The Principle of the Leader-Follower

Luke 2:51

And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart.

Jesus was just a young, teenage young man, but he was still the Son of God. When his parents began their journey home, they noticed after three days that Jesus was not with them. The Scripture says that they returned to Jerusalem to seek for Jesus, and when they found him, they saw him in the temple asking questions. Mary said to Jesus, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing. Jesus responded to his mother, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?

A great principle that must be learned is stated about Jesus right after He made the statement that he must be about His Father's business. The principle is seen after He went home to be with his mother and stepfather and was subject unto them. Jesus could have easily told His parents that He was God because He knew He was God. Jesus did not have to subject Himself to them because He was the Son of God. However, because Jesus understood the principle of the leader-follower, He understood the importance of following those who had authority over him.

One of the great mistakes many leaders make is that they don't know how to follow, even though they are the leader. Great leaders are great followers. Great leaders know how to follow others who are leading, even though they may be the leader. Let me illustrate. I am the pastor of a church, but I have delegated the Monday night soul winning to one of my assistant pastors. On those nights when I go soul winning, I defer to this assistant pastor and let him lead because I have given him the authority to lead that soul-winning time. Now, I have every right to do what I want to do, but as a leader who has delegated the authority to someone else, I must learn to follow. This does not mean that I don't say something every once in a while, because I am the pastor, but I must subject myself to his leadership because I have given it to him.

Your ability to follow those you lead will determine how good of a leader you truly are. What many leaders don't understand is that how they follow those they have delegated a job to will show everyone else how to follow them as the leader. Let me share a couple of thoughts with you about this critical principle.

First, poor leaders demand followship, whereas great leaders earn followship. If you must demand people to follow you, you have demonstrated your poor leadership abilities. The best way to get people to follow you is to earn it. You earn it as you follow those you have delegated authority to in an area. They may not always lead the way that you would lead, but unless they are doing something that is directly against God's Word, you would be wise to follow them.

Second, you can't do everything yourself; therefore, learn to delegate authority and follow so that more work can be done. Yes, you are the leader, but you cannot lead everything. Therefore, be comfortable with delegating authority to those underneath you and learn to follow them as they lead in their areas. Only insert your leadership in private to help them lead better in their delegated area. You will build a stronger follower-leader who will push people to you as the highest leader because you have trusted their ability to lead.