Abstract

Leadership studies generally focus on the role and importance of the positional or formal leader. The paradigmatic leader is the great military or political figure—the historian’s “great man.” There is no coherent foundational perspective on followership that is not the resultant of leadership. This work offers a framework for a follower-centric view of leadership that reveals the importance of followership. Leaders and followers exhibit different attributes depending upon the organizational setting. To acting of following requires the organizational attribute of a willingness to be lead, but also the interpersonal attribute of the capability to respond (knowledge, experience). Understanding each other’s role and values is essential in this transformation of the traditional view in organizations. To lead requires the organizational attributes of decisiveness, problem recognition and the capacity to prioritize, but also the interpersonal attribute of the willingness to conduct a talent search (finding someone to follow). Followership is not merely the actions of a subordinate who accepts and obeys the dictates of the organizational authority figures. Therefore, followership is not the same as following. Following is impelled (consciously or unconsciously influenced) by actions of leaders. Following is reactive. In contrast followership is an a priori choice (self-conscious) of the individual in the context of his or her relationship to the nominal leader. Issues of authority and rank play little or no role in such a choice. Followership is interactive. Followers are in control the situation by the choices made. Therefore, organizational success is in the hands of followers.