Followers/Followership Essay

1706 Words7 Pages
“Leadership consists not in degrees of technique but in traits of character; it requires moral rather than athletic or intellectual effort, and it imposes on both leader and follower alike the burdens of self-restraint.” - Lewis H. Lapham Since the existence of humanity people had been categorized as either followers or leaders. There were those who believed they could create a better society and then those who followed a strong leader and gave their responsibilities to the person who could create a place where they could live and thrive. All leaders are followers but not all followers are leaders. A follower is defined as, “someone who supports and is guided by another person or by a group, religion, etc.” (www.merriam-webster.com). In order to become a great leader, one must learn to follow. A good leader starts at the bottom as a simple follower and learns about how to lead each step they take to get to the top. “Beginning as a follower at the bottom is critical, because you, as leader, must never ask a follower to do something that you yourself are not willing to do—and one does not lead forever” (chrismaser.wordpress.com). A good leader will find characteristics of leadership talent among their followers. These characteristics include: authenticity, using adversity to advantage, persistence, learning from one’s mistakes, focusing on positive thoughts, other-centeredness, and seeing, recognizing, and seizing opportunities. A good follower should also be loyal, understanding, have good listening skills, effective, efficient, and communicative. “Followership can be defined as the willingness to cooperate in working towards the accomplishment of the group mission, to demonstrate a high degree of teamwork and to build cohesion among the group” (leadership.uoregon.edu). In order for a leader to have followers, one needs to have followership. There are many

More about Followers/Followership Essay

Open Document