As a child, I was separated from my family and I was briefly adopted by a family of politicians until I was reunited with my mother at 10 years old.
Being raised in such an environment I was trained to be a leader. I was the kid at school who was rolled out to handshake the politicians who would come to visit. Former Australian speaker of the house Bronwyn Bishop actually resigned the week after she visited my school – so make of that what you will.
I was the kid who spoke at school assemblies, I was the kid who sat on the SRC, I was the kid that was making factional deals in high school to secure enough votes to become school captain. I was the kid that was given responsibility for leading school projects and sent to represent the school at events in Parliament and among the community. I’ve led youth groups, I’ve coached sports clubs, I’ve presided over university student groups, I’ve worked for my favourite politicians, and worked my dream job straight out of university. Some might say I’ve done it all.
I’ve always been a leader. I’ve always been responsible for others. That’s kind of all I’ve ever known. Part of it is because when you’re raised in a politically active family that’s normal. Part of it is a trauma response from being separated from your biological family.
I’ve always known how to be a leader but it’s taken me a long time to learn how to be a follower.
Our world does a very good job of developing leaders.
There are many young children who aspire to be CEOs, executives, elite sports athletes, film directors, entrepreneurs, Prime Ministers, and world leaders. But very few are taught to be ‘followers’. Very few aspire to just be employees, or have normal jobs. If you’re a leader you’re remembered, but if you’re a follower, you’re forgotten.
That’s the way our world currently works.
However, we need to learn to be followers.
Could you imagine the absolute chaos if all 151 members of Australia’s House of Representatives wanted to be the Prime Minister? Or if everyone in a company wanted to be the CEO? Or if everyone in a church wanted to be head elder?
It would be absolute chaos. Everyone would let their ambitions get in the way of the team and there would be toxicity, backstabbing, and inter-fighting on a level never seen before. You’d end up with leaders getting rolled, relationships being broken and the entire organisation would implode in on itself. You’d see instability. You’d see an environment where no one trusts each other, and it’d be a very lonely and unsafe workplace.
I’ve seen friendships break up, families divided, and people who I have loved drift apart in the name of ambition and influence. In my life, it has been the great and bold leaders who have either been too scared or too ambitious to stand up for the right thing. It has been the great and bold leaders who have betrayed their friends, and who disappear as soon as something doesn’t go their way. It’s the great and bold leaders who only help others if they know it’s going to benefit them. It’s these leaders who stand up when it makes them look good, but are nowhere to be found when things look bad.
My most fulfilling and happiest moments of my life have been when I have been a follower. My favourite politicians and the ones I have idolised the longest have all been those who chose to follow. Who stood aside to give others a go, and who would rather go along anonymously instead of seeking personal glory. A politician I did work-experience for in high school once told me “Politics is a dog-eat-dog world, even if you become top dog, you’re still a dog”, this quote shaped my life philosophy.
Like my favourite politician I discourage you from becoming a leader. Instead, we should be developing a world where more people want to become followers. Where more people would prefer to support others, instead of trying to support themselves.
Jesus encouraged the same. Throughout his ministry, he spent years removing the ambition from his disciples and instead taught them how to follow, how to put others first, and how to empower communities. Jesus reinforced,
“what does it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world yet lose his own soul?”
Mark 8:34-38
Instead of aspiring to be the Prime Minister, find someone who you want to be the Prime Minister, instead of wanting to become club captain find a captain to play for. Instead of wanting to be the boss, find a boss to work for and instead of wanting to be the Ringbearer find a Ringbearer that you want to follow to the ends of the earth.
You don’t have to try and be the right leader, instead maybe we’d benefit more by learning to follow the right leader.