Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the benefits of incorporating the tenants of followership into leadership curriculums as a means of increasing employee engagement in the organization’s mission.

Design/methodology/approach

Five years ago, the author reported on the impact instruction in followership had in helping a government agency achieve a significant change in workplace culture. This paper provides an update on the agency’s followership instruction, insights on how development of followership skills can enhance organizational agility, collaboration and engagement and strategies for incorporating followership into a leadership development curriculum.

Findings

The literature suggests that followers can partner with the leader to advance organizational objectives and enhance outcomes through proactive participation. Evidence from three followership programs suggests that indoctrination in followership principles leads to better understanding of the impact follower contributions play in achieving mission-related goals.

Research limitations/implications

Much of today’s leadership instruction leverages industrial-age concepts on treatment of followers in the workplace. This type of instruction limits leader/manager thinking on how to best leverage the knowledge-age talents resident in the workforce. This paper suggests that followership instruction increases the potential for followers to make meaningful contributions that enhance organizational agility and competitiveness while simultaneously improving leader strategies for engaging followers.

Originality/value

Instruction in the principles of followership is gaining momentum in academia and in the public and private sectors. Yet, the number of resources for teaching the subject is limited. This paper provides insights into the impact of teaching followership, suggestions on structuring a followership curriculum and recommends resources for creating meaningful instruction.

中文翻译：

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十年教学追随：回顾与引导

目的

本文的目的是探索将追随者纳入领导力课程作为提高员工参与组织使命的一种手段的好处。

设计/方法/方法

五年前，作者报告了追随性指导在帮助政府机构实现工作场所文化的重大变革方面的影响。本文提供了有关该机构追随者指导的最新信息、关于追随者技能发展如何提高组织敏捷性、协作和参与度以及将追随者纳入领导力发展课程的策略的见解。

发现

文献表明，追随者可以与领导者合作，通过主动参与来推进组织目标并提高成果。来自三个追随者计划的证据表明，追随者原则的灌输可以更好地理解追随者贡献在实现与任务相关的目标方面的影响。

研究限制/影响

今天的大部分领导力指导都利用了工业时代关于在工作场所对待追随者的概念。这种类型的指导限制了领导者/经理思考如何最好地利用劳动力中的知识时代人才。本文表明，追随者指导增加了追随者做出有意义贡献的潜力，从而提高了组织的敏捷性和竞争力，同时改善了吸引追随者的领导者策略。

原创性/价值

在学术界以及公共和私营部门中，追随原则的指导正在获得动力。然而，用于教授该学科的资源数量有限。本文提供了对追随性教学的影响的见解，关于构建追随性课程的建议，并推荐了用于创建有意义的教学的资源。