Moving from “the” to “my” – (Part 3 – Followership)

Leading worship with a guitar does not guarantee one is a professional musician. I had been struggling by with basic guitar skills, leading worship for over twenty years before I learned what it meant to play in a band. When you are part of a band, you need to know the songs, listen to and play with others, and you need to surrender yourself to what is best for the band. Leading worship in a band surfaces an important leadership truth. Leaders who lead well, also follow well. Followership defines our responsibility to actively engage in the mission of where we work, play, study, and worship by embracing opportunities for participation, transitioning from the audience to the engaged, from the sideline to the field, from volunteers to team members, and from consumers to partners who drive the mission forward.

Leadership requires followership. As leaders, we need to know our music and the knowledge and skills our position requires. As leaders, we need to listen to others—mentors and coaches who equip us, peers who challenge us, and those we lead with whom we play. As leaders, we must also surrender ourselves to what is best for the band—our organization, our stakeholders, and the community impacted by our leadership. Leadership requires people who are willing to bear the dual mantle of leader and follower. Leaders who learn to follow will continue to grow in their leadership knowledge, participation in a mobilizing community, and missional engagement. 

Is leadership an activity or a calling? Wrestling with this question is a journey that moves from participation to ownership, from commitment to "the" organization, people, and mission to being committed to "my" organization, people, and mission. If I am committed to "the" band, I will show up and play well as long as the band doesn't interfere with my life. My life! My life becomes the line that separates activity from calling, dividing "the" from "my." But, when I understand leadership as a calling, when I surrender my want for recognition, my need for personal success, and my drive for personal protection to my calling, I will be ready to follow and lead. Only then is the impact of my leadership accessible and unstoppable.

If we limit the goal of our leadership to our accomplishments, we are one-generation leaders. By being leaders who practice followership, we invite those we lead into a leadership community, multiplying our impact. When we journey from “the” to “my” as leaders who practice followership, we invite communities to journey with us as they are transformed from the audience to the engaged, from the sideline to the field, from volunteers to team members, and from consumers to partners who drive the mission forward.

You may never see me on a professional stage by myself with my guitar. As I said earlier, being able to lead a group in worship does not make one a professional musician. But being part of a room filled with people lifting their hearts and voices in unison for one purpose is better than accolades or applause. As Western culture continues to learn from the global community, there is less focus on individual accomplishment and more on helping communities flourish. Only leaders who journey from "the" to "my," from activity to calling, can lead others on the same journey, multiplying their impact among people and generations.

Have you explored your unique calling, strengths, and gifts? If so, how did you express your uniqueness this week?

How are you modeling good followership for those you lead?