Free Essay Sample: Compare and Contrast between Followership and Servant Leadership

Since ancient times, both leaders and followers existed. They still exist in the present and others lead as others follow more especially in the military's ranks and positions. The concepts of servant leadership and followership need mutual trust and understanding for the success of a mission. The purpose of this essay is to focus on comparing and contrasting properties of followership as well as servant leadership.

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In the past, leadership was focused on how to make orders and make others follow them so as to achieve goals. However, recent studies have a different suggestion that competent leaders do not simply lead many people to achieve their difficult goals. Instead, great leaders look for ways to develop great qualities of leadership in the people they lead. Soldiers of the U.S Army are all great leaders because leaders have to follow most of the time. Servant leadership and followership have a difference based on the character and conduct on how they interrelate. In today’s army, competent leaders are important to ensure the success of their work.

Followership is a group of people especially soldiers who depend on their leaders to show the direction and purpose of their mission. Whereas servant leadership is a philosophy whose primary aim of a leader is to serve. All soldiers take an oath which is a sacred agreement to support the nation, its people and leaders as well as the subordinates in selfless service. Therefore, through the oath, one has decided to become the servant and increased the responsibility as a servant leader through in-time-service.

The difference between them is that a servant leader is always to lead and a follower is to follow. Equally important, followership entails obedience, collaboration, loyalty, ambition; exploit opportunities, diligence together with embracing change in order to achieve goals. Moreover, followers exhibit some traits like managing themselves well; they are credible, honest and always committed to their purpose and to the organization. Also, followers are courageous, honest, and competent as well as have focused efforts for greater impact in their work. Again, a servant leader is a person who shares their power, develops the juniors as well as put the followers’, needs first.

Both servant leadership and followership concepts have similarities in that all individuals must be respectful, patient, selfless, and versatile as well as be aware of who they are and the people around them. Similarly, an active follower must be a good and active listener. For instance, followership is more important than leadership because a follower consumes more information and can learn lessons from past mistakes. Also, loyal and active followers are important for a successful mission.

Similarly, both concepts cannot do without each other because followers must have someone to follow, and leaders cannot lead without followers. Therefore, servant leadership and followership must depend on each other to successfully accomplish a mission. The nature of service may be understood differently in various cultures. Therefore, both servant leadership and followership need a theory of culture and a technique for adjusting to the needs of different cultures.

Conclusion

In conclusion, followers depend on the service their leaders offer to ensure all subordinates practice what is morally and ethically accepted until they become great leaders themselves. All Army Soldiers, in reality, are followers in one way or another because even the first sergeant is a follower of the Command Sergeant Major. I believe great leaders have different capacities of leadership and hence make good followers as well. Consequently, servant leadership and followership go hand in hand and therefore, they revolve around each other. Lastly, I believe that great followership and leadership make great leaders in the U.S. Army.