The quality of democracy and governance in a country depend as much on the decisions and actions of followers as it does on the actions and decisions of leaders.
As we reflect on the course South African society has taken over many decades, it is important to consider not just the quality of leadership but the quality of followership.
The crimes of colonialism and apartheid flourished not only because of leaders who abused power and indoctrinated their supporters, but because the followers of those leaders lacked the courage to question and check their abuse and misuse of power.
We decry the deteriorating quality of governance and the corruption in the state and we see the abuse of power of private sector leaders who collude with politicians to defraud the state.
There have been well-publicised incidents of leaders in civil society, heads of nonprofits known for their contributions changing people’s lives, who are guilty of exploitation and sexual harassment and abuse of their own staff.
We have situations where church leaders and fathers who have violated their own members and children are protected and enabled by their churches and families.
We need to interrogate the quality of followership in our country today if we are to avoid subjecting present and future generations to the atrocities committed when leaders become too drunk with their own power and so arrogant as to crush dissent and opposition.
In the preface to his book The Courageous Follower: Standing Up to and for Our Leaders, Ira Chaleff spotlights the principle of accountable followership.
Reflecting on the genocide of Jews perpetrated by Nazi Germany, he asks: “How could a whole country follow a vicious leader to the logical conclusions of his psychosis?”
He uses this dark blight on the history of modern humanity as an example of the failure of accountable followership. This is the failure of people, followers, to question the actions and behaviours of their leaders to the peril of whole groups of people and of societal stability, prosperity and survival.
Chaleff goes on to warn that this is not an inherently German problem: “In every age there are leaders and their followers who commit atrocities. At this writing, many people were mystified by the mass killings in Bosnia and by their feelings of helplessness to affect the situation.
"Why do we feel helpless to influence these events we decry? At least partially it is because the farther away we are from a situation in which power is being abused, the more we are at risk if we try to change it, and the abuser turns on us. Thus, the people nearest to the event often let it grow unchecked. And the people farther away wring their hands.”
This would apply to SA during the dark days of apartheid. Many who were far away although decrying the injustices of the system, did little more than wring their hands. Many who were near and supporters and followers of the abusers of power chose silence or denial, not wanting to risk the abusers turning on them.
According to Chaleff’s theory, it is those who are close to a leader who are best placed to ensure that the leader uses his/her power well and this requires courageous followership.
While accountable leadership is crucial to good governance and a prosperous society, it is not possible to have accountable leadership without cultivating accountable followership. We need to nurture the culture of followers questioning their leaders, holding their actions and words up to scrutiny to check the abuse and misuse of power.
Followers of leaders of political parties, the government, corporates, faith-based and civil society organisations and other institutions have the responsibility to follow courageously.
It will take courageous followers to prevent the precipitous decline of our nascent democracy to the status of failed state.
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