Followership

Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government professor Kellerman (Bad Leadership) shifts the focus from leadership to followership, arguing that followers are every bit as important as leaders. Defining followers as subordinates who have less power, authority and influence than their superiors, and who usually, but not always, fall into line, she notes that we are all followers at different points in time. Followers, Kellerman argues, are getting bolder and more strategic, less likely to know their place and affecting work places, to mixed results. She identifies five types of followers based upon level of engagement: Isolate, Bystander, Participant, Activist and Diehard. She explores each type, with examples ranging from Nazi Germany to Merck to the U.S. military's Operation Anaconda in Afghanistan. She also explores the relationships between leaders and followers, who, Kellerman argues, should be thought of as inseparable. Followership is not about changing the rank of followers, Kellerman states, but instead about changing their response to their rank, their superiors and the situation at hand. Thorough and insightful, Kellerman provides a fascinating look at a little-explored topic, which will be of great interest to both leaders and followers. (Feb.)

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