Notes on:

Kellerman, B. (2007, December). What Every Leader Needs to Know About Followers. Harvard Business Review, December 2007, p 84-91.

• Modern leadership
  • Stress leaders rather than followers (amorphous)
• Followers matter!
  • Not obvious who is leader and who is follower
  • New typology for followers
• Who are followers?
  • “Low in the hierarchy and have less power” (p 86)
  • Free-agents (p 86)
    • Demise of communism
    • Dissolution of corporate oligarchies
  • Knowledge can be more important than position
• Types of followers
  • Zaleznik – level of dominance, level of activity
  • Kelley – level of independence, level of activity
  • Chaleff – level of leader support
  • Why segment?
    • impose order
    • determine individual motivations within group
• New Typology
  • Based on engagement level
    • This determines relationship with superiors
  • Provides immediate information for leaders
  • Isolates – don’t know, don’t care
  • Bystanders – know, but don’t care
  • Participants – some engagement
  • Activists – engagement and feelings for leaders/org
  • Die-hards – prepared to give everything
• Good and Bad Followers
  • Good followers have interests of org over superior
  • Bad followers have interests of self or superior over org