Introduction
It should be emphasized that servant leadership and followership are companions in the processes of leadership and the direction of actions in organizations. A servant leader mostly cares about people’s growth, development, and well-being, while a follower leader is ready to follow in the team and organization. Followership and servant leadership have a wide range of similarities and differences based on interaction principles and appealing to certain elements.
Comparative Analysis
Similarities
Followership and servant leadership are interrelated and interdependent concepts, having deep, close and indissoluble connections. For instance, versatility is a common feature between the two notions, which implies vigilance, alertness, flexibility, and willingness to implement new ideas from each party (Mutuo, 2021). Moreover, both followership and servant leadership are associated mainly with such essential aspects as respect, patience, awareness, mutual respect, enthusiasm, commitment, and service (Mutuo, 2021). In this case, followers trust the leadership, and chiefs respect their followers as individuals and trust them. In brief, followership and servant leadership equally assume the development of long-term relationships.
Differences
As practice shows, followership and servant leadership differ in their demands and degree of responsibility. For example, a servant leader has a large amount of authority, the number of tasks, goals, and duties necessary for organizational success, outstanding achievements, and high results in work (Fraas, n.d.). Moreover, this person has special responsibility for subordinates and must have pedagogical knowledge and critical thinking (Fraas, n.d.). Accordingly, a follower should be ready to follow in the organization and the team, helping the management and the team to achieve specific purposes. However, there is no leader without followers; there must always be people who follow effectively, and there must always be people who lead well.
Conclusion
Summing up, it should be noted that followership and servant leadership have similarities in terms of mutual respect, understanding, support, and flexibility. They value long-term relationships; therefore, in case of specific difficulties, they are ready to step in and help. Nevertheless, they have different powers and responsibilities, but they serve each other at the same time. However, such relationships can have both positive and negative results.
References
Fraas, C. (n.d.). Compare and contrast followership and servant leadership. Bossibly. Web.
Mutuo, J. (2021). Followership vs servant leadership. LinkedIn. Web.