LEADERSHIP AND FOLLOWERSHIP

LEADERSHIP

Leadership can be defined as having the authority to guide others towards the attainment of
set goals Or Leadership is the process of influencing individuals or group of people towards
the attainment of set goals or purpose.

Who is a leader?
A leader refers to an individual who has authority to guide others to achieve the set goals of a
group
FOLLOWERSHIP

Followership on the other hand is the willingness to support a leader in attaining common
aspirations. There is therefore a reciprocal relationship between leadership and followership.

Who is a follower?
A follower is a member of a group with common objectives and interest who accepts to be
guided towards the attainment of the set goals

RECIPROCAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN A LEADER AND A FOLLOWER

For peaceful co-existence and harmonious living, there is the need for a group to have a
leader. There cannot be a leader without a group of followers. The following are the kind of
working relationships that should exist between a leader and his followers:

1. The followers depend on the guidance and the initiative of the leader for the achievement
of the goals of the group.

2. The leader needs the co-operation and loyalty of the followers. This is because the goals
or objectives of the group can only be achieved through the spirit of team work.

3. There is the need for the existence of mutual respect between the leader and his followers.

4. The leader must treat his followers as persons of worth, who are capable of achieving
something. He should not lord himself over his followers and should be prepared to play
the role of a servant. In this way, he courts the friendship of his followers.

5. The leader must take decisions that will serve the interest and the welfare of his followers.

6. The followers should not use the mistakes of the leader to work against him because as a
human being, he is bound to make mistakes.

7. The followers must constructively criticize the leader and if the need be, give alternative
solutions to problems.

These reciprocal relationships will promote peace and harmony within the group and it will
help the group to achieve its goals or objectives.
ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENTS NEEDED TO ENSURE CO-OPERATION
BETWEEN A LEADER AND A FOLLOWER

(i) There must be trust between the leader and the follower
Trust between a leader and followers would ensure co-operation between them. It would help
build confidence and assurance in their decisions and actions. The expectations, beliefs and
plans of the leader would also be accepted by his followers and make them work together.
This is because when the followers have the perception that their leader has integrity and is
truthful, honest and can be trusted, it would influence their work attitudes and performances
positively and thus facilitates co-operation between them.

(ii) Effective delegation of duties

Delegation of duties by the leader to his competent followers would also build co-operation
between them. It would cause the followers actively involved in the affairs and activities of
the organisation. In the absence of the leader, the followers would be able to take over and
take decisions and good plans in the interest of the organisation to ensure its smooth
functioning. This would make them work together and build mutual relationship between
them at the workplace.

(iii) Recognition of the follower's inalienable rights

The respect and recognition the leader has for the follower's inalienable rights would
strengthen the co-operation between them. This environment would ensure the followers'
human welfare and dignity are protected at the workplace. The followers would enjoy their
rights to personal liberty, right to own property and get protected from forced labour, slavery
and discrimination on the grounds of gender, ethnic group, etc. The followers would not be
physically and emotionally abused and get the freedom 1o express their views during
decision making and criticise the leader on issue of concern to them. These would influence
them to co-operate with the leader to achieve the set goals.

iv) Fairness to followers in the settlement of disputes

To ensure co-operation between the leader and the followers, the leader must be firm and fair
to his followers in terms of settling disputes among them. This would create a conducive
working environment at the workplace because the issue of partiality and unfair handling of
disputes by leader would be prevented. By this they would be able to work together
peacefully and wholeheartedly to achieve the set goals.

(v) Involvement of followers in decision making

The leader is also required to involve his followers in decision making to facilitate co-
operation between them at the work place or in the society. This would create the opportunity
for the followers to share their ideas, knowledge and experiences with the leader. Through
this, effective decision can be taken together by them to ensure achievement of the set goals.

(vi)Effective communication between the leader and the follower

Co-operation is also ensured between the leader and the followers through effective
communication. The leader is required to desist from using intemperate words, divisive or
body language and expressions that show disrespect to the integrity of the followers,
Effective communication between the leader and the followers would build good
interpersonal relation between them. The followers would have the sense of sharing vital
information, ideas and experiences with the leader and work harmoniously as a team to
achieve their target.
(vii)Recognition and appreciation of followers' contributions
A leader must do well to appreciate the contributions of his or her followers towards
achievement of the group goals. This is because every follower is highly motivated to work
hard when his/her effort at the workplace or in the society is recognized with award,
promotion and positive gestures. Such practice would inspire the followers to give their best
willingly to support the leader to achieve their set goals.

