er’s level of consciousness. Preparing for LeadershipAfter understanding the differences between leadership and management, it is time to examine how individuals can be geared up to become leaders. Different societies and cultures have different views of leadership. For example, in some nations, leaders are elected, whereas in others leaders inherit the power through royalty. In both cases, and throughout history, the leaders that were chosen or forced upon people always seem at the time to be the ones the people want and need. The author, Kenneth Clark, advocates “Leaders have been developed successfully in all societies largely through learning to be good followers” (11). The first step in becoming a leader is following. By following orders and actions of superiors, subordinates will have an understanding of the importance of dedication, determination, drive, and motivation. Also, by becoming good followers, individuals will be able to understand the importance of leadership, and have a better understanding of what the subordinates will expect of their leader. Due to my past military experience, I agree with the author, and believe that in order to become a great leader, an individual has to be a good follower. In the military environment, where leadership is of great essence, all recruits undergo severe training courses, including many seminars and workshops, in order to create leaders out of them. Even though the setting for preparing a leader can be accomplished, it would not guarantee a successful result. Through the military training camps, recruits are presented with a perfect environment to instill leadership in them, but not every recruit becomes a leader. You can take a horse to the water, but you can’t make it drink. Therefore, the only preparation that can be made to create a leader is through creating the perfect environment that would teach the individuals the importance of following t...
