5 Banana Peels of Followers

In the piece I wrote last week (Leadership Insights | Monday, 5 September 2022 | No. 21), the focus was on the 5 Banana Peels of Leaders. This week, I decided to look at the other side of the coin – 5 Banana Peels of Followers. In the same way that leaders run the risk of bungling the opportunity to impact the lives of their people, and giving them a most valuable transformation experience, followers can also miss out on what their leaders have to offer.

While it is true that leaders are not immune to mistakes and errors, followers are even more prone to a life of mistakes and errors. My view of the leader-follower relationship is that the follower stands to benefit more from the relationship than the leader. You cannot be said to be a true leader if you do not have more to offer the follower than the follower has to offer you. Make no mistake, both parties are involved to help each other. The leader also benefits from help from the follower. However, the follower typically needs far more help from the leader.

As I said in one of my quotes, “Leaders are makers.” The destination that leaders take their people to is that of a change in their ‘personality’ and not primarily a change in their results. Of course, their results change by changing their personality or personal attributes. If you prefer, we can say that leaders are instruments for endowing the follower with the personality attributes that ‘make’ them get results. (Check your leadership personality here.)

It is not easy to follow any leader. Apart from the challenges that followers would face in their journey with a leader, the average person would rather prefer to lead than to follow. That seems to me to be a natural instinct. And this is the case irrespective of whether the person has the requisite skills to lead. Leadership skills remain taken for granted by most people. Somehow, we all believe that we have the skills to lead. Perhaps we tend to imply that once we are placed in a position of authority it means that those who put us there believe that we have what it takes to lead. Not many people would make a deliberate effort to develop their leadership skills, and as some relatively recent survey shows, even organizations do a very poor job of providing leadership development programs and initiatives for their people.

The fact that the average follower wants to lead rather than follow makes her even more prone to stepping on banana peels. The banana peels of followers are mistakes and errors that followers fall into that prevent them from experiencing the intended transformation by their leader.

To benefit from any leader, the follower must cooperate with her. The cooperation required is at many levels. Unless and until a follower offers the requisite cooperation, she cannot benefit from the relationship with the leader. No matter how good, powerful, or intimidating a leader may be, none can single-handedly impact the follower the right way without her cooperation. As well-intentioned as you may be as a leader, you will not make the impact that is possible from your leadership if the follower does not cooperate, even if you apply your authority.

As well-intentioned as you may be as a leader, you will not make the impact that is possible from your leadership if the follower does not cooperate, even if you apply your authority.

The point here is that just as the leader has a responsibility toward the follower, the follower also has a responsibility to allow the leader to fulfill her responsibility toward her. This is where it becomes imperative to draw attention to the banana peels that the follower must avoid if she is to fully embrace the benefits on offer from the leader.

?The 5 Banana peels that followers must avoid

The banana peels that are discussed here represent 5 key mistakes and errors that followers must avoid making if their relationship with a leader must be fruitful. Having the opportunity to follow a good leader is not often appreciated enough by followers. The significance of having the input of leadership injected into our lives has been taken for granted for far too long. It is perhaps because many supposed leaders have disappointed their followers or because many followers believe that they should be leading rather than following. A good number of people believe that they do not need a leader. They would rather be self-made or lead others. [Click here to discover 7 reasons why people won;t follow you (and why you shouldn't care)]

The truth is that without leaders, no one can be ‘made’ into the person they must be to realize their full potential (Ephesians 4:11-13). There is nothing as important as the leadership input into the life of every one of us if we are to become the best version to make the right impact in the world.

There is nothing as important as the leadership input into the life of every one of us if we are to become the best version to make the right impact in the world.

There is nothing as important as the leadership input into the life of every one of us if we are to become the best version to make the right impact in the world.

Banana Peel 1: Failing to exercise trust in and patience with the leader

This is the very point I started with when I discussed the banana peels of leaders. It is interesting that it should be the first banana peel to draw the attention of followers to as well. And this should not be surprising because, like it is with every interpersonal relationship, trust must be at the core. Trust is what holds the relationship together and enables the realization of its essence.

