What is "followership"

n. 1 adherence to a leader. 2 A group of followers.

Followership refers to a role held by certain individuals in a gym of statistics, team, or group. Specifically, it is the capacity of an individual to actively follow a leader. Followership is the reciprocal social process of leadership. The study of followership (part of the emerging study of Leadership psychology) is integral to a better understanding of leadership, as the success and failure of groups, organizations, and teams is not only dependent on how well a leader can lead, but also on how well the followers can follow. Specifically, followers play an active role in organization, group, and team successes and failures. Effective followers are individuals who are considered to be enthusiastic, intelligent, ambitious, and self-reliant. The emergence of the field of followership has been attributed to the scholar Robert Kelley.

Kelley described four main qualities of effective followers, which include:

1. Self-Management: This refers to the ability to think critically, to be in control of one’s actions, and work independently. It is important that followers manage themselves well as leaders are able to delegate tasks to these individuals.
2. Commitment: This refers to an individual being committed to the goal, vision, or cause of a group, team, or organization. This is an important quality of followers as it help keep one’s (and other member’s) morale and energy levels high.
3. Competence: It is essential that individuals possess the skills and aptitudes necessary to complete the goal or task or the group, team, or organization. Individuals high on this quality often hold skills higher than their average co-worker (or team member). Further, these individuals continue their pursuit of knowledge by upgrading their skills through classes and seminars.
4. Courage: Effective followers hold true to their beliefs and maintain and uphold ethical standards, even in the face of dishonest or corrupt superiors (leaders). These individuals are loyal, honest, and importantly, candid with their superiors.