Why Learning to Lead Means Learning to Follow [Podcast S04E03]

Welcome to Season 4, Episode 3 of the This Is Your Life podcast. Stu McLaren is filling in for my regular cohost Michele Cushatt. In this episode, we discuss why learning to lead means learning to follow.

If you want to be an effective leader, it’s critical that you first learn to be an effective follower. It sounds counterintuitive, but without the character and skill formation that comes from learning to follow, you’re almost guaranteed to be a poor leader.

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In this episode, you’ll discover:

Why empathy is crucial for effective leadership—and the best way to learn it.

What the worst leaders think about themselves and others.

How to frame your objections if you disagree with your boss—and what to do if he or she insists.

That helping people get what they want is the key to getting what you want.

Why it’s important to let your work speak for itself and give credit to others.

Why you need to be willing to invest in somebody else’s dream before pursuing your own.

Read the Transcript

You can download a complete, word-for-word transcript of this episode here, courtesy of Ginger Schell, a professional transcriptionist, who does all my transcriptions.

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My favorite part of doing these podcasts is participating in the conversation they provoke. Each week, I ask one question. This week, it is this:

Binge on All 13 Episodes!

If you want to listen to more episodes, you will find all thirteen audio episodes of Season 4 here. I release the video episodes weekly, as they are not yet available for batch listening. If you are looking for previous episodes, you can find Season 0 here, Season 1 here, Season 2 here, Season 3 here, and Season 4 here.

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