The challenge with trust is that each of the two parties typically wants the other to first earn their trust. The follower wants the leader to show why she should be trusted and followed. The leader also expects the follower to extend trust first, to believe that she has her best interest at heart and would work to deliver it.

Yet, it is important that each comes to the table with the intention of trusting the other party, even if it is done as a gesture of respect. In addition, it ought to be done as a ‘seed’ that’s planted.

With special reference to the follower, trust or faith in the leader is essential. When it is not in place, a virtual obstacle is invariably erected that prevents the leader from positively impacting the follower. When the follower fails to trust the leader, she will not be committed to following the leader’s instructions. She will not apply herself as required to learn from what the leader is teaching. Her presence and commitment will be half-hearted if at all it is anything near that.

When trust is not in place, the follower is wasting her precious time (and that of the leader) because nothing of value will result from such a relationship. Until you believe in me, you will have little motivation to embrace and follow what I say or do. And there are many reasons that a follower (especially one who believes that she also ought to be leading others) will not trust her leader.

It is an undeniable truth that you cannot get from a relationship more than you invest in it. If a follower does not invest trust in her relationship with a leader, she must not expect to earn her trust as well. Moreover, every leader is encouraged to trust a follower who demonstrates trust in her.

Trust elicits trust. It applies both ways. What pays is that both follower and leader come to the relationship with an intention to trust each other, and without preconceived notions and virtual roadblocks. If they are both waiting to trust first, precious time will be wasted, and the impact of leadership will drag. It is a good idea that a follower chooses to trust her leader first until the leader shows that the trust was misplaced. This is akin to being taken as innocent until proven guilty. That's fairness and justice in action. To deprive the leader this privilege is to increase her burden and make her job more difficult

It was pointed out that the leader must add patience to trust to be sustainable. From the leader’s point of view, it was to allow for the errors and mistakes that a follower was bound to make as she responded to the directives and guidance of the leader. In the process of transformation, improvement comes with practice, which involves doing, making mistakes, and effecting correction. If a leader is not patient with the follower going through such a process, it would introduce difficulties in their relationship.

Patience is required also on the follower’s part. This is primarily because the follower needs to learn to understand the approach and behaviour of the leader. The follower, being the primary learner, will not fully understand the leader’s motives, instructions, expectations, etc. Without patience, noble and well-intentioned gestures of the leader may be misinterpreted. Such pushbacks may undermine the trust that the follower shows toward the leader.

The lack of patience gets in the way of building strong relationships.

The power of the trust you invest in your relationship with those you follow can be eroded by your failure to add patience in your dealing with them. You must be willing, ready, and able to give the leader the benefit of the doubt before jumping to hasty conclusions about their behaviour towards you or their intentions for your relationship.

?We don’t want you to be lazy. We want you to be like those who, because of their faith and patience, will get what God has promised. - Hebrews 6:12 ERV

Be careful as a follower to ensure that you do not step on the banana peel of a lack of trust in and patience with your leader.

Banana Peel 2: Offended by the truth

It is often said that ‘truth is bitter.’ What is not often said is that truth sheds light on every situation. That light shines so brightly that every trace of confusion is dispelled from one in possession of it. When you know the truth about a situation or something, you are empowered to exercise control over it. That’s why the truth that you know sets you free. (John 10:32) And we understand on the other hand that ‘light is sweet.’ This is because each of us is delighted when we are in control of situations because we ‘know’ the truth about them. It is a sweet feeling indeed when you dominate a situation.

The bottom line is that ‘truth is sweet.’ It isn’t in fact bitter. Put differently, truth is demanding in compliance but rewarding in its result.

It is expected that a true leader will uphold truth in everything she does. By the way, this same truth is the real foundation for building trust in interpersonal relationships. When the truth is lacking, trust will evaporate. The lack of truth damages trusts in relationships. It is the same in the leader-follower relationship.

The truth that the leader emphasizes may however be ‘hard’ on her followers. They may find it difficult to embrace. Followers will first experience the bitter aspect of the truth, which demands compliance. They will not immediately see the sweet side because that only comes after compliance is in place.

In such situations, some followers will lose faith in the leader. They may see the leader as being too demanding. Some may even see the leader as portraying herself as a ‘god’ by placing what they consider to be unreasonable demands on them. It can lead to them withdrawing their support, refusing to trust, and at the extreme, even stopping cooperating with the leader.

