Dictionary.com describes sycophant as a person who tries to win favour from wealthy or influential people by flattering them.

Cambridge English Dictionary says sycophant is a person praising people in authority in a way that is not sincere, usually to gain some advantage.

Then Merriam Webster says that a sycophant is a servile self seeking flatterer.

Followership as defined by free encyclopaedia is the capacity of an individual to actively follow a leader.  It also says that it is the reciprocal social process of leadership.

Everybody is a follower of somebody. Therefore leaders need to develop themselves in the area of followership. This will enhance their empathic sense. Leaders need to know how to choose and relate to followers for maximum impact and productivity.

Without followers there will be no leaders. Followers are the ones who actually do the work. For instance, a lot of people do not know the overall leader of CNN which is a media outfit but they know the reporters and a lot of the staff. Followers are doing a great job. The success of leaders is largely dependent on followers. Where the followers are not competent, the leaders will most likely record low effectiveness.

Somebody who has never followed anybody in a particular field may not lead well in that field. This is because by following somebody, you get to learn what to do and what not to do to followers.

The way a leader communicates either through behaviour or speech shapes the commitment of followers. Thus, leaders need to cultivate attitudes that will bring the best out of their followers. This makes communication to flow unhindered from followers to leaders and from leaders to followers.

Leaders should know the difference between followers and sycophants which is the wrong version of followership. Sycophants can divide an organization to an unhealthy point. Sycophants are everywhere and even with sycophantic laughter or nodding of head. In the church and in the secular, they are just everywhere with accolades for leaders. They are self seeking flatterers who say the leader is right even when wrong. Good leaders need to have genuine, correct, current and bold followers.

Listed below are the differences between correct and incorrect followers.