QUALITIES OF A LEADER
1. VISION OR FORESIGHT: A good leader should be visionary. He must be a lucid
thinker, open minded and must be able to see through the future and plan the right
course of action to avert future possible problems.
2. INTELLIGENCE: A leader should possess a high level of intelligence by way of
reasoning and understanding in relation to his work. Ideally, the level of intelligence of
a leader should be higher than that of his followers. His ability to remember or recall
ideas and events must be remarkably high and if possible, above that of his followers.
3. DECISION-MAKING: A good leader must be able to make very good decisions in
order to avoid waste of resources and time. This is because a leader plays a vital role in
nation building through his or her policies, decisions and implementation strategies.
Therefore, it is necessary that decisions should always be in the interest of the society or
the followers.
4. PROBLEM SOLVING: A good leader should be able to identify societal problems
and be able to find solutions to them, which will result in the development. Such a
leader must understand and analyze the situation, develop plans of action and logical
conclusions in order to tackle the problems on hand
5. Tolerance: A good leader must be someone who does not become annoyed so easily.
Good human relations can only be achieved if he or she is ready to accommodate
persons who hold all manner of views regardless of whether he or she shares those
ideas or not. a leader must be very tolerant to enable him to unite the people and thereby
bring peaceful co-existence and harmony in the society.
6. humility
7. good health
8. initiator
9. innovative

CHARACTERISTICS OF EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP

1. Dynamism: In this case, creativity and innovation should be their style as a result of
motivation and encouragement. The leadership style involves taking innovative action
in coping with new demands. However, such change requires active involvement of
those who will be affected by the change (followers).
2. Ability to delegate authority to members: This will enable members to members to
take action in the interest of the group. This is because effective leadership does not
depend upon the leader alone.
3. Requires the existence of effective communication: This process requires open
communication and by these, members are made more fully engaged in the group’s
activities. In short, it involves the existence of good rapport between leadership and
followership which in turn leads to increase in productivity
4. Effective leadership is a group base concept: In this case, the involvement of group
members in decision making is an added impetus to make them willing to work to
achieve higher productivity. These group members feel honoured; they are not isolated
because of their involvement in deciding what affects them.
5. Effective planning and implementation: This involves foresight and planning in
dealing with new conditions in order to achieve good results or increase productivity.
6. Effective leadership demands that norms, values or standards of doing things are
adhered to or respected.

HOW DO LEADERS ARISE?

1. By appointment: This is where an individual is appointed by government or an
institution as a leader. The appointment is done on the basis of certain qualities such
a s experience or academic qualification. For example, the appointment of a prefect
or a headmaster of a school.
2. By self-appointment: This is a self-declared leader. The individual is an automatic
leader due to the nature of his work. An example, is the proprietor of a private school
or the manager of a small business firm.
3. By election: This is a leader chosen out of other contestants in an election. He is
selected according to certain criteria. An example is that of a president of a
democratic nation.
4. By hereditary: this is a leadership conferred or bestowed on an individual due to
hereditary or birth.
5. Charismatic leader: He is a leader who emerges due to some special powers which
he possesses naturally. Such natural powers enable him to influence other people and
to attract their attention and administration. Example of such a leader is Jesus Christ
and mahatma Ghandi.
6. Informal leader: such a leader arises out of a situation. His views are respected by
the group. He is outspoken, fearless and strong. He emerges out of the group due to
certain qualities. Such a leader originates from groups and demonstrations.

QUALITIES OF A FOLLOWER

1. Loyalty
2. humility
3. loyalty
4. Cooperation
5. Dedication
6. Sense of team work
STYLES OF FOLLOWERSHIP
1. Alienated follower: is a passive and independent critical thinker. He is
capable to work but look at the weakness of the organisation and other people.
He or she does not take part in developing solution to problems he or she
identifies.
 2. A conformist follower: is active in the group but does not utilize critical
thinking in his task. They participate willingly but not consider the results of
what he or she has been asked to do. He avoids displeasure of leaders.
3. A passive follower; shows no critical independent thinking, he displays
neither initiative nor a sense of responsibility. He accomplishes task only with
regards to great deal of supervision.
4. A pragmatic follower: has a quality of all the styles depending in which style
fits the current situation. He uses any style that best suits his own opinion.
Government appointees are example because they have their own agenda
5. Effective Follower: Is both critical independent thinker and active in the
group. He or she does not try to avoid task or conflict. Rather, he or she has
the courage to initiate change and put himself or herself at risk with others
even with his leader.

ROLES OF THE VARIOUS KINDS OF LEADERS WE HAVE IN OUR

COMMUNITY.

