Explore leadership versus followership. Learn why these complementary roles matter, how they interact, and why great leaders develop as excellent followers first.
Written by Laura Bouttell • Sat 10th January 2026
Leadership versus followership represents a false dichotomy—both are essential, complementary roles that most professionals occupy simultaneously, with effective leadership actually depending on strong followership capabilities developed through experience on both sides of the relationship. The best leaders understand following because they've done it well.
We celebrate leadership whilst largely ignoring followership, yet followers constitute the majority of any organisation. Without effective followers, even brilliant leaders accomplish nothing. The most successful senior executives typically demonstrate exceptional followership skills—knowing when to defer, how to support, and ways to contribute without commanding.
This guide explores the relationship between leadership and followership, and why developing both matters.
Defining and distinguishing the roles.
Leadership The process of influencing others toward shared goals, providing direction, and enabling collective achievement. Leaders set vision, make decisions, and mobilise effort.
Followership The process of supporting leadership, contributing to collective goals, and enabling leaders to lead effectively. Followers execute, provide input, and help leaders succeed.
Key Distinction Leadership involves setting direction; followership involves supporting that direction whilst contributing perspective and capability.
| Dimension | Leadership | Followership |
|---|---|---|
| Primary focus | Direction setting | Direction supporting |
| Key activity | Deciding, influencing | Executing, contributing |
| Accountability | Outcomes, vision | Delivery, input |
| Required skills | Vision, communication | Execution, discernment |
| Orientation | Initiating change | Enabling change |
Leadership and followership exist in relationship. Neither role has meaning without the other. Leaders require followers to accomplish anything; followers require leaders to coordinate collective effort. The distinction isn't about value or importance—both are essential.
Understanding the underappreciated role.
Numerical Dominance Most people in most roles are followers most of the time. Even senior leaders follow board direction, stakeholder expectations, and market realities.
Execution Dependence Strategy without execution accomplishes nothing. Followers translate leadership direction into organisational results.
Information Flow Followers possess frontline information that leaders need. Effective followership channels this intelligence upward.
| Contribution | Organisational Value |
|---|---|
| Execution | Translates strategy to results |
| Feedback | Provides crucial ground-truth information |
| Challenge | Prevents poor decisions through pushback |
| Support | Enables leaders to lead effectively |
| Innovation | Generates ideas from operational experience |
Effective followers make leaders look good, so we often credit leadership for results actually enabled by excellent followership. This attribution bias perpetuates leadership worship whilst undervaluing the followers who make success possible.
Characteristics of high-quality followers.
Robert Kelley's influential research identified five follower types based on two dimensions: critical thinking (passive to active) and engagement (dependent to independent).
Alienated Followers Critical but disengaged—see problems but don't constructively contribute.
Conformist Followers Engaged but uncritical—enthusiastic execution without questioning.
Passive Followers Neither critical nor engaged—do minimum required.
Pragmatic Followers Moderate on both dimensions—politically aware, selective engagement.
Exemplary Followers Both critically thinking and actively engaged—the ideal.
| Type | Thinking | Engagement | Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alienated | Critical | Low | Negative influence |
| Conformist | Uncritical | High | Execution without insight |
| Passive | Uncritical | Low | Minimal contribution |
| Pragmatic | Variable | Variable | Selective contribution |
| Exemplary | Critical | High | Maximum contribution |
Active Engagement Fully committed to organisational success, not just personal advancement.
Independent Thinking Willingness to question, challenge, and offer alternative perspectives.
Self-Management Capable of working effectively without constant direction.
Courage Speaking truth to power when leaders need to hear difficult messages.
Competence Excellence in core responsibilities that justifies voice and influence.
Understanding the dynamic relationship.
Leaders Need Followers Without followers, leaders lead nothing. Follower quality determines what leadership can achieve.
Followers Need Leaders Coordination, direction, and collective effort require leadership. Followers benefit from effective leadership.
Co-Creation Leadership and followership together produce organisational outcomes. Neither alone accomplishes much.
| Leadership Action | Followership Response | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Clear direction | Aligned execution | Goal achievement |
| Request for input | Honest feedback | Better decisions |
| Support for development | Skill growth | Capability building |
| Recognition of contribution | Continued engagement | Sustained performance |
| Openness to challenge | Constructive pushback | Error prevention |
Most professionals move between leadership and followership constantly:
This fluidity means everyone needs both skill sets.
