Table Of Contents
1. Meaning Of Leadership And Followership
2. Types Of Leadership
3. Qualities Of Good Leadership
4. Qualities Of Good Followership
5. Consequences Of Bad Leadership And Followership
Meaning Of Leadership And Followership
Leadership is the act of influencing the behaviour of people in a group to achieve set goals. It involves the co-ordination of efforts of the members, directing, organising, persuading and motivating and influencing them to achieve desired results.
Leadership goes beyond roles in governance or roles in business organisations. It encompasses the roles by parents which resuilt in growth and family properity and academy success of children and family members. It also include roles by the principle, teacher and school prefect to achieved conducive learning and teaching in the school. Leadership provides direction to the course. It provide the needed drive to accomblish a tasks. No organisation can thrive without leadership.
Followership on the hand is the group activity which respond to the leadership. It is base on truth, believe and loyalty to the leader or a cause. There can be no leadership without followership.
Types Of Leadership
Leadership can be classified based on the attribute, exhibited by leaders in the performance of their leadership role.
Three types or styles can be identified
a. Authoritarian Type
b. Democratic Type
c. Laissez Faire Style Of Leadership.
a. Authoritarian Leadership:
The authoritarian leader is a loof and does not relate to those he leads. He is bossy and issues commands and orders to his followers to achieve set goals. The authoritarian leader does not delegate to his followers. It tries to do everyrthing by himself. The leader is a task master and cares very little for the warefal of the followers. There is a little or no relationship between the leader and followers. Because he does not delegates authority, he keep alot of duty to himself and perform little at the end. This type of leadership does not endure or produce success.
b. Democratic Leadership:
The leader is part and parcal of the group or interact closely with his members. He consults with them before taking decision. He is a servant leader guides his followers to achieve result.
He provides his followers opportunities to participates in decision making and implementation of policies.
Therefore, he delegate authority to them which make his job easier and give him time to supervise and co-ordinate their activities. This type of leadership is recommended. It brings results quicker.
c. Laissez Faire Leadership:
This leadership does not participates in the efforts of his members. It provides them with the tools and materials to work, but shows little involvement in what they do. He followers are free to make decisions without the involvement of the leader.
Therefore, the leader does not provide guidance, directions or supervision to his followers accordingly, he may not know level of success his followers make in a project. This type of leadership hardly achieve group sets goals. Laissez faire leadership encourages confusion, lack of purpose and direction among members, and in the end, poor performance.
Qualities Of Good Leadership
1. Honesty:
Good leadership is the one that says and stands by the truth. He does not deceive or mislead his followers. He is sincere and straight forward in his dealings with his followers.
2. Probity:
He dealings and Transactions are open and transparent especially in the use and application of public funds. He does not misuse or embezzle public funds in his course study.
3. Discipline:
He controls his behaviour and does not bring dishonour to his person. He acts within the law and leaders with example. He conducts he self well before his people.
4. Humanity:
A good leader is humble and does not show arrogant. He relates with the poor as well as the wealthy. He does not considered any job given to him is below him.
5. Understanding And Caring:
Good leadership to identified with the problems of his followers. He should care for their welfare. He should learn support when necessary to encourage his followers to believe in him.
6. Service:
He is a servant leader. He can make sacrifices in the interest of his followers. He leads his people by serving them. He is prepared to serve in any capacity with strength and courage.
7. Punctuality:
A good leader must keep to time in appointments with his followers. This is leadership by example.
8. Devotion:
A good leader devotes his life and time to promote the interest of his followers. He dose things to uplift the condition of his follower. He help to provide their needs as much as possible.
Qualities Of Good Followership
The success of a leader is a function of good followership. This mean that good leadership requires good followership to succeed. The qualities of good followership are:
1. Obedience:
Good followership must be obedient and law abiding. it must respond to requests from the leader in the interest of the group.
2. Loyalty and support:
Good followership must be loyal and supportive to the leadership. It should pay tax, rates and other contributions for the development of the community.
3. Discipline and Respect:
Good followers should be disciplined and accord respect and dignity to the leaderships. They should offers wise counsel or advice to the leader and criticize objectively and in a constructive manner.
4. Love and Affection:
Good followership should show love and affection to the leader. It should share his concerns and problems and speak well of him in appreciation of his good work.
5. Commitment:
Good followership show commitment to the leader by being devoted to duty and assignments for the success of the group.
Consequences Of Bad Leadership And Followership
Bad leadership is a curse to a people. Like we said earlier, bad leadership results in bad followership. The following will result when the leadership and followership are bad;
1. Civil Unrest:
When the leader is bad, the followers would be bad also. Anarchy and lawlessness would reign and there can be no peace. Indiscipline and disruption of life would result. This can lead to civil disorder nd disobedience to constituted authority.
2. Economic Hardship:
Bad leadership can result from mismanagement of public funds and resources and high level corruption. It can lead to disloyalty and the withdrawal of support by followers. The two conditions do not augur well with the economic well being of the people. Workers’ productivity declines, unemployment increased and government services decline. The people are plunged into untold economic hardship.
3. Failure Of Government Programmes:
Bad leadership and followership result in failure of government programmes because the resources for implementation of government programmes are mismanaged.
Most government programmes in Nigeria fail because the huge financial resources pumped into such projects are wasted or mismanaged or embezzled out rightly.
4. Waste Of Resources:
Bad leadership and followership lead to waste of public resources. This results from indiscipline, lack of accountability and corruption. When resources are mismanaged, society stagnates as public utilities like water, electricity and social amenities collapse. Under such circumstance society cannot develop. One day, people would take to the streets and pull down system.