INTRODUCTION

IN MANY ORGANIZATIONS, there has been a movement away from the extremes of all-powerful leaders and powerless, submissive followers. We hear about “shared leadership,” a helpful concept in softening the rigid demarcation lines often found between leaders and followers. But there is a limit to the usefulness of this concept. Despite the fact that many people experience visceral discomfort with the term follower, it is not realistic to erase all distinctions between the roles of leaders and followers.

Instead, we need a dynamic model of followership that balances and supports dynamic leadership. We need a model that helps us embrace rather than reject the identity of follower because the model speaks to our courage, power, integrity, ...

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