Just as there’s no yin without yang, there’s no leadership without followership. The two interdependent and complementary roles can’t exist without each other. 

Followership is the symbiotic interchange between a leader and those they seek to influence. However, the word has long carried connotations of subservience, implying that followers are subordinates—a term derived from the Latin word for “lower order.” This notion is deeply misguided.

Although the concept of followership is often associated with hierarchy, in organizations the reality is that important things are accomplished through meaningful discussions between groups of people horizontally. And although it’s true that individuals “hold” symbolic positions of authority, for organizations to flourish, the distance between authority figures and those executing important work needs to be greatly reduced. 

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