Observation and analysis – First Follower: Leadership learning for Dancing Guy

Observation

A single person, referred in the video as a “nut”, is doing a crazy dance, minding his own business in an open field at a festival. A lot of people are watching him and questioning what he is actually doing. At some point another “nut” joins in. The first is now seen as a leader, because he has his first follower. The first follower starts waving to his friends saying they should also join. There were some hesitations, but when the first person joins others will follow too. Within seconds an entire group is standing in the open field. Instead of being weird and joining the leader, it is now weird if you do not join him. It is impossible to recognize the leader in the big group: they are all peers.

Analysis

The key moments are when the “nut” gets a lot of attention, the first follower joins him, and when the group is so big it’s weird you do not join them.

At the beginning the dancing guy gets a lot of attention: it is interesting what he is doing. A lot of people are amazed about what he is doing, but it looks like he is having a lot of fun. This is what interests the crowd; they also want to have fun.

The second moment is when the first follower joins him. It is no longer just a crazy guy doing a crazy dance, it is a crazy group of guys doing a crazy dance. The leader embraces the follower as a peer. The fact that they are equal makes people want to join. When the first sheep is over the dam, the others will follow. The follower waves his friends over and this is when the momentum starts. The group starts growing faster and faster.

The group becomes so big, it has the most interest at the festival. You are not part of the group if you do not join in.