Measuring our sphere of influence in terms of numbers is weird. I spent a few years working in marketing, and the way we measured success was a combination of interactions, responses to Calls To Action, and people/accounts who clicked a button to get our content delivered to them, usually in response to whatever we posted or shared.
Where did we find that last number? Under the category of followers.
I guarantee you that if I looked at your Instagram or Twitter, the list of people or accounts that you “follow” and receive updates about in your feed looks vastly different from the set of people you allow to influence your day-to-day operation, and that set may look different from the people you give access to your vulnerabilities and weaknesses.
But, at the end of the day, we’re judged by the number of people we follow or the number of people who follow us on the Internet.
Here’s my point: our world has taken a title of privilege and relegated it to a metric piece.
By privilege, I mean that if we identify with a leader as their follower, we lay upon both us and that individual a weighty responsibility. On the leader, we place the expectation that what they have to say is worth our consideration. On us, the follower, the leader places the expectation that we’ll consider what they say so we can apply it.
So, in a world where leadership eclipses followership, we also need to understand that everyone follows, too.
You follow someone’s example. You ask for someone’s advice. You look to someone to make a decision.
You follow people you trust. You don’t just hitch your wagon to any person on the side of the road. You place yourself under people’s teachings who have proven themselves as caring, competent, and worthy of influencing you.
You follow people who’ve done it before. You don’t follow someone who’s untested, or less mature than you. You let people who have a story to tell with hindsight and commentary influence you.
You follow people who live well. We all want to be better versions of ourselves, and you don’t waste your time allowing self-destructive auto-piloters to offer you advice on how to live your life. You listen to people who know they haven’t arrived yet and are trying to do what it takes to be better.
Be careful who you follow. Let the right people influence you. Because who you follow will influence how you lead.
So follow well today, just like you lead well.