Followership leads
Humility is embedded in the core values of followership, there is also the erosive, divisive arrogance, negative, destructive contrasting side of meekness. Leaders who would rather adopt arrogant leadership characteristics and autocratic styles than be considered humble, and their positions tend to lead to limiting beliefs and stifle overall organizational culture and development. Christian leadership in the New Testament stresses humility in the form of nurturing others as a foundational element of this approach. The message of Christian leadership is rooted in empathy because it calls for leaders to prioritize others as they undertake strategic vision. Essentially, the scripture can be transposed into the missions of contemporary leadership organizations that seem to miss the mark on balancing control with compassion.
Authenticity is interconnected to the leader-followership dynamic and Jesus taught this to his disciples. Peter shared that the gospel could not be coerced, but it was shared through relationship. If leaders lose sight of community when they continue to focus on driving results from their teams, at the expense of relationship, they cannot successfully implement authentic leadership principles. This lack of awareness sets the tone for the other attributes to thrive cooperatively without being solely driven by a competitive nature. With the focus on servanthood, does this mean that the other characteristics of traditional leadership have to be discarded in order to demonstrate successful organizational culture?
Oftentimes leaders misconstrue having confidence as needing to have authoritative tendencies to achieve goals, drive strategy and influence others. The practicality of contemporary, authentic leadership requires compassionate, self-disciplined leaders stronger relationship generates greater understanding and productivity. The leader cannot lose sight of constructively and holistically engaging their followers while steering vision, to make followership succeed.
References
Engstrom, T. W. (1978). The making of a christian leader. How To Develop Management and Human Relations Skills. Zondervan Publishing House.
Northouse, P. (2019). Leadership: Theory And Practice. Los Angeles [Und 4 Weitere] Sage.
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