Followership in the Army: A Servant Leadership

Introduction

Have you heard about servant leadership in the army? What about followership in the army? Have you been asked to write an essay about these topics? Many students in the military will be asked to write about leadership.

This article will show you how to write an essay about a specific topic of leadership as it pertains to the army or the military more generally. For one, this article shows you how to broach the topic of servant leadership and followership in the army, which is a common concept in the field of leadership studies.

Another topic this article covers is followership in the army. Follwership is a concept that focuses more on followers and their behaviors, which create all the overt features of an organization’s culture. Followership is especially salient in military organizational behavior, military leadership, and military management because of the organizational structure and culture of the army.

Also, this article will relate the concept of followership to servant leadership, especially as it applies to the army. A common assignment for students in the military would be to write about both followership and servant leadership.

With the tips outlined in this article, you will learn how to craft an essay that will make you proud.

To Begin: An Outline

Making an outline first helps your essay become more organized and easy to read.

I. Introduction

A. The concept of servant leadership can actually be traced back to ancient China but the term “servant leadership” was coined by Robert Greenleaf in 1970 (Wesson, 2017).

B. Servant leadership refers to placing the needs of others (such as other members of the organization or its stakeholders) first, with ethical principles and people coming before other goals like profit.

C. Followership refers to the attitudes of subordinates within a hierarchical organization like the army.

D. Thesis: Servant leadership and followership are interrelated concepts, with each depending on the other.

II. Topic sentence: Servant leadership is built into the core values of the army.

A. Army leadership is practically based on the concept of servant leadership because of the nature of the organization.

B. Individual needs are secondary if not outright irrelevant, as leaders serve the common goals of the army.

C. Servant leadership in the army also ensures ascription to ethical values and principles.

III. Topic sentence: Followership refers to the stance taken by subordinates in a hierarchical organization like the army.

A. Followership is built into army organizational culture.

B. With only few exceptions, all individuals in the army are subordinate to at least one other person.

C. Followership creates order and maintains the organizational hierarchy.

IV. Topic sentence: Servant leadership and followership go hand in hand in the Army.

A. Servant leadership places the needs of the organization and the people it serves, like the American public, ahead of other concerns.

B. Followership refers to the way all members of the army report to their immediate commander or supervisor in a chain of command.

C. Followership signifies the humble attitude required for servant leaders to properly perform their duties in the army.

V. Conclusion

A. Thesis: Servant leadership depends on followership, and creates a cohesive organizational culture with strong ethics and values.

B. Taken together, servant leadership and followership can be applied to many different organizational structures and cultures.

C. Future research might investigate formal means by which to empirically test whether or not followership and servant leadership combine to create more effective leaders or to promote measurable outcomes.

Followership in the Army Servant Leadership Essay: Example Paper

Research on leadership flourished in the middle of the twentieth century, giving rise to a number of theories that have informed subsequent organizational behavior. Several of the prevailing theories of leadership trace their roots to ancient civilizations and their models of governance. For example, the concept of servant leadership can actually be traced back to ancient China even though the term “servant leadership” was coined by Robert Greenleaf in 1970 (Wesson, 2017). Servant leadership refers to placing the needs of the followers first. This model of leadership has become popular in multiple sectors, even those that are bureaucratic and hierarchical like government agencies. Servant leadership is, for example, applicable to the military. In the military, ethical principles, national security policy goals, and the interests of the American people come before other goals like profit. Followership is another leadership theory that can be incorporated into military settings. Like servant leadership, followership is focused more on the followers and their needs than on leader traits and behaviors. Followership refers more specifically to the attitudes of subordinates within a hierarchical organization like the army. Servant leadership and followership are interrelated concepts, each depending on the other, and promoting desirable and measurable outcomes in the military.

Servant leadership is built into the core values of the army. Army leadership is practically based on the concept of servant leadership because of the goals and nature of the organization. Individual needs are secondary if not outright irrelevant, as leaders serve the common goals of the army. Servant leadership does not imply that leaders submit to their subordinates. On the contrary, leaders retain their power within the formal chains of command. Yet a servant leader always remembers that leaders are not in it for themselves; leaders subsume their personal interests, wishes, and desires in the interests of meeting common objectives. Servant leadership in the army also ensures ascription to ethical values and principles. When faced with a moral dilemma, the servant leader ascribes to the ethical code of the military organization and this may require setting aside personal beliefs, opinions, and biases.

Followership refers to the stance taken by subordinates in a hierarchical organization like the army, impacting follower behavior individually and collectively. Built into army organizational culture, followership aptly describes the structure of the army hierarchy and chains of command. With only few exceptions, all individuals in the army are subordinate to at least one other person. Followership creates order and maintains the organizational hierarchy. Within the framework of followership, members of the military identify as followers. Individualism is discouraged in the interests of achieving the goals of the army or of any single mission. From the perspective of the military, followership is what contributes to the importance of discipline and self-sacrifice. Similarly, followership enables the emergence of courage, competence, focus, and humility (“Follwership,” n.d.). The concept of followership also allows members of the army to keep in mind the values of the organization and conform to its ethical standards.

Servant leadership and followership go hand in hand in the Army. These are two interrelated concepts that converge especially well when it comes to military organizational culture.  Servant leadership places the needs of the organization and the people it serves, ultimately members of the American public, ahead of other concerns such as profit. This is not to say that budgeting and meeting deadlines are not important goals. Instead, servant leadership and followership ensure that core values remain the most important guidepost even when pursuing when pursuing other objectives. Followership refers to the way all members of the army report to their immediate commander or supervisor in a chain of command. It encompasses the disciplinary traditions and obedience common among members of the military and enforces chains of command. In fact, followership signifies the humble attitude required for servant leaders to properly perform their duties in the army. A servant leader remains attuned to the needs of soldiers, which in turn devote their lives to military service.