I put this headline, ‘leaders are followers’, out across my social media channels earlier in September and got a few questions and raised eyebrows. How can a leader be a follower, was the cry. Let me explain.

My premise is a simple one really; great leaders follow their instincts, their visions, their belief, their passions. If you are going to achieve great things and – importantly – help others to achieve their potential, then you must follow your gut. Being your own best follower makes you.

I am convinced that to be a good (even great) leader you must have the faith and self-belief to be your own follower.

If as a leader you trust to follow yourself, you have a chance that others will follow you with confidence too. And remember every successful organisation is made of a team of confident people.

If you inspire them, if you not only say what you will do, but always do what you say, they will stay loyal to your shared objectives through freedom of choice. People who feel they follow willingly are a powerful resource.

Being a good leader is never by chance, I don’t believe you just ‘get lucky’ at inspiring others and achieving success (however, you personally choose to measure that notion)

What I do believe is that a good leader has an intentional mindset. An intentional mindset is a mindset that doesn’t believe in hope or chance, rather a mindset that intuitively sees any opportunity and can recognise any resources available that can create value with that opportunity. And, as a good leader, they will make it of value, one way or another, it is their intention.

For me I have come to believe the overriding intention of a good leader is one of considered purposeful deployment of their opportunities to pursue the vision they believe in, based on the ‘gut instinct’ they possess. From this most genuine of intentions, positive things will flow.

My catch phrase in a company I started and sold a short time ago was ‘begin with the end in mind’. For me I think there is nothing more powerful than a leader and their organisation who are laser focused on clear, understandable and actionable objectives.

The ability of a leader to follow their vision creates the subsequent organisational culture. Every organisation has a culture, it is impossible not to have one, the difference is whether a culture is aligned to the clear vision of a good leader, being both full of purpose and intent, or if it’s a chaotic aggregation of disparate behaviours left to chance with everyone holding different beliefs and motivated by self-interest.

Trust me when I say to you a strong positive culture aligned intentionally with a purposeful vision is a true competitive advantage. In the face of commodatised products and markets, a good leader who follows their own instincts can achieve this advantage, and such an organisation is more likely to achieve success

If there is anything I can impart to others after 35 years plus in businesses, of all sizes in many parts of the world, it is to never underestimate the turbo charging effect that comes from a clear and compelling vision to drive your organisation.

Good leaders follow their vision which in turn drives everything. They ensure that vision, strategy, culture and people are all aligned to the objective (and consistently review the objective for relevance)

Good leaders are, therefore, not die hards.

When they recognise the vision needs adapting, they get to work on this immediately, because doing the wrong things or having the wrong vision is not tolerated by good leaders for long. ‘We don’t know where we are going, but we are making great time’ is not something a good leader jokes about.

Though sadly many organisations find themselves with the right ladder against the wrong wall (or vice a versa), a good leader reviews, and evolves things, carrying everything and everyone along with them in the fluidity that is the river to the sea of success.

Schaar said ‘the future is not some place we are going, but rather one we are creating’; that sentence has always been a powerful creative motivator for me, the realisation that good leaders are not trying to find a path, but rather are fully engaged in making it.

Strategic intent and strategic plans and actions bring vision to reality. Enjoy the journey.