1 You can lead from the front or from the back. They both have their time and place. I don’t think you can get by choosing one or the other forever.
2 The best leaders lead from the front when things are tough. They are visible, accountable, and own the challenge + their own failings. Sometimes the only way to guide or coach things to improvement is to live in the difficulty yourself.
3 The best leaders lead from the back when things are going great. When things are going great, that’s a sign that the organization knows what it’s doing, and you’d be foolish to mess with the day-to-day. Your job in that case is giving credit + setting up the next challenge.
4 Ineffective leaders often make the choice backwards: they stay in the background when things are difficult, hoping someone else will figure it out. They get in front when things are going well, hoping to take credit. No one wants to follow these leaders for long.
5 When I look at leaders, I am increasingly mindful of when they choose to lead from the front and when they would rather lead from the back. There is a world of discernment in making that choice.
6 The choice of leading from the front or from the back is especially important for executive leaders, but is important at every level of the organization. We all have places that we lead.
7 In fact, one way that I know that someone is ready to lead on a bigger scale is the way I see them making this choice - where they lead from the front and where they lead from the back.
