Leaders & Laggards

There's an interesting parallel between Leadership and Innovation Theory.

Leaders and Innovators are both visionaries - they see a sense of what is possible, of what can be.

But - critically, both depend heavily on their first followers/early-adopters.

These brave folks are leaders in their own right, and - as video I recently came across demonstrates so powerfully - are the ones who turn the vision into movement. 

If you've not seen 'First Follower - Leadership Lessons from Dancing Guy,' it's a good watch (and quite obviously the inspiration for the slides above.)


As this video so perfectly states: We over emphasize the importance of leadership as it relates back to innovation - but without those first followers, those early adopters - the leader/innovator is nothing but a crazy nut.

Given this, how much this change our perspective of the first follower as leaders?

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