My recent experience in an association I belong to made me dig deeper into an aspect of leadership we do not talk about enough: followership.

Leadership books abound. Leadership programmes are everywhere. One of the first things you learn in leadership training is what effective leaders look like. In performance appraisals, many organisations have identified leadership competencies and built systems around them. We design and deliver leadership training like clockwork, then we take a half baked leader and push them into the world to sink or swim.

To swim, you must survive the arena.

But there is a threat in the arena we speak less about: being devoured by lions. Not real lions, but followership, the very people you are leading.

We have become experts at talking about leadership. But what about the other side of the equation, followership, and how it can strengthen leadership or sabotage it?

That question took me down a rabbit hole of research: what is followership, what does it look like, and what improves outcomes for leaders?

Here is what I found out: followership is the behaviours and choices people make in how they support, challenge, and contribute to a shared goal, even when they are not the one leading.

Effective followership is anchored in ownership, constructive courage, and commitment to the mission. It is not silent compliance. But it is also not constant resistance. It is supportive behaviour that makes progress possible.

I learnt this the hard way.

I recently found myself drained by the behaviour of a team member on an executive committee I chaired. What started as differences in opinion morphed into subtle jabs, then open challenges and attacks on my decisions. The person was meant to be my deputy, yet they gave me the strongest pushback, usually having something to say, very often with a counter punch.

At first, I told myself it was healthy. I value diversity. I do not want ‘yes’ people around me. But somewhere along the line, it stopped being constructive challenge and started feeling like hostility. When that line is crossed, leadership becomes unnecessarily exhausting.

Yes, leaders must be able to manage people. I agree. But we also need to admit this: followership shapes leadership more than we like to acknowledge. Some followership makes leadership easier. Some followership makes leadership feel like you are fighting battles