Questions Leaders Should Expect: De Pree

Leaders should expect the following questions from their followers.

• What may I expect from you?
• Can I achieve my own goals by following you?
• Will I reach my potential by working with you?
• Can I entrust my future to you?
• Have you bothered to prepare yourself for leadership?
• Are you ready to be ruthlessly honest?
• Do you have the self-confidence and trust to let me do my job?
• What do you believe?

From Leadership Jazz by Max De Pree (New York, Dell Publishing, 1992).



Max De Pree was CEO of Herman Miller and guided it to outstanding levels in terms of Top Companies to Work For and Most Profitable Companies.  In his writings, he takes examples from Herman Miller to convey solid leadership principles.

From the eight questions above, "Can I achieve my own goals by following you?" is a very challenging one for leaders to address with their followers.  Each follower has a list of distinct goals.

The first step for the leader is to build the trust so that the follower can openly share.  This will take time and constant work.  Consider the interview situation.  One common question for the candidate is "What are your goals."  Everyone knows the answer will be slanted toward what the hiring manger wants to hear.   As the leader builds the relationship over time, the follower will feel comfortable to to go beyond the safe, generic interview goals and start sharing her true goals.

Once the leader learns the goals of the followers, the leaders should look for ways to bridge various activities to the activities of the organization.  The leader should constantly expand their outlook so that they can see various connections.  For example, if a follower has a goal to eventual start their own business, the leaders can introduce new roles and there connection to starting that new business.