From Ideals to Idolatry: Unconditional Followers Create Unaccountable Leaders

Much has been said about the effect of leaders on their followers. In this article, however, I'd like to explore the crucial role that followers play in shaping their leaders.

It is my contention that unconditional followership inevitably results in unaccountable leadership, which ultimately leads to disaster for everyone. Now, when I say “unconditional followership,” I’m not talking about normal loyalty to a cause or a person. I understand loyalty as consistency, perseverance, and self-sacrifice in service of a commitment made in line with our values. Loyalty in this sense, and within reason, is a positive trait, a virtue that one should cultivate. Instead, what I mean by unconditional followership is the negative expression of this trait, what we could call “toxic loyalty.”

Unconditional followership is the uncritical, obstinate, slavish devotion to an idea or person—usually the latter—even and especially when they run counter to our values or cause harm. It’s what Ralph Waldo Emerson was referring to when he talked about the “foolish consistency [that] is the hobgoblin of little minds.” In unconditional followership, allegiance is the first and only virtue, and anything that might threaten it—including one’s values or morals—is anathema. Unconditional followers often say that there is literally nothing that could make them change their minds because this type of followership is characterized by an unwillingness to re-evaluate or revise one’s position for any reason. To put it plainly, we could say that unconditional followership is simply blind faith expressed in a sociocultural context.

The most obvious manifestation of this toxic loyalty can be seen in the prototypical example of destructive cults, where the cult leader holds absolute authority and no one dares, or perhaps even cares, to question or confront him. Other more visible examples include organized crime groups like the mafia, street gangs, or cartels, and even legitimate groups engaged in systemic corruption such as police, politicians, and the military; in these cases, the harm is undeniable and it’s the expectation of unquestioning obedience that enables it. However, more subtle forms of unconditional followership take place in the case of highly siloed organizations, communities, or countries where leaders may demonize certain groups and intentionally divide people in order to maintain their power. In these cases, there is often enough ambiguity for unconditional followers to convincingly claim—to themselves and others—that there is nothing out of the ordinary in their behavior or that of their leaders.

Notably, none of these are examples of anarchy. In all of these cases, everything is going according to plan. There are rules, systems, followers, and leaders. And contrary to popular belief, it is the followers that give those rules, systems, and leaders their power, not vice versa. No leader has any power in the absence of their followers, as a leader’s power is simply the consequence of their followers granting them their followership. The people are following their leaders, and the leaders are following their people, as it has always been.

“There go the people. I must follow them, for I am their leader.” ~Alexander Auguste Ledru-Rollin

The type of followership that feeds this dysfunction doesn’t initially start with unconditional loyalty to a person, but rather reasonable devotion to the ideals that the person promotes. Over time, however, the principles and ideals that attracted followers to the leader slowly fade into the background as the leader becomes the main focus; instead of the leader rallying people around a message, the leader takes the place of the message. The end result is that normal followership is replaced with unconditional followership and blind loyalty to the leader, whether or not they behave according to the ideals they supposedly represent. (The book, Animal Farm by George Orwell, which I highly recommend, provides a fictionalized account of this process in more detail and an easy-to-digest narrative format).

How does this happen? Well, instead of rising to the level of their highest standards, all teams and communities actually sink to the lowest level of behaviors they’re willing to justify and tolerate in each other, and particularly in their leader. The vicious cycle of a leader descending to the lowest standards of conduct, then demanding and receiving absolute loyalty despite this, results in a gradual yet inevitable degradation of the entire community. Worse yet, because the process happens so slowly, those closest to it often fail to notice it until it’s too late. The team ends up much like the proverbial frog that keeps adjusting to the rising temperature in a pot of water, only realizing something is awry once it’s been boiled.

To break it down further, we could say that followers generally hold their leaders accountable, because no one follows a leader for no reason. However, once followers become uncritical, leaders become unaccountable. Unaccountable leaders wield power without responsibility to anyone, including their followers. This is only possible because unconditional followers, by definition, have literally no standards, so there is no level of malfeasance or dereliction of duty the leader could perpetrate that would lose him their support. Before you know it, unconditional followership leads to acceptable behaviors that bear no resemblance to the stated principles that initially brought the followers together, and nobody on the inside even realizes that they have become part of a cult.

"If you can't remember the last time your leader made a mistake, they are either perfect—unlikely—or not a leader at all." ~Amir Ghannad

I once had the misfortune of following a "divide and conquer" type of “leader” in an organization. It was clear that this individual had conditioned the people such that little would happen without his personal blessing. People's success or failure depended only on their loyalty to him, not their willingness to collaborate or uphold the values and principles of the broader organization. As a result, the organization was heavily siloed, and although people recognized the injustice of operating based on the “leader's” whims, the uncritical followers in his inner circle went along with it because of the favors that came with obedience.

It’s important to note that his followers didn’t actually respect him or vice versa; both parties just tolerated each other as long as they were receiving some benefit from the arrangement. Many of those who publicly supported the toxic leader privately resented the fact that they had to do so, and I suspect they would have dropped him like a bag of manure as soon as the perks disappeared.

What I learned from this experience was that while toxic leaders may further the interests of the sycophants in their inner circle in the short term, the toxic culture they create does harm to everyone—including themselves—in the long term. It does this by promoting widespread hypocrisy that erodes the foundations of trust, commitment, and true loyalty necessary to pursue any cause greater than one’s own self-interest.

Have you ever witnessed these dynamics? Which role in the above scenario did you play? Did you realize what was happening at the time or only discover it later?

