Why Great Leaders Start as Great Team Players

I had coffee with a friend the other day. A real face-to-face coffee, which was awesome.

Eventually, the topic came around to leadership (as it tends to when I’m around). She shared a story that stuck with me, and I wanted to share it with you too.

She’s a leader, and one of her team members — let’s call her Sandra — had made it clear she wanted to progress in her career. A good start, right?

Sandra’s work was of a high standard. She had a solid work ethic and regularly offered ideas on how the team could improve. On paper, she looked like a perfect candidate for promotion.

Yet she wasn’t getting opportunities to step up.

If you’d asked my friend a few weeks ago why that was, she said she would have struggled to answer. She just knew something was missing. Until last week.

The Moment That Changed Everything

One of the other team members had to take emergency leave for more than a week. They were worried about their workload and the deadlines that would fall soon after they returned.

During a catch-up with Sandra, my friend mentioned the situation.

Sandra paused and then asked, “Is there something I could take on to help?”

And that’s when it hit her.

It was the first time in two years that Sandra had offered to help with someone else’s work. Up until that moment, she had been focused entirely on her own performance, her own projects, and her own goals.

She had been working for the team, but not with them.

That one simple offer of help changed how my friend saw her. In that moment, Sandra shifted from being an individual contributor to being a team player. And that’s what made her stand out as a future leader.

Why It Matters

Leadership isn’t about title or status. It starts with being the kind of person others trust, respect, and want to work alongside.

A great leader first learns how to be a great follower — someone who supports the team, steps up when needed, and puts the collective goal ahead of their own.

That’s how you build trust. That’s how you earn influence. And that’s how you become the kind of leader people actually want to follow.

Have you ever worked with a manager who skipped this step? The one who leads without really knowing what it means to follow?

How did you find them as a leader?