First Follower: Leadership Lessons from Dancing Guy & Chicago Bulls

You are not a leader until you have followers. I love this unconventional leadership illustration captured on video and narrated by Derek Sivers.

The first follower is what transforms a lone nut into a leader.

During a recent Area meeting we discussed creating small movements within our company for safety and growth. The session's leader, John Holland, showed video highlights of Michael Jordan and the greatness that he was able to achieve in his career. However, the most pointed take-away from Jordan's famed career is it wouldn't have reached the level that it did without Scottie Pippen, his first follower.

The best way to make a movement is to courageously follow and show others how to follow.

Early in in his career Jordan scored points at an incredible rate, but he was a "lone nut" with his work ethic. After Pippen joined the Bulls, he and Jordan would play one-on-one to boost their individual skills. Pippen followed Jordan's lead in work ethic and learned skills from him. It worked. This level of commitment rubbed off on the rest of the team and ultimately carried the Bulls to 6 Championships.

So if you are looking to create a movement within your office, Area or company, who will be your Scottie Pippen? Who will be the person who will take your vision and match your intensity? Alternatively, will you have the courage to be Scottie Pippen to someone else's vision and help start a movement and create greatness?

Mark Fennell – Mark has over 18 years of energy, speaking and leadership experience. He is the East Region’s Sales and Marketing Director for AmeriGas, the nation’s largest retail propane marketer, serving approximately 1.9 million customers in all 50 states from approximately 2,000 distribution locations. UGI Corporation, through subsidiaries, is the sole General Partner and owns 26% of AmeriGas Partners and the public owns the remaining 74%.