The more important question to consider is whether you are a part of such a dynamic right now. Have you looked the other way when your leader’s behavior wasn’t in line with your values? Have you justified the inappropriate words and deeds of your leader as a worthwhile trade-off for the perceived benefits you and others receive? Are you apprehensive about holding your leader to higher standards because of the potential backlash? Would doing so cause your leader’s followers, including friends and family members, to ostracize and condemn you for apostasy instead of listening to your concerns? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you are either already caught up in this toxic dynamic or on your way there.

“No leader worth following ever expects unconditional loyalty.” ~Amir Ghannad

Now, this post is about toxic leadership in general, not a specific person or situation. (I’ve written several posts on toxic leadership, for those interested). Because the principles of leadership are derived from the principles of human nature, they are timeless and universal. This means they are true in all circumstances, with no exceptions for “special contexts” such as politics or religion. While this post isn’t about any one leader in particular, there are countless toxic leaders in the past and a few in the present who fit the bill. So, if you sense some hidden agenda on my part to push certain political/religious/tribal views, you may want to consider why that is. And if you have someone specific in mind while reading this, then you may want to investigate why you already consider that leader to be toxic on some level.

If you suspect you’re caught up in this dynamic, I'd urge you to reflect on the behaviors you’ve been justifying and tolerating in any of the leaders you follow. Ask yourself why you’re fine with being responsible for excusing their failure to live up to a certain standard of integrity, humanity, compassion, etc. Ask yourself whether your support of this leader is making things better, not just for yourself in the present, but for the entire community in the long run. Ask yourself whether you’re acting in line with your values by considering your response if the “other side” adopted the same behaviors as your leader. Would you abandon your leader and join the “other side,” or would you abandon your values and stick with your current leader? What if your current leader started preaching the exact opposite of what they do now? Ask yourself whether you would tolerate your leader’s behavior in your peers or coworkers, or in your own subordinates or even children.

I have heard many of these so-called leaders boast about the level of support they enjoy from their unconditional followers. I have heard some imply that they could fire, harass, or even shoot someone in broad daylight and not lose any supporters, as if it were a badge of honor to have followers with no standards. What they fail to realize is that by bragging that their followers have no standards, they are essentially broadcasting their worthlessness as leaders.

"If there’s nothing a leader can do that would lose them your support, it will ultimately benefit no one for you to follow them." ~Amir Ghannad

Beyond the harm that it does to your own integrity or your community, also consider that pointing out the speck in someone else's eye while ignoring the log in your leader's not only exposes your hypocrisy, it also robs your leader of the opportunity to rise to a higher standard. If you truly respect this leader and want them to achieve their goals, wouldn’t you want them to expand their abilities and effectiveness?

I have certainly been guilty of this. Decades ago, while bussing tables and serving breakfast at a thankless job at a hotel, I was given the opportunity to work at a fancy restaurant. It was my chance to make better money and move up in my “foodservice career,” which is how I was supporting myself through school. Soon after I started, however, I learned that the owner, who was unhappy about not having enough business, would unexpectedly erupt at anybody who was within reach when he was in a bad mood. He was even known to admonish customers for not coming in more often and demand to know the reason while they were eating dinner!

In any case, I eventually learned how to get on his good side and mitigate the effects of his wrath. But one of the ways I did that was by never questioning his unreasonable and inappropriate behavior. When he chewed someone out and then came to me to talk about it, I made a habit of always agreeing with him and never challenging him or letting him know that he was the problem. I didn’t respect him or care enough about his development to hold him to a higher standard, certainly not when my livelihood was on the line! However, once my turn in the barrel came when I found a job at a much nicer restaurant, I chose to be clear with him about why I was leaving. I gave him the gift of brutally honest feedback, and even though it was the best thing for both of us, it wasn't a pretty sight!

You can look around the world and throughout history to see countless examples of the heads that have rolled—sometimes literally—as soon as someone in a tyrant's inner circle decided to challenge them. I'm guessing most of them thought they were somehow immune and only found out otherwise once it was too late. Because unconditional followership and unaccountable leadership are based on opportunistic, mutual exploitation, the dynamic is inherently unstable and is characterized by infighting and backstabbing. While this doesn’t always result in its dissolution, it does make it difficult to sustain without using significant resources to maintain it. What is always true about this toxic arrangement, however, is that it is a race to the bottom, so ultimately no one comes out on top.

"Followers and leaders both orbit around the purpose; followers do not orbit around the leader." ~ Ira Chaleff

I am, and will always be, a fan of followers supporting their leaders, but that support is not meant to exist in a vacuum. Followers should only support their leaders as long as they enact their values and positively transform the culture for everyone, reserving their true loyalty to the causes and principles they believe in. Without followers, leaders not only have no power, they literally do not exist. As such, we must recognize the immense power found in followership, and in doing so, we should do our best to practice it responsibly.

I hope that this post inspires you to evaluate the type of followership you have been practicing to determine whether it is in line with your values or opposed to them, and whether it’s focused on the well-being of your entire community or just the short-term interests of a few. And if you find that it’s the latter, you have a choice to make. Either continue to abandon your values, or choose to abandon your leader for the sake of them.

If there are topics you find to be of special value to you, or if you’d just like to get in touch and chat about what’s going on with you, simply reply to this newsletter or send me an email at amir@theghannadgroup.com. If you’re experiencing challenges that you would like my perspective on, or you’d like to explore how we can partner with you to support you in your transformative journey, please click here to schedule a call with me. I’d love to hear from you.

Further Reading

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