Art of Followership: How Great Followers Create Great Leaders and Organizations, The

Training & Development, Apr 2008 by Ketter, Paula

The Art of Followership: How Great Followers Create Great Leaders and Organizations Edited by Ronald E. Riggio, Ira Chaleff, and Jean Lipman-Bluemen (Jossey-Bass, 416 pp., $55)

Leaders are honored for their innovative ideas, strategic initiatives, and forward thinking. But what about the followers-a group that has largely been ignored? Lately, there have been quite a few books on followership, a concept that explores how followers contribute to effective leadership.

This book examines the multiple roles that followers can play in the workplace and the complex relationship they have with leaders. The Art of Followership is divided into four main parts: defining and redefining followership, effective followership, the pitfalls and challenges of followership, and followers and leaders-research, practice, and the future.

With contributions from leading scholars and practitioners, this book highlights the different models, perspectives, and meanings of followership. It also explores the contributions that followers make to groups, organizations, societies, and leaders.

Paula Ketter