The first follower

The first follower. This is my new goal.

I have learned so much this week about my strengths through the StrengthsFinder 2.0 assessment and action reading. I learned that my most dominant strength is Learner. This goes hand in hand with being a strong follower. After all, how can a leader lead without first knowing how to filter what should be followed. How would I know how to filter without learning first about my own leadership style, tendencies, and areas of strength?

My husband says that in his line of work there are too many chiefs and not enough "Native Americans" (in the past being worded Indians ;). I think this is true just about everywhere you go. In every organizations you'll find those who try to lead, stand up for a second, say something semi-good.. then sit down and realize they're not being listened to, or they were louder than they thought.

In order to have a community follow a leader, they must have inspiration to do so. They must look at the leader as an expert, someone who is welcoming and genuine. I believe once I figure out how to really showcase my strengths, while truly being humble, I can be a great supporter of our practices.

As this new idea of strengths-based leadership creeps up on me, I'm looking around to see how my strengths of focus, achievement, learning, consistency, and input, really fit. It's quickly becoming easier to look at old faces with a new mind-set. For that I am thankful.