A Celebration of Followership

Twenty-five years ago, when The Courageous Follower's first edition was published, it is safe to say there were no university level courses that focused on followership, nor was followership part of organizational development programs. Today, a number of universities offer followership courses and most contain material on followership in their leadership curriculum. Likewise, many leadership development programs in the military, government, for profit and non-profit sectors offer...
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Twenty-five years ago, when The Courageous Follower's first edition was published, it is safe to say there were no university level courses that focused on followership, nor was followership part of organizational development programs. Today, a number of universities offer followership courses and most contain material on followership in their leadership curriculum. Likewise, many leadership development programs in the military, government, for profit and non-profit sectors offer followership workshops or followership modules.The researchers, educators, practitioners, trainers and coaches who are engaged with the subject of followership are a highly motivated group that understand the power of the subject to change the way leadership is done and to improve its results. Nevertheless, when you talk with them, there is also a sense that much of the world still doesn't know about followership or sufficiently value it. There is truth in this statement. But it is not the entire truth.The purpose of this volume is to anecdotally document how many places in our world the subject of followership, and in particular courageous followership, has made an impact. Understanding this will bolster the commitment of the followership community for researching, teaching, and finding better ways to develop the role of the ethical follower in society, a manifestly crucial need. In that sense, this is a love letter to the followership community and an inscription on the baton Ira Chaleff is passing to them.