What are people looking for in a leader?

Being promoted into a leadership position does not make you a leader. It merely gives you a title, some authority, and many responsibilities...

A leader needs followers

Leadership begins when people actively choose to follow you. You can have the corner office, the best track record, or the most experience but if your team does not feel that their needs are being met by following you, they will "just" comply but they will never be commited.

Having people follow you as a leader isn’t about charisma, it's all about human needs.

The Pyramid of professional needs

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs still explains human behaviour remarkably well and is applicable at work too. We can structure professional needs as follows:

Let’s break it down

Level 1: Physiological Needs, these are basic conditions needed to function on a day to day basis, such as a adequate salary, basic healthcare benefits etc. Unless you are at the C‑level, you probably don’t control these.

Level 2: Safety Needs, those are the items that provide long‑term stability, like job security and stability. This is usually provided through proper contracts and company policies. You probably need to be at least at a director level to influence level 2.

Note: Trying to develop people when the first two levels are not met is useless.

Level 3: Belonging, i.e. acceptance within the group. People will follow a leader who creates an environment where they feel welcome, included, and part of team.

Across Western Europe, employees value team cohesion highly. But cohesion does not mean “being nice.” It means creating a space where people know they won’t be socially punished for speaking up or for making a reasonable mistake.

As a leader try to hold a monthly “pulse check” by asking 3 simple questions:

1. How safe do you feel raising issues?

2. Do you feel part of the team?

3. What’s one thing we can improve?

Level 4: Esteem, employee need recognition, some status, and are entitled to respect.

Western European culture is often modest and understated. This leads to common mistakes such as: “People know I appreciate them, I don’t need to say it” or “If I praise too much, they’ll get complacent”, or even “Recognition should be earned, not given”.

But people need to feel seen, so whenever someone adds value, acknowledge it immediately: “I saw how you handled that, it made a difference.” Be very specific when praising somebody. So instead of just saying "good job", say "Great job sticking to the timeline on this project, this was certainly not easy with all the different stakeholders, well done". It shows you really notice and care.

Recognition costs nothing. The absence of it costs engagement.

Level 5: Self‑Actualization, i.e. growth & development. This is the highest form of followership.

People follow leaders who help them become more. Development is not just promotion. It is also:

• giving stretch assignments

• trusting people with responsibility

• offering coaching moments

• supporting learning

• helping people define where they want to grow

Across Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Scandinavia, employees rank personal growth as one of the strongest predictors of staying or leaving a team.

So have on a regular interval "growth conversations": What energises you?

What do you want to learn? What’s one challenge we can give you this quarter?

Development builds loyalty far more than salary alone.

People follow leaders, not titles

A person will only follow you if staying close to you helps them satisfy their needs. If these needs are not met, they will: comply instead of engage, protect instead of contribute, hesitate instead of speaking up, and finally, leave when something better is available.

So ask yourself: “If I worked for me… would I follow me?”