Topic: person who lost leadership

Paper details:
1. Towards the end of Chapter 1 in TLC, the authors discuss how leadership is a relationship between followers and leaders, with followers needing to believe in, and have trust in, people they would be willing to follow. The authors also discuss credibility, and if followers don’t find the leader to be credible, they will stop following him or her. (It is best that you read this chapter, but if you don’t have the book yet, go ahead and do the assignment anyway, to the best of your ability.) There are plenty of examples of leaders who have lost credibility, and hence lost followers, and lost their power. Two recent examples of someone who did this, but have gained back some credibility and a more limited following again, are former governor Mark Sanford of South Carolina and professional golfer Tiger Woods. There are plenty of examples, from politicians to preachers, to sports figures (e.g., Lance Armstrong), to business executives. In the Sanford and Woods’ situations, both lost credibility due to decisions in their personal life, but there are plenty of other examples where poor decisions, financial mismanagement, or criminal behavior derailed a leader. (There have been a few examples of high level politicians and business executives who lied on their resumes regarding degrees they had earned, and once it became public, had to leave their jobs.) Choose an example of someone who has been an important leader and somehow lost credibility, and then lost significant power, and many followers. Describe how they came into their leadership position, what they did to lose credibility, and how this impacted their followers. If appropriate, describe what efforts they have taken to regain credibility, and how effective these efforts have been with their followers. The goal of this assignment is to get you thinking more about the relationship that exists between leaders and followers, and the role credibility plays in that relationship.