I just read a post on Ben Arment’s blog where he wrote about looking for a leader.

It started my wheels turning… if you are looking for a leader then I guess you could say you are also interested in being a follower.

Ben raised a great point about the need to have someone in your life who “encourages you, pours into you, and challenges you.”

Many of us don’t have that. I mean we probably have a few people who offer occasional praise and encouragement but most of us don’t have very many who can take it to the next level… the pouring into and challenging us level.

In most cases though, it’s probably our own fault. Many times we don’t want to hear it or we are too busy to deal with it. We’re not used to a deep enough relationship where we can take a challenge from another without getting overly defensive. So rather than foster deep relationships that encourage that type of intimacy, many avoid them.

How could someone pour into or challenge you if you are not open to allowing them to do so?

In order for that to happen we’d have to stop pretending.

Pretending that we’re perfect.
Pretending that we’ve got it all together.

We’d have to let go of our ego and selfish ambitions that create walls and keep others out.
We’d have to stop being afraid of others knowing about our failures, our hurts, and our inadequacies.

Guess what? They have them too and they are probably looking for someone like you to share with as well. It all starts with someone making the first move, taking the first risk of trust.

An aside… I guess you can’t be lead until you are ready to follow.

Following brings along a certain dose of humility that recognizes the need for direction and the ability to take it.

Following seems to cultivate being open and honest with who you are so that you can become who you are supposed to be.