Last week Anita and I went to the Grabill Country Fair. We first headed for the Walleyed Fish Sandwich place but found the waiting line half a block long. So we detoured to the Breaded Pork Tenderloin place which was very efficient. Before we got in line for our apple dumpling (a fair tradition for us), we walked through the ‘Merchant Tent’.

Our son and wife, Nathan and Emily, went with us. The Merchant Tent was pretty crowded at that time so I took the lead and lead everyone through the congestion of people. I was pretty proud of my leadership skills until I got to a spacious area and turned around. There my followers were way back there checking out the wares at a fair booth. Old Chinese proverb say: “Who who thinks he leads, but no one follows, is only taking a walk.”

The practical lesson for me is to make sure everyone knows they’re expected to follow the leader. If they don’t know that, everyone becomes their own leader, and we go a dozen directions.

Tags: following, Leadership