Less followership, less leadership? An inquiry into the basic but seemingly forgotten downsides of leadership.
Author
Summary, in English
Leadership is generally viewed as important and beneficial for
individuals as well as organizations. The term, however, also implies followership and the targets for leadership may be less enthusiastic about adopting a follower position. From a follower’s point of view, there might be downsides associated with a leadership/followership relationship, including negative effects on identity and reduced autonomy. These often neglected downsides may lead to a dampening of the enthusiasm for leadership in practice and form a counterforce
to the prevalence of leadership. This aversion towards followership may therefore mean ‘less’ leadership, for instance less salient ‘leader/follower’ qualities in relations and interactions than is generally assumed in leadership/followership studies.
individuals as well as organizations. The term, however, also implies followership and the targets for leadership may be less enthusiastic about adopting a follower position. From a follower’s point of view, there might be downsides associated with a leadership/followership relationship, including negative effects on identity and reduced autonomy. These often neglected downsides may lead to a dampening of the enthusiasm for leadership in practice and form a counterforce
to the prevalence of leadership. This aversion towards followership may therefore mean ‘less’ leadership, for instance less salient ‘leader/follower’ qualities in relations and interactions than is generally assumed in leadership/followership studies.
Department/s
Publishing year
2015
Language
English
Pages
266-282
Publication/Series
M@N@Gement
Volume
8
Issue
3
Full text
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Document type
Journal article
Publisher
AIMS
Topic
- Business Administration
Status
Published
ISBN/ISSN/Other
- ISSN: 1286-4692