You Want the Curious and Malcontents.

You want some followers drifting or wandering off the path you’ve plotted for them with (ideally) you up front.

You want the curious, the malcontents, or the creatives or the simply distracted followers deviating off road.

You want some stragglers lagging off the pace.

You want some of those people rejoining your line of followers mindlessly strung out behind you, quietly affirming for everyone to see by their return from their exploring that yours is the better route. Or perhaps jogging up to you up there at the front of your procession of disciples and saying ’Hey boss! Good job! We checked out some other paths, and reckon you’ve chosen the best one!’ Or maybe even ‘Hey boss! We found another way we reckon you might be interested in!’

You have then given those people - and yourself - the greatest gift of Leadership:

Choice.

You are only truly a Leader if people choose to continue following you. You are only truly a Leader if you give that choice - with the authentic, sincere desire that those who leave you are better off for it.

When that happens, you transform from a ‘You Must Follow Me Because This is the Way’ leader into ‘This is the Way Because You are Following Me’ one.

Which will you choose?