Leading From The Front vs. Leading From The Back

If you’ve been in leadership for a while, you may have heard the terms “leading from the back” or “leading from the front”. These terms relate to your leadership style and how you interact with those you are leading. Neither of these options will always be the right style to adopt one hundred percent of the time. Adopting a healthy mix of the two, and knowing which to use when, is something that will help you lead your team through a crisis (or any time, really).

Your Leading Position

Leading from the front, back, or even the sidelines has nothing to do with your actual physical location when you are doing all this leading that you’re engaged in. In my mind, it has more to do with where you’re shining the spotlight, whose voice is heard most often, whether you are asking, suggesting, or dictating, whether you are doing or guiding, whether you are showing or telling. 

What Leading From the Front Looks Like

Someone leading from the front is often “first on the scene”. They are there making decisions, giving directives, and often collecting the credit. Many times, they are getting their hands dirty along with (or before) their team arrives. They are responding before anyone else, taking the risks and accepting the consequences of the sweeping decisions they are making. They are leading by example.

What Leading From the Back Looks Like

Someone leading from the back is more subtle. This person is coaching and describing rather than doing. He or she is highlighting the efforts of others instead of their own. One critical differentiator is that they know what they don’t know and can put the more skilled people on the front lines for maximum effect. They are leading sometimes without people realizing they are being led. They are looking ahead and course correcting, but doing it behind the front lines of those doing the work. 

The Shepherd Parable

Nelson Mandela famously described leadership in his autobiography Long Walk to Freedom. 

“It is better to lead from behind and to put others in front, especially when you celebrate victory when nice things occur. You take the front line when there is danger. Then people will appreciate your leadership.”

He also compares leadership to a shepherd guiding his flock: 

“He stays behind the flock, letting the most nimble go out ahead, whereupon the others follow, not realizing that all along they are being directed from behind.”

Many “lead from the back” proponents use these quotes to say that leading from the back is the essential skill. Many likewise say that “leading from the front” is an outdated and antiquated style fit more for when leaders were “bosses” more than they were “leaders”. Others say that leading from the front is the only way to demonstrate that you’re willing to do what you are asking your team to do.

When I read these quotes, though, what I see is threefold: there is an argument for leading from the front, an argument for leading from behind, and that a good leader knows which is which. And more importantly, when to use which.

Leadership During the Current Crisis

If you read the news or follow reports on what’s happening in the world right now, you will see example after example of both leading from the front and leading from the back. If you pay close attention, you can see the impact on nations, states, communities, and individual people as a result of both styles. 

The intent of this post is not to get political or present opinions about political figures. That being said, we have seen examples here in the US at various levels where the lack of decisive action (e.g., perhaps too much leading from the back) generates more fear, confusion, and anxiety than if decisions had been made earlier and more forcefully. 

Likewise, we are seeing examples of political leaders disagreeing with experts, speaking in place of experts, and offering guidance or information that is perhaps not backed up by actual skill, experience, or knowledge. This is an example of too much leading from the front.

The Critical Leadership Skill

So then, what’s the critical leadership skill here? To lead from the back or lead from the front? In my opinion, the answer is neither. The critical skill is to know when to use which approach. 

Your team needs you to be up front making decisions, providing guidance, providing clear direction and communication in times of danger or crisis. They need to know that you’re in charge, and that you know what to do. Your people need to know that you are accountable for the decisions you’re making. 

They also need you to ensure that those that know better than you, or can do something better than you can, have the opportunity to exercise their skills to improve the situation for everyone. They need to know that you will give credit to those that did the work, and make them feel like a part of a whole. That they belong to a community of people all working towards the same end. They need to feel like you’re there with them, experiencing what they experience, in a humble way that allows others to shine in doing what they do.

It’s a Tall Order

If all of this sounds hard, that’s because it is. No one is born knowing these things. Being a leader that can lead from the front when it’s needed and lead from the back the rest of the time is not easy. It takes practice. It’s also not something that you’ll get right one hundred percent of the time. 

The biggest factors that I think will help you in deciding which style to adopt for which situation are:

• Emotional Intelligence: Being in tune with what your team needs from you in this moment and what they might need from you tomorrow.
• Empathy: Both to understand what your team is going through and where they might be struggling. 
• Humility and Open-Mindedness: Being honest with yourself about your skills, and how you can best leverage your skills and the skills of your team in order to accomplish what you’re after.
• Decisiveness and Accountability: The ability to take action and make decisions rapidly, then act on and be accountable for those decisions.

So…that’s all! Easy-peasy, right? Sure, and tomorrow I guess I’ll just fly myself to the moon and see how it’s going up there.

The good news is, that all of this is something you can work to improve, if you don’t think you’re there today. They are all skills you can develop, and they will help you be a better leader. Unlike my plan to fly myself to the moon, these things are totally possible, totally doable. I know it, and I know you can do it. Even in times like these.

More Resources

There are a lot of resources out there if you want to learn more about leading from the front, leading from the back, the differences between them, and the pros and cons of different approaches. Enjoy!

• Leading From Behind, What It Is…and What it is Not | Jack Dunigan | The Practical Leader
• Leading From Behind | Linda A. Hill | Harvard Business Review
• Here’s How to Lead From the Back | Andy Chan | The Human Business
• What Does It Mean to Lead From the Front? | Shannon Barrett
• Leading the Way or Leadership From Behind? | Tim Cummuta | AboutLeaders