The Difference Between The Leadership And Followership

Good leadership is not something that we can meet often in the modern world, but let’s define words leadership and leader first. Leadership is related to the act of leading. War commander was leading an army to battle in the medieval times, politicians try to lead the way we live right now. Therefore the leader is the person who leads other people. The ideal leader is the one who influences people through his vision and motivates them to reach noble goals. A bad leader is the one who leads people to undesired outcomes, has lack of vision or is motivated by greed and negativity. Every team, organization, company, community, and the country needs good leaders because they are essential in terms of inspiring followers.

Now, let’s talk about followers because the concept of followership is closely connected to the idea of leadership. A follower is a person who follows and is inspired by the vision and actions of the leader. Leaders can’t exist without followers. Followers take direction and teaching of the leader to reach common goals set by the visionary. It’s important to understand that the follower is not only following the leader but also encourages the leader to become wiser, stronger and better.

Qualities of Excellent Leadership

• Honesty – people are looking up to the leaders and trust them; therefore one of the key qualities of the leader is honesty. Leadership without honesty is a very bad example of leadership, which can be compared to the building with a shattered foundation.
• Inspiring Others – leaders have a spark within them, which ordinary people have not yet ignited. Followers see this spark and it inspires them to follow leaders and walk on the path that they have pointed.
• Building Good Relationships – synergy is when the result of the combined input of separate elements is much bigger than the individual input of each element. And synergy among the group of people is only possible when there are trust and good relationships. One of the main responsibilities and qualities of a good leader is the ability to build good relationships.

Qualities of Excellent Followership

• Obedience and loyalty – dynamic followers need to express loyalty to the leader. In all areas of activity, be it business or politics, followers should comply with the instructions given by the leader.
• Diligence – good follower is a hard-working follower because only a hard-working follower can make leader’s instructions and teaching work. Tasks can be completed efficiently and on time only when they’re divided between hard-working people correctly.
• Collaboration – this is the most important characteristic of the follower because without collaboration there can be no achievement. Ability to work together and be a part of the group is crucial.
• Ambitious – ambitions lead to success, growth and allow followers to become leaders themselves in the future.

As we can see, leadership and followership are closely interrelated. Good leadership is needed in all areas of our activity, but unfortunately, we see too many examples of bad leadership, especially in the area of politics. On the other hand, followers reflect the nature of the leader, and only they can help leaders to embody their visions and ambitions.