Leadership Vs.

Followership
Written By: Austin Langley C/CMSgt CAP

Leadership and followership are two different things that are interdependent upon one another. Throughout this essay I am going to compare and contrast both and explain how one depends on the other. Both are very important to the success of the Civil Air Patrol and the success of any other organization such as the military. Followership is the ability to follow a leaders example and advice. Being a good follower does not mean taking everything the leader says as the right thing. Being a good follower requires a good character to judge what is right and what is wrong. If a leader orders you to do something immoral like lie or steal you have to be able to interpret these orders and decide if they are lawful or not. But being a good follower also requires you to listen to your leader and follow their example. Followership requires you to trust and to follow your leader. Followership is the first step towards leadership. Someone who is not a good follower cannot become a great leader. Leadership is the next step from followership. Leadership requires you to be a servant leader. You may be asking yourself what a servant leader is. A servant leader is a leader who does not lead for personal gain or to be a boss, but rather to serve their subordinates in a way. Leaders are made through training and experience. Some people believe that leaders are born leaders, but I disagree. Through study experts have learned that anyone can become a leader through hard work. Even though this is true leaders are so rare because it requires true selflessness and a great devotion towards their team. Leadership is not just being able to get people to do a task even if they want to do it. Being a good leader requires good character and a clear conscience. Someone like David Ben-Gurion is a good leader. He helped to unite many militias fighting for Israels Independence into one army. An example of a monster is Adolf Hitler. He may have gotten many horrible people to follow him but he was no leader. He committed mass genocide and started a war for no reason. One important quote is With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility. That is something good leaders live by. In conclusion we have learned that leadership and followership are interdependent upon one another. We have learned you cannot have one without the other. A leader without followers cannot get anything done and a follower without a leader will have a hard time accomplishing the mission. Learning to be a good follower is the beginning of becoming a great leader.