ABSTRACT
When recruiters appoint a leader, they often ask questions about the business, strategic direction and leadership expertise. A person with reasonable experience can provide answers which place them in the best profile for this role. Yet they seldom ask the key question ‘Who (and how) will you be leading?’ The question is not the same as ‘What sort of leader are you?’ This chapter explores concepts of followership, recognising that leading others is in fact the art of cultivating followers: a dance, constantly changing and evolving as you as leader and your followers grow and adapt to changing contexts. The focus on followership reflects a move from traditional leadership structures based around power, expertise and recognition, to those which rely on collaboration, personal responsibility and service delivery without compromising the leader’s function. In understanding this, the reasons why leaders need followers become even more apparent.