The surprising importance of following well.
Empathy Development Leaders who've been effective followers understand follower perspectives, challenges, and contributions.
Realistic Expectations Having followed provides realistic understanding of what followership involves and what to expect from followers.
Credibility Building Leaders who demonstrate they can follow earn respect and legitimacy.
| Context | Leader as Follower |
|---|---|
| Board direction | Following governance guidance |
| Senior leadership | Supporting executive decisions |
| Expert colleagues | Deferring to specialist knowledge |
| Customer demands | Responding to market requirements |
| Regulatory requirements | Complying with external mandates |
Inability to Defer Leaders who cannot follow anyone struggle to participate in leadership teams.
Undermining Superiors Leaders who cannot support decisions they didn't make damage organisations.
Isolation Leaders who only lead become disconnected from organisational reality.
Arrogance Those who view following as beneath them create toxic hierarchies.
Building skills for effective following.
Execution Excellence Deliver reliably on commitments. Competent execution earns influence and voice.
Constructive Dissent Develop skill in raising concerns effectively—timing, framing, and solutions orientation.
Upward Communication Learn to provide leaders with information they need without overwhelming or manipulating.
Self-Direction Work effectively with minimal supervision, anticipating needs and taking initiative.
| Competency | Development Approach |
|---|---|
| Execution | Focus on reliability and quality |
| Dissent | Practice raising concerns constructively |
| Communication | Study what leaders need to know |
| Self-direction | Take initiative within boundaries |
| Courage | Build confidence through small challenges |
Building followership alongside leadership.
Recognition Acknowledge excellent followership, not just leadership. Reward those who enable others' success.
Language Stop treating "follower" as pejorative. Use language that honours the role's importance.
Career Paths Create advancement opportunities that don't require everyone to become "leaders."
| Practice | Outcome |
|---|---|
| Recognise followership | Validates essential contributions |
| Develop followership | Builds organisational capability |
| Discuss followership | Normalises the role |
| Model good followership | Senior leaders demonstrating following |
Just as organisations invest in leadership development, followership development deserves attention:
Leadership involves setting direction, making decisions, and influencing others toward shared goals. Followership involves supporting leadership direction, executing plans, and contributing to collective success. Both roles are essential and complementary—leadership without followership accomplishes nothing, and followership without leadership lacks coordination. Most professionals occupy both roles depending on context.
Followership enables organisational achievement. Followers execute strategy, provide crucial information, challenge problematic decisions, and make leadership effective. Without quality followership, even excellent leadership produces poor results. Additionally, everyone follows sometimes—even senior leaders follow boards, markets, and regulations. Followership skill matters for everyone.
Effective followers demonstrate competent execution, independent thinking, active engagement, courage to challenge constructively, and self-management capability. They're not passive or sycophantic but actively contribute whilst supporting legitimate leadership. Robert Kelley's research identifies "exemplary followers" as those combining critical thinking with high engagement—questioning when necessary whilst remaining committed to collective success.
Most professionals continuously move between leadership and followership roles. A manager leads their team whilst following their director. A project leader guides work whilst following organisational strategy. A technical expert leads in their domain whilst following in others. Role fluidity is normal—developing both leadership and followership capabilities prepares you for this reality.
Start by excelling at core responsibilities—competence earns credibility and voice. Practise constructive challenge in low-stakes situations. Study what your leaders need from followers and provide it. Build trust through consistent reliability. Observe exemplary followers and learn from their approaches. Seek feedback from leaders about how to better support them.
Leaders who cannot follow struggle in leadership teams, damage organisations by undermining decisions, and lose touch with follower perspectives. The best leaders demonstrate strong followership—supporting board direction, deferring to expertise, responding to stakeholder needs. Having been an effective follower builds empathy, realistic expectations, and credibility as a leader.
Leadership versus followership presents a false opposition. Both roles are essential, complementary, and typically occupied by the same people in different contexts. Effective organisations value and develop both leadership and followership capabilities. The best leaders understand following because they've done it well, and exemplary followers contribute far more than passive compliance. Rather than aspiring only to lead, professionals should aspire to excellence in whichever role the moment requires.