SECTION B
Essay
125 marks
A good leader is one who follows the followers.
WRITE IN
90 min
1,000–1,200 words
Reading the topic
The topic inverts the usual idea of leadership: the best leader listens to, serves and is guided by the people rather than simply commanding them. The examiner expects the essay to discuss servant and democratic leadership and also the danger that 'following the followers' becomes populism, where a leader panders to every mood instead of guiding.
ThesisA good leader follows the followers in their needs, aspirations and wisdom, but not in their passing passions, so leadership is responsive without becoming captive.
Dimensions to cover
- 1Philosophy: servant leadership holds that a leader's first duty is to serve, and authority grows from that service
- 2Democracy: elected leaders draw legitimacy from the people, and consultation keeps policy grounded in real needs
- 3Local governance: gram sabhas and participatory planning let communities set priorities that leaders then carry forward
- 4Organisations: managers who act on frontline feedback often spot problems that top-down plans miss
- 5Social movements: leaders frequently articulate a demand that already exists among people rather than invent it
- 6Risk: following the crowd on sensitive issues can lead to majoritarianism, so leaders must sometimes resist popular opinion to protect rights
Counter-view
- Critics say leadership means vision, and leaders who follow opinion polls never achieve reform. The essay should answer that great leaders lead by listening deeply and then persuading, distinguishing long-term public interest from momentary public mood
Open and close
- Open: Open with a sarpanch who arrives at a gram sabha with a plan for a new road but leaves having agreed to build a girls' toilet the women asked for instead
- Close: End by arguing that the best leader walks among the people, listening behind them and speaking in front of them when values are at stake
Where marks usually go
- Reading 'follows the followers' literally as obeying every popular demand, without discussing populism
- Listing famous leaders and their qualities without addressing the inversion in the topic
- Ignoring governance mechanisms like participatory planning that make the idea practical
Examples that fit
- LiteratureMandela likens a leader to a shepherd who stays behind the flock, letting the nimble go ahead while the others follow, unaware they are being directed from behind.Long Walk to Freedom (1994), Nelson Mandela
- ThinkerRobert Greenleaf argued that the great leader is seen as servant first, and the test is whether those served grow wiser and freer.The Servant as Leader (1970), Robert K. Greenleaf
- CaseKerala's People's Plan Campaign of 1996 let gram sabhas draw up local development plans, with leaders implementing priorities set by residents.Kerala State Planning Board, People's Plan Campaign documentation
- CaseThe 73rd Constitutional Amendment of 1992 made the gram sabha the base of rural self-government, institutionalising the idea that leaders answer to villagers.Constitution of India, Part IX, Article 243A