Let them follow you

As I was born on a small farm, I am used to deal with animals. It is interesting that leadership can take many parallels with the approach we took to animals. I have learned so much from their behavior and want to share three simple stories. The common message is:

• invite instead of push,
• attract instead of request,
• calm down instead of ban.

In general – be like a shepherd. Not in a sense of your “herd” blindly following you, but in a sense of deep trust that you build. So, here are three examples.

First story: When I was a kid it happened that our pig somehow escaped from its stall in a cow-shed and hid somewhere in the corner. The animal was big, nervous, and we had no clue how to bring it back to the stall. My mother calmly took one big yellow corncob, approached the pig, put the corncob in front of the pig`s snout, slowly speaking some calming words, and … the pig followed her right into its stall. Done.

Second story: I parked my car in an empty fenced parking lot. Alone in the early morning. All around some highland cattle was grazing on mountain pastures. A bull made it inside the fenced parking lot. Suddenly, when I opened the car boot, a big bull`s head was inside it. Ouch! No abrupt movements! The horns were really big. I started gently pushing the bull`s head aside and somehow making less and less room for the bull. Slowly he moved back and out of the boot – so that I was able to close the car. Now, how to get the bull out the fenced parking lot? The majestic bull`s horns could leave scars on the car. Well, I went out of the fence, opened my backpack and took out the energy bar … At that very moment when the bull heard the noise of removing the wrap, he started walking out of the fence, towards me, probably expecting to get the bar … but, I did not give it, seeing an abundance of pastures around. I only grabbed the door, closed the fence – and the bull was out (and the car safe).

Third story: My neighbour owns some sheep and they repeatedly escape the fenced meadow and run towards whatever seems attractive to them, sometimes our garden. Last time I was observing my neighbour in action. No shouting, no pushing, simply some words so that the sheep recognized him, their “shepherd” … He also carried a plastic bucket with some salt in it, tapping his hand on the bucket. The very moment the sheep heard that, they ran out of our garden and followed the neighbour back to their place. The salt did its magic.

In all three cases there were no abrupt movements, no aggressive behavior, no shouting, no pushing, no blocking or preventing. There were only gentle movements, calming words, attracting gestures, inviting the “herds” to follow.

Well, the value the animals saw (instinctively) was pretty basic, some great food, yet the concept is the same when we compare these stories with leadership approaches. Except that the value people see in leaders is less basic (assuming the “food” [money] is provided). People follow the leader because of:

• a sense of common purpose felt by the leader`s messages and actions,
• a sense of deep fulfillment with what they do – together with their leaders,
• a sense of doing the right thing, a shared belief with the leader,
• a feeling of being a valuable contributor to the team and overall business success,
• a trust established by the actions of the leader,
• an inspiration by the leader`s values, virtues and behavior, and
• a feeling that you can fulfill your curiosity and your mission with what the leader enables you to do.

I am sure we could expand the list. But – whatever is on this list, it is all an “invitation”, not a “request”.

We feel invited and not forced. We feel inspired by the leader. We believe we belong in the mission, we are an integral part of it. We feel supported by the leader. We trust. We simply feel – well.