Why do we follow a leader?

Direction 

Protection 

Order 

We follow leaders when we trust them to meet our basic needs for Direction, Protection and Order.

Why do we follow a leader? Without followers there is no leader. By following someone, we grant them some authority over us. We choose to pay attention to what a leader says and wants. Attention is the primary currency of leadership. When a leader can focus people’s attention on shared goals, the group can achieve results beyond the sum of individual contributions. 

Followers want something in exchange for the authority and attention they give leaders. We follow leaders – we pay attention to their priorities – when we trust them to meet our basic needs for direction, protection and order. 1 When these needs are met sufficiently, it is easiest for us to allow a leader to unify us toward common goals (i.e. to allow a leader to lead).

These needs are subjective, situational and often subtle. The ways we express and pursue these basic needs are not always obvious – in fact, when met sufficiently, we may not even acknowledge or be aware of them. Particularly in Western cultures, when people feel reasonably secure and satisfied, it is common to deny that we want direction, protection or order from others. 

Our desires for direction, protection and order are deeply embedded mental models, repeatedly played out with parents, teachers, employers, religious leaders or any other person we grant authority. Although people mature with experience and learn how to cope when led with different levels of skill, these three basic needs don’t go away.