Comparing and contrasting followership and servant leadership in military contexts

Outline
I. Introduction with thesis statement: Servant leaders and their followers are two sides of the same coin, as both followership and servant leadership require a dedication to shared values and goals.
II. Topic 1 sentence: Unlike the concept of followership, servant leadership is ultimately about making strong decisions with vision and foresight.
Subtopic 1: Within the framework of servant leadership, followers offer input and feedback but are not responsible for making important decisions.
Subtopic 2: Servant leaders are entrusted with the power of foresight, but do rely on followers for ideas and alternative points of view.
Subtopic 3: While some followers may have valuable insight, followership does not require the cultivation of a cohesive vision.
III. Topic 2 sentence: Both servant leadership and followership require strength of character, selflessness, and collaboration to achieve mutual goals.
Subtopic 1: A servant leader must have strong character, whereas followership is more about learning how to develop character to earn trust.
Subtopic 2: Both followership and servant leadership demand self-sacrifice and an ability to surrender the ego.
Subtopic 3: Because effective servant leadership depends on collaboration, servant leadership also depends on effective followership.
IV. Topic 3 sentence: Servant leadership is about steering the ship in the right direction according to shared values and principles, inspiring trust and effective followership.
Subtopic 1: Followership is not about taking decisive action that moves the group forward, as a servant leader does.
Subtopic 2: Both followers and servant leaders place principles and values first, even being willing to step aside and let others shine when necessary.
Subtopic 3: Servant leadership and followership are both about trust and mutual respect.
V. Conclusion with thesis restatement: Although leaders lead and followers follow, servant leadership and followership share in common several features such as selflessness, loyalty, and unity.
Venn Diagram
Servant Leadership
Vision and foresight
Virtuous character
Decisive action
Followership
Offering dissenting opinions but ultimately submitting to the leader’s vision
Following orders for the good of the Army
Adhering to a chain of command for the greater good
Both (intersection)
Trust in shared values and goals
Mutual respect and empowerment
Humility
Virtuous character
humility
Mind Map
egolessness
Servant Leadership
Bureaucracy
Chain of command
humility
Army
Followership
Essay
The Army depends on effective leadership. The servant leadership model offers novel insight into how to cultivate the type of organizational culture and climate conducive to achieving military goals and objectives. Servant leaders and their followers are two sides of the same coin, as both followership and servant leadership require a dedication to shared values and goals.
Unlike the concept of followership, servant leadership is ultimately about making strong decisions with vision and foresight. However, servant leadership means exercising power from a position of humility. Being altruistic and selfless allows both servant leaders and their followers to work together to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes (Jacobs, 2006). Within the framework of servant leadership, followers offer the leader input and feedback but are not responsible for making important decisions. Servant leaders are entrusted with the power of foresight, but do rely on followers for ideas and alternative points of view. While some followers may have valuable insight, followership does not require the cultivation of a cohesive vision.
Both servant leadership and followership require strength of character, selflessness, and collaboration to achieve mutual goals. Followership in the Army is improved with a team comprised of strong and virtuous members, but followers are not expected or required to already exude strength and virtue. On the other hand, a servant leader must have strong character. Followership is more about learning how to develop character to earn trust. Both followership and servant leadership demand self-sacrifice and an ability to surrender the ego, though. Because effective servant leadership depends on collaboration, servant leadership also depends on effective followership.
Servant leadership is about steering the Army in the right direction according to shared values and principles. Therefore, the servant leader takes the team along a path that inspires trust and engenders effective followership. Followership is not about being overly submissive, because the servant leader wants the team to be empowered. Yet followers do not have the role or responsibility of taking decisive action that moves the group forward, as a servant leader does. Both followers and servant leaders place principles and values first, even being willing to step aside and let others shine when necessary. Servant leadership and followership are both about trust and mutual respect.
Although leaders lead and followers follow, servant leadership and followership share in common several features such as selflessness, loyalty, and unity. A servant leader is not like a stereotypical Army leader that reverts to a position of power or authority. On the other hand, a servant leader inspires confident, respect, and trust because of a strong character, humility, and selfless service. Followers then model their behaviors and attitudes after those of the leader, creating a supremely well-oiled machine.
References
Jacobs, G. A. (2006). Servant leadership and follower committment. Servant Leadership Research Roundtable. https://www.regent.edu/acad/global/publications/sl_proceedings/2006/jacobs.pdf