Leadership Lessons From Dancing Guy

[FastTadpole]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fW8amMCVAJQ

Quote:Transcript:

If you've learned a lot about leadership and making a movement, then let's watch a movement happen, start to finish, in under 3 minutes, and dissect some lessons:

A leader needs the guts to stand alone and look ridiculous. But what he's doing is so simple, it's almost instructional. This is key. You must be easy to follow!

Now comes the first follower with a crucial role: he publicly shows everyone how to follow. Notice the leader embraces him as an equal, so it's not about the leader anymore - it's about them, plural. Notice he's calling to his friends to join in. It takes guts to be a first follower! You stand out and brave ridicule, yourself. Being a first follower is an under-appreciated form of leadership. The first follower transforms a lone nut into a leader. If the leader is the flint, the first follower is the spark that makes the fire.

The 2nd follower is a turning point: it's proof the first has done well. Now it's not a lone nut, and it's not two nuts. Three is a crowd and a crowd is news.

A movement must be public. Make sure outsiders see more than just the leader. Everyone needs to see the followers, because new followers emulate followers - not the leader.

Now here come 2 more, then 3 more. Now we've got momentum. This is the tipping point! Now we've got a movement!

As more people jump in, it's no longer risky. If they were on the fence before, there's no reason not to join now. They won't be ridiculed, they won't stand out, and they will be part of the in-crowd, if they hurry. Over the next minute you'll see the rest who prefer to be part of the crowd, because eventually they'd be ridiculed for not joining.

And ladies and gentlemen that is how a movement is made! Let's recap what we learned:

If you are a version of the shirtless dancing guy, all alone, remember the importance of nurturing your first few followers as equals, making everything clearly about the movement, not you.

Be public. Be easy to follow!

But the biggest lesson here - did you catch it?

Leadership is over-glorified.

Yes it started with the shirtless guy, and he'll get all the credit, but you saw what really happened:

It was the first follower that transformed a lone nut into a leader.

There is no movement without the first follower.

We're told we all need to be leaders, but that would be really ineffective.

The best way to make a movement, if you really care, is to courageously follow and show others how to follow.

When you find a lone nut doing something great, have the guts to be the first person to stand up and join in.

http://sivers.org/ff

[Deathaniel]

Love it!!!!

Very true, but be wary of preaching such, some of the "sheep" here will hate on you for teaching how to be the authority they fear and just how simple the minds of most of them are...

but this does work, in near every environment because i'm out going i quickly take the mantle of leader, and the shy sheep who see how much "fun" and such i have are quick to join.... me and my closer friends call it charisma... but from your example you cut to the bone proving charisma is not required, just a bunch of people who aim to be accepted....

[April]

[jack]

(04-09-2010 06:23 PM)Deathanyl Wrote:  Very true, but be wary of preaching such, some of the "sheep" here will hate on you for teaching how to be the authority they fear and just how simple the minds of most of them are...

huh ???

Quote:but this does work, in near every environment because i'm out going i quickly take the mantle of leader, and the shy sheep who see how much "fun" and such i have are quick to join.... me and my closer friends call it charisma... but from your example you cut to the bone proving charisma is not required, just a bunch of people who aim to be accepted....

yes accepted

thing is the guy was probably a popular or semi-popular part of a pre-existing group > which then joined in, as opposed to a loner.

I've been the first to join in enough, and this doesn't always work > just two peeps having fun while the others are still too afraid of looking stupid or being controversial (of course this is always with a loner, or some one that doesn't hold the "correct" appearance, or ideology.
too much keeping up appearances going on
when it does work the last to join in are only joining to continue the appearance keeping





..

[h3rm35]

great video, but things are a little bit different when it means getting beaten to a bloody pulp instead of dancing and having a good time...