’s not over until it’s over.

That’s by no means a comprehensive list. What others can you add? But my question for you is which ones can you improve in order to take your brand to the next level?

I love human behaviour and neuro marketing!
Belinda