As John Gardner says early in Leaders and Followers “Leaders are almost never as much in charge as they are pictured to be, and followers are almost never as submissive as one might imagine”(185). This is completely true. Leaders are literally powerless without followers and the illusion of superiority that leaders possess is all a matter of how the followers respond to them. Gardner asks the question “should the relationship [between leaders and followers] be more informal… leaders making the goals clear and then letting the constituents help determine the way of proceeding”(186). I believe that yes, the followers should be the ones that truly influence the way of proceeding; I believe that oftentimes followers do in fact influence the way things turn out, even if they are not aware of it.
This impact followers can have brought me to think of several examples from class and the world today. One example of the huge role followers can play in the action taken by leaders and in a way lead themselves was the Parkland student’s response to the shootings at their school. When it became clear that no real action was going to be taken by the government to prevent school shootings they made their voices heard. As stated in The New York Times by Margaret Kramer and Jennifer Harlen “The Parkland students became a force for gun control legislation and boosted the youth vote. Here’s how they changed America’s response to mass shootings”(2019). They saw how the leaders of our country were responding and instead of just letting the injustice and terror of the shooting shift into the background they were vocal in a way that was heard by the nation. They put pressure on the leaders to make a change and influenced other followers to not just stand by. If people become aware of the important role that followers play and the huge amount of influence they can have on the outcomes of our leader’s decisions followers can come together and assure that they are being heard in an organized, purposeful way.
Link to NY Times article below:
One of my favorite topics I’ve studied in my Jepson education thus far has been the power of followership. When I voted for the first time last fall, it hit me the magnitude of my vote in the state of Virginia; while I felt like a mere number, when the two candidates were about 200 votes apart I realized how much, as a “follower”, I could impact the direction of the political setting.
This example of the Parkland students rallying together to influence congressional legislation is a great example of the cultivation of citizen leaders. These young men and women were not dettatched from the community they were serving, they were the community! With political knowledge, and education as humans we can participate in civic society and attribute meaning to the things we deem important, erasing the notion of the “couch citizen.”
I agree with the emphasis of how important a follower really is and how much of an impact one follower can make. I also appreciate how you included the Parkland example to show how followers can institute change when they feel as though they aren’t being heard.
I think it is interesting that you chose the Parkland shooting as an example of followers having more power than they think. I think that those kids were able to pressure our leaders and influence change but It also reminds of the privilege these kids had. Black and Brown communities have struggled with gun violence for years but our leaders pick and chose who they want to listen to. I think this example can also be used to show that there is a limit to how much influence followers have.
I agree a leader can not lead if they do not have followers. A leader should care deeply for their followers.
While I agree with the idea that a leader is essentially powerless without followers. I disagree with the idea that it all boils down to how the followers perceive and receive the leader. it has a lot to do with how the leader presents him self to the public giving him just as much power.
I feel like our talk about charismatic leadership alluded to the importance of followers because it required three parts: charismatic leader, situational factors, and willing followers. I think that the power of followers are always evident during political elections. Politicians modify their platforms to broaden their appeal. Congress often flips majority party during midterm elections, and in recent years, presidents have alternated major political party. This shows that the followers hold power, and when unhappy, are willing to do something about it.