• The father or the family head (Home/Family)

He exercises his authority over the children, mother and other members who make up
the family. He ensures that there is moral discipline and hard work in the family. He
draws plan which will enhance the development in the lives of the family members.
He also serves as a mediator and settles disputes among the family members. In
addition, the father or family head represents the family at social gatherings. He leads
the family in praying and making libation during functions or ceremonies to ensure
that the traditional aspect is properly done.
• The teacher/headmaster /master/principal/vice chancellor (school level)
In the school, the teacher acts as the leader over the pupils and the students. He
controls, direct, guides or steers the affairs and reaches the pupils or student both in
the classroom and outside the classroom. The headmaster or principal or etc. is the
leader for both the teaching and non-teaching staff and pupils or students. He also
guides, controls, directs or steers the affairs of the students to achieve the aims and
objectives of the school or education.
• Senior prefect, Girls prefect, class prefect etc. (student level)
In the school set up, the students or pupils have their respective groups and leaders
who control their activities. The class prefect controls the activities in the classroom,
the entertainment prefect controls entertainment activities, sports prefect is in charge
of sporting activities, sanitation prefect or compound overseer is in charge of helping
to keep the environment clean, the girls prefect is in charge of the girls and the school
or senior prefect is in charge of both boys and girls in the school. He monitors the
activities of the leaders and controls the student body.
• The Chief, Elders, Assemblymen/women, reverend ministers, imams, opinion
leaders (community level).
In the community, the chief elders etc. hold important offices. The chief and his elders
embark on programs that enhance the living standards of the people. They serve as
 mediators and settle disputes between the individuals, clans and other group members
to promote peaceful co-existence in their communities. Reverend Ministers and
imams teach the word of God and promote good morals and behaviour in society.
• The president/vice, Ministers, Judges, Parliamentarians (National Level)
The president and vice, ministers of various departments and regions, Judges and
parliamentarians are all leaders at different levels with different roles and
responsibilities in the nation. The president is the head and the leader of the nation
and controls, guides, directs and steers the affairs of the nation. He is assisted by the
vice and other ministers in the various regions and departments. The judges promote
the rule of law and settle disputes to prevent people from infringing on the other
people’s right and freedoms. The parliamentarians represent the people in their
constituencies to help solve their problems.

VARIOUS TYPES OF LEADERSHIP STYLES

1. Laissez-faire leadership style: is the one in which the leader is not actively
involved in the work performance. He leaves everything in the hands of the
followers. He only comes to check and see how work is being done. The leader
gives much freedom to his followers and exhibits a carefree life and this
encourages playfulness. The leader exerts little authority over the followers and
this renders him ineffective in the discharge of his duties.
Advantages
1. It encourages in effectiveness, creativity, innovations and development. As the
followers are allowed to take certain decisions on their own solutions to some
issues, they develop the spirit of creating and inventing.
2. It fosters good relations between the leader and the followers.
3. The followers have peace of mind because they do not come under any
emotional and severe stress
4. The leader has enough time to rest as he does not risk his life to work too
much.
5. Respect for human rights and freedom
Disadvantages
1. It leads to poor or low quality work performance due to lack of effective
supervision
2. It leads to low productivity due to lack of supervision
3. Sometimes the set goals are not attained since the leaders are not able to guide and
direct the efforts of the followers towards the set goals
4. In the business situation, bankruptcy is likely to occur since the errors would not
be identified earlier or at the right time and this can lead to the collapse of the
business,
2. Autocratic leadership style: is the type of leadership where the leader virtually
takes decision alone, passes on the decision by giving instructions or directives.
He does not involve the subordinates or followers in the decision making process.
There is little leader-follower interaction. He delegates little or no authority to the
subordinates. He does not also listen to his subordinates. There is little or no flow
of information from the followers back to the leader. The autocratic leader instils
fear and threats and authority on his subordinates and only motivates them
through incentives. Autocratic leader is sometimes referred to as Authoritarian
leader.
Advantages

1. There is quick decision taken because the leader will not consult his
subordinates before taking any decision. This is good for the emergence
because consulting and taking decision with subordinates will delay saving a
situation. The subordinates go by instructions and this promotes productivity.
The objective of the organisation is achieved. This leader is much concerned
with work more than his being and this helps to increase productivity.

2. Effective supervision: in the autocratic leadership style, the leader is able to

do effective supervision of the followers or subordinates. The autocratic
leader places emphasis on task accomplishment and so he or she makes sure
that every follower is always on assigned duties. The leader puts measures in
place to discourage laziness and other negative attitude

3. Achievement of goals: more often, the autocratic leaders places emphasis on

task accomplishment and since the followers are afraid of sanctions, they
obey all the instructions and are able to achieve the set target. In this sense the
autocratic leadership style is to a greater extent ideal for accelerated
development
Disadvantages
1. Discourages group participation: this type of leadership does not encourage
active group participation in decision making processes. It does not enable the
leader to tap the talents of his subordinates in the formulation of policies and this
leads to wrong decisions often being taken.
2. Discouragement of follower initiative and creativity: lack of active followers
or subordinates in decision making kills their initiatives and creativity. The
followers only act on instructions or directives but not on their own initiatives.
3. Followers unprepared to give vital information to their leader: in times of
crises the followers are unprepared to correct or give any vital information, which
may be of interest to the leader because he will not listen to their views. This
makes the leader taken unawares by events, which could have been known and
prevented.
4. High turnout of the workers: There is high rate of experienced, skilled and
qualified workers leaving the establishment for other job opportunities available
as a result of unhappiness. Since nobody would like to be oppressed, people leave
the organisation and the organisation suffers.
5. No good leader-flowers relationship: The relationship between the leader and
the follower is not cordial and friendly and this leads to followers rebelling against
 the leader. There is always dissatisfaction and gambling among the followers and
this does not promote co-operation between the leader and the followers.
6. Encourages indiscipline and disorder: Normally, in the absence of the leader
there seems to be indiscipline and disorder. The followers see it as an opportunity
to have their own way and enjoy some freedom.

3. Paternalistic leader/Father type of leadership: This type of leadership tends to

be very much like a parent and has some consideration for the workers or
followers. The followers are looked after and the leader is friendly with the
followers and gives guidance to them where necessary. This type of leadership is
much concerned with the philosophy of “this is what we do here” and does not
welcome innovations.
Advantages
1. The human element or welfare is considered and this makes the followers
happy and work harder to achieve the set goals.
2. It fosters guidance. The leader is ready to get assistance and guidance to the
followers because he sees himself as father or a parent of the followers
3. It also promotes cordial and friendly relations between the leader and hi
flowers.
4. It encourages motivation because the needs of the followers are provided
5. It leads to high productivity

Disadvantages
• The leader does not involve the followers in much of the decision making
processes to tap their talents because he sees the workers as children.
• The leader does not want innovations. He always sticks to the old ways of
doing things and this does not bring changes and much development in the
organisation.
• It kills the initiative of the followers because they are not involved in much
of the decision m making processes.

4. Democratic leadership style: Democratic leadership also known as the

participative leadership or shared leadership is a type of leadership style in which
members of the group take a more participative role in the decision -making
process. This type of leadership can apply to any organisation, from private
businesses to schools to government. Everyone is given the opportunity to
participate, ideas are exchanged freely and discussion is encouraged. While the
democratic process tends to focus on group equality and the free flow of ideas, the
leader of the group is still there to offer guidance and control.
Advantages
1. It ensures active participation of the followers in the decision making It
process.
 2. It enables the leader tap rich experience or talents of his followers for good
policy making.
3. It promotes cordial and friendly relationship
4. It enhances motivation among the group members and enables them to
increase productivity
5. The members become committed and dedicated to the work since they are
involved in the decision making process
6. There is high sense of innovations and initiatives developed due to their
involvement in decision making.

Disadvantages
1. Decision making is delayed in times of emergencies. This is because the
leader has to consult subordinates for them to take decisions or come to a
consensus.
2. There is kind of freedom and laxity in this kind of leadership
3. It gives the followers the opportunity to criticize and challenge authority,
which may undermine the authority of the leader in the course of time

THE ROLE OF A LEADER IN NATION BUIDING

The leader performs the following functions or duties to ensure the socio-economic
development of the country:

1. He initiates polices
A good leader formulates policies with his followers for their collective benefits. The
policies must address both the short term and long term needs of the group to ensure
the sustainability of development.
2. He implements policies
The leader must design effective strategies to ensure efficient implementation of the
group policies for the benefit of the group. He therefore has to oversee the
implementation processes to guarantee success.
3. He organises his people for action
A leader must inspire and motivate his followers to work hard to meet the set targets
of the group. He must therefore improve their working and social conditions such as
provision of equipment, good remuneration, incentives etc.
4. Respect for the rights of members
A good leader should take necessary steps to ensure that the rights of his followers are
respected by being tolerant to opposing views, taking prompt actions to stop any form
of abuse etc. It is the enjoyment of their rights that would give members a sense of
human dignity and enabling atmosphere to develop their potentials to the fullest.
5. He plays a supervisory role
After setting up the tasks and assigning the tasks to each follower or subordinate, he
makes sure that each of them performs his task to the expectation of the target set.
6. He co-ordinates all activities
Another major function of the leader is that he coordinates all the activities that are
performed by his subordinates; that is, he makes sure that all the various activities
performed by the followers are brought together to a central point to ensure an
effective decision making.
7. He settles disputes
The leader acts as an arbitrator and settles all disputes that may arise out of
misunderstanding among his followers. In this way, he helps to maintain law and
order in the community
References:
1. Akiola
2. Hammond, H.F. (2020). Easy Pass Social Studies for S.H.S. Easy Pass Series
3. Mintah.-A, (2013). Global Social Studies for S.H.S. (3rd ed.). Global and Approachers
series
4. Amin O., Adams. I (2017). A+ SERIES. A Plus Publications