It was Jesus that projected this experience when some of those following Him turned away from doing so after complaining that His demands were too hard. They claimed that no one could comply with those demands. Yet, His demands simply represented the ‘truth.’ He refused to yield ground by departing from the way of truth. But this offended some of the followers and they left Him.

Some others, especially the core team that He chose, refused to go despite being given the opportunity to do so. Their reason? They believed that the truth He spoke was the key to their transformation experience under His leadership. These followers secured their promised experience with the leader by refusing to get offended by His demand for compliance with the truth. The other followers lost out because they could not handle the truth!

No leader should negotiate the truth. And there are truths that must be the foundation of a true leader’s approach to leadership. These truths are what I walk executives through in my CLASS OF 12. In that class, we walk through 12 core truths that represent the foundations of true leadership in great detail, including learning how to engage and use them successfully to deliver the promise of leadership, which is personal transformation. It is a 12-week program undertaken by a 12-member cohort. (Click here or the link below to learn more)

True leaders will not mind when followers walk away because they find the truth to be too bitter to swallow. It is a non-negotiable pillar of leadership. And it is the loss of the follower, unfortunately. It is the leader’s responsibility to present the truth to the follower and explain as much as possible its instructive nature, including the reward that compliance brings about, ultimately. It is, however, the responsibility of the follower to choose to embrace and comply with it. The follower always has a choice to make and the leader's hope is that the follower will make the right choice. The right choice advances their relationship while the wrong choice undermines it.

Followers who cannot embrace the truth from the mouth of their leaders step on a banana peel. They will surely lose out in that relationship. If the leader is committed to the truth (and every true leader should), it is in the best interest of the follower. Truth holds great promise and profit, however long it takes to materialize.

The story of Mary and Martha is a popular one in the Bible. While Jesus was present, Mary stayed focused on Him, choosing to pay rapt attention to His words – the words of truth. Martha was busy with other activities, playing hostess to the group. Martha figured that it wasn’t right for her sister to leave the hosting function to her, especially since she was also a woman in the house. She complained to Jesus, their leader, about it. But Jesus’ response was profound. He told Martha that Mary chose the right thing by focusing on Him, and by implication, the words He was speaking. He did say that it was ‘one thing’ that everyone needed (especially they as His followers). And that ‘one thing’ referred to the words He spoke! And He spoke the truth! (Read more about the One Thing That You Lack in my book below).

The truth is bitter to comply with but rewarding in its result. Stepping away from it is stepping on banana peels, which will lead to a loss for every follower (of a leader who operates the truth). ?

Banana Peels 3: Hands off the plow

And another also said, “Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house.” [62] But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” - Luke 9:61-62 NKJV

Another banana peel that must be avoided by the follower is withdrawing one's hands from the plow.’ This refers to the situation where the follower changes her mind and turns back from following the leader. In this situation, the reason for the change of mind is to be borne in mind. It is not a case of the follower rebuffing the leader’s demand for compliance with the truth. Rather, it is one in which the follower is ‘distracted’ from her commitment to her relationship with the leader.

Unwavering commitment to the leader is required if a follower must maximize the benefits of their relationship. Included in that expectation is giving full attention to the leader and being available when the leader expects. In the supporting Scripture quoted above, you can see that the follower has a reason she would not be available at the time the leader expected. However, the leader did not consider the reason tenable enough for her to allow it to distract her from the commitment required by her relationship with the leader.

What that tells us is that there can and probably will always be reasons capable of distracting the follower from fully committing to her relationship with the leader. Many of these reasons are not tenable and only serve to distract her. With distractions like these, the commitment of the follower to the leader is undermined. The effect is that the leader will be less committed to the follower as well. Remember, the follower will not get a greater commitment from the leader than she invests in their relationship.

The follower must be disciplined in following the leader. That discipline requires sacrifice and prioritization of her focus. When following a leader, there are things that the follower must give up. Just like the leader has to make sacrifices for her relationship with the follower to be meaningful, this is one of the sacrifices that the follower has to make in her best interest to ensure that the relationship with the leader is fruitful.

You cannot expect your relationship with a leader to be fruitful if your commitment is half-hearted, whatever the reason(s).

Banana Peel 4: Avoid becoming prodigal – imposter syndrome

?Then He said: “A certain man had two sons. [12] And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me. ’ So he divided to them his livelihood. - Luke 15:11-12 NKJV

Apart from the average person believing that they do not really need a leader to make much out of their lives, we also have those who are quick to believe that they have learned enough under their leader and it’s time to ‘move on’ to do their own thing. These are the ‘prodigal sons.’

The parable of the prodigal son talks about a son who demanded ‘freedom’ from his father. He asked for his share of the inheritance the father would have left for him. He wanted to be free from his ‘leadership.’ He believed that he had ‘come of age’ and could hold his own, going forward. He may have felt also that his continued stay under his father was hindering him from doing greater things in life.

This is one banana peel that a follower must avoid. The prodigal son stepped on this banana peel and regretted it. It took him off his hitherto sure path to success and almost led to his destruction. He lost everything. He had overrated himself and got tired of following the leader. He believed that he was more capable than he actually was. He stepped out as a bona fide leader when he was only half-baked!

He stepped out as an imposter. Therein lies the ‘imposter syndrome’ in his case. He ventured out posing to be what he was not (and without knowing it). He must have thought he had gained enough from his father to make it on his own, without allowing the father to say so. Despite having the leverage that his inheritance provided, he still failed, and woefully for that matter. It soon became very clear that he did not know enough to hold his own, let alone lead other people.

It is not the follower who determines when they are ripe enough to lead. It is not the follower’s call to do so. It is the leader who decides when the follower is ready to venture out as a true successor. The followers who certify themselves as being ready to lead are imposters and they will fall and fail, ultimately.

A follower who does not want to short-circuit her training under a leader should be patient and humble enough to wait for the leader to certify her as a true successor. The leader is the one reproducing the follower after her kind, just like a seed reproduces other seeds after its kind (through the fruits they produce), and not the other way around.

The prodigal son didn’t have to become a prodigal. He could have spared himself all the headache, heartache, hardship, ridicule, and disgrace. He just needed to wait humbly until the father released him. And that was inevitable anyway. Leadership is not something to simply assume we can do as shown in this case. We must subject ourselves to training so that we can acquire and develop the requisite skills. The lives of people are too precious to be toyed with by any leader. But much more, for the sake of the follower, it is important to wait for the leader to pronounce and certify you as a worthy successor.

Banana Peel 5: Don’t place 'form' over 'substance'

Finally, I will draw attention to one of the mistakes that followers make when power is delegated to them. Power is tricky. It corrupts and when absolute, it corrupts absolutely.

Power must always be understood to be a means to an end. It is required for getting more substantive objectives done. Some followers get carried away with the power. They are fascinated by what power can achieve. They see how people respond to their instructions and what their words can do. They are not as mindful of what the real objectives of leadership are about, and what power the leader’s hands are for.

At some point, Jesus delegated responsibilities to his team members. They were given a clear mandate on what was to be achieved. When they came back, however, their reports were more about the marvel that the power was in their hands rather than the benefit that it delivered to the people they were sent to serve. They did not celebrate their ‘service’ to the people, but only the effect of the ‘power’ they commanded.

The Master had to quickly caution them. He told them not to get carried away with the power but with the ‘service’ that it enabled them to deliver. In effect, He told them not to place ‘form’ over ‘substance.’

Those fellows almost missed it completely. The exposure given to them through delegation could have led to their slip. A banana peel that could have made nonsense of their following the leader.

Followers are vulnerable

In closing, let it be known from the foregoing that followers are equally vulnerable in their journey with the leader. Situations will present themselves where they may invariably step on banana peels that will undermine their ability to derive maximum benefits from their relationship with the leader. It is hoped that followers will be mindful of these banana peels and take care to avoid them.

Leaders can and should also help followers to mind these banana peels with a view to avoiding them.

?Olatunji Sobodu

+234 809 891 1826 | emetlead@gmail.com

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P.S.: Please feel free to share this Newsletter with others who can benefit from what is discussed. Thanks for being a blessing to others.