What is Followership?

This is among the most overlooked areas of leadership knowledge. Understanding the dynamics of being a good follower, how to manage your relationship with your leader, and what followership demands are just the beginning of being an effective leader. There is a lot to unpack in this idea, more than I will discuss in this article, but I would like to highlight one idea specifically. Followership isn’t simply doing what you’re told; it’s thoughtful participation in the leadership process. For example, a person must know how to listen, perform to a standard, and monitor the results of the process. Followership also means understanding the leader’s intent, why things are being done a certain way, and what the end goal is. Reflect on people you’ve met over the years; some are team players who participate in ways that meet or exceed the goal. However, I’m sure you’ve also come across folks who are, let’s just say, less than team players. Which of these two groups of people would you most likely promote?

What is Leading Up?

When someone is actively following, they also maintain an active and meaningful relationship with their leadership. The relationship between leader and follower can and should, in a word, be candid. Even in challenging relationships, leading up means communicating to leadership whether their guidance is or isn’t working and, potentially, offering recommendations for things to try.

Personal Story. I think it’s important to say that followership and leading up aren’t easy. They are skills that are practiced, and they also require strong communication skills. To that point, I’d like to share a short story about a time when I was unable to lead up. To my credit, I was following very well, but our organization still wasn’t achieving our goals. I did my best to communicate what I was seeing on the ground and in the organization, but my message wasn’t landing. It wasn’t long before my boss sat me down to talk about our organization’s performance. I’ll never forget what he said: “Your organization is doing everything I asked, but you’re still not achieving our goals.” I replied, “I know.” In that moment, I knew I had another chance to lead up, and I took it. I went back over many of the points I had been sharing during our phone calls and emails; this time, face-to-face, we found common ground and came up with a mutual plan to make our goals a reality. For what it’s worth, we didn’t meet every goal overnight, but we did measurably improve, and our leader/follower relationship improved as well.

Robert E. Kelley, the author of The Power of Followership.

This book explores followership in two behavioral dimensions: independent and critical thinking (does the follower think for themselves) and active engagement (does the follower take initiative). These dimensions create a matrix that groups people into one of five categories, ranging from “passive follower” to “Exemplary followers.” There are a couple of key ideas from this book worth highlighting. 1) These categories are not static and unchanging. On any given day or project, any of us could find ourselves in one category or another. The point here is: where do we operate most days and on most projects? 2) Good followers should be candid with leadership. 3) Good followership is more closely aligned with a partnership between the leader and follower. In a sentence, Kelley asks: How independently does the follower think, and how actively does the follower engage?

Ira Chaleff, author of The Courageous Follower: Standing Up to and for Our Leaders.

This book explores followership along two dimensions: support for the leader and willingness to challenge the leader. These dimensions establish four groups of people, ranging from someone classified as a resource “low support/low challenge” to partners “high support/high challenge.” Similar to Kelley, Chaleff highlights the value of partnership between the leader and follower. In short, Chaleff asks: How much courage does the follower demonstrate in supporting and challenging the leader?

Followership is the Apprenticeship of Leadership.

As I reflect on my followership/leadership experience, in my opinion, true followership is the equivalent of an apprenticeship program for leadership positions. An apprentice observes, practices, receives feedback, makes mistakes, develops judgment, assumes greater responsibility, and repeats the process for each level of leadership achieved.

Effective followers learn by observing leaders, practicing leadership behaviors, accepting responsibility, seeking feedback, and exercising judgment. Over time, these experiences build the competence and confidence needed to lead others. Yet effective leaders never stop following; they continue to learn from those above, beside, and around them.

The Never-Ending Leader/Follower Cycle.

The last idea I would like to offer is something I learned when I first enlisted in the US Army. On day two in the Army, we were taught that we were now the leaders for everyone who joined the Army the day after us. This is an important idea because it reinforced the relationship between leaders and followers. We are all responsible for each other; those who came before us are our leaders/mentors, and those who followed us are our responsibility to lead and mentor; the cycle never ends.

In summary,

What is followership?

Followership is the active, thoughtful participation of people who support organizational goals while exercising judgment and responsibility.

What is leading up?

Leading up is the practice of constructively influencing and communicating with the people above you in an organization.

Why does followership matter to leadership?

Because people develop leadership judgment by observing leaders, practicing responsibility, receiving feedback, and learning how to influence others.

Can you lead without being the boss?

Yes. Leadership is influence, not simply position or title.

Everyone is simultaneously a follower and a leader.

RuReady Framework Connection:

This article is part of the Leadership Knowledge section of the RuReady Adult Readiness Framework and corresponds to LK01: Followership and Leading Up.

It is part of the broader Leadership Domain series, which explores the knowledge, skills, and attributes needed to lead effectively at every level.

If you enjoyed this article, explore the broader RuReady Adult Readiness Framework:

Preface: A Field Manual for Adult Life

Chapter 1: Why Do We Do What We Do?

Chapter 2: An Exploration of the RuReady Framework

Chapter 3: Life Skills for the Personal Domain

Chapter 4: Career Skills for the Professional Domain

Chapter 5: Leadership Skills for Every Level

Before moving on, feel free to use the checklist below to assess your readiness level.

Each item below is worth two points. Score yourself honestly; give yourself a point only if you can answer yes with confidence, not just in theory.

2.0 _____: Have you reflected on your leader/followership relationships? Reflection is an important part of growth and personal development.

2.0 _____: Have you had an honest conversation with your leader and/or followers to better assess your relationship? After reflection, an honest conversation is the second step in growth and personal development.

_____: Assessment Grade

4 = A · 3 = B · 2 = C · 1 or 0 = D

Wherever you land, this is your starting point, not your ceiling.

Followership is the Apprenticeship of Leadership

Stay Ready, My Friends.

Useful Resources:

Amazon Books:

The Power of Followership, by Robert E. Kelley. If the idea of followership as an active role is new to you, Kelley provides a framework for examining two questions: How independently do you think, and how actively do you contribute? His work offers a way to reflect on the kind of follower you are becoming.

The Courageous Follower: Standing Up to and for Our Leaders, by Ira Chaleff. Chaleff explores the harder side of leading up: supporting a leader’s purpose while being willing to speak candidly when a decision, behavior, or policy needs to be challenged. It connects directly to the conversation with your boss in this article.

Article References:

Robert E. Kelley is a management professor and author of The Power of Followership, whose research reframed followership as an active, skill-based practice rather than passive compliance, introducing a two-dimensional model, independent critical thinking and active engagement, that classifies followers into five behavioral styles ranging from passive to exemplary.

Ira Chaleff is the author of The Courageous Follower: Standing Up to and for Our Leaders and a leading voice in followership studies, whose model plots followers along two dimensions, support for the leader and willingness to challenge the leader, arguing that the most effective followers act as partners to their leaders rather than subordinates.