🎧 Episode Overview:

This episode was inspired by a DM I got from a nurse named Jessica, who asked about a topic I don’t hear discussed nearly enough: followership. We talk a lot about leadership in nursing—and for good reason—but we rarely explore what it means to be a great follower.

In this episode, I’m diving into how following is actually a critical leadership skill, what it looks like to move between leading and following in real-world changemaking, and how honoring the work that came before us makes us more effective (and less overwhelmed) systems thinkers.

🔑 In This Episode, You’ll Learn:

• Why we need to reframe followership as an active and essential component of leadership
• How I think about leadership and followership as a dance, not a hierarchy
• What Picasso, cave paintings, and John Green taught me about systems change
• How to assess whether it’s your moment to lead—or your moment to follow
• The six key habits that make someone an effective follower in a change ecosystem

🧠 Key Ideas to Take With You:

• Systems change is the work of generations. You don’t have to invent it—you just have to move it forward.
• Leadership and followership are not opposites. They’re both skills every changemaker needs.
• You don’t have to be in charge to lead change—you just have to know when and how to step up.
• Being an effective follower is about curiosity, discernment, humility, and action.

🎧 How to Get the Most Out of This Episode:

Listen with an open mind about your own role in change. Whether you identify more as a “leader” or “supporter,” this episode will challenge you to think differently about what it means to contribute meaningfully to a team—and a system.

🛠️ Practical Actions You Can Take:

• Ask yourself: “Where in my work am I trying to invent when I could connect to what’s already been done?”
• Identify one place this week where you can follow strategically—whether by stepping back, supporting someone else’s idea, or conserving your energy.
• Reflect on who in your workplace has expertise you can amplify, not overshadow.
• Use the six followership habits I outline (escalation, amplification, collaboration, humility, resilience, and systems thinking) to evaluate where you might grow.
• Get curious about your current change ecosystem and the role you naturally play within it.

📣 Special Announcements:

✨ Changemaker Essentials opens soon for the September cohort! If you’re interested in systems thinking, strategic leadership, and practical tools for real-world change—join the waitlist.

🎓 Want a great starting point? Take the Map Your Impact mini-course. Use code MYI10OFF for $10 off.

👉 Resources Mentioned:

• Map Your Impact mini-course
• Change Maker Essentials
• The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green
• The Lascaux Cave Paintings (L-A-S-C-A-U-X—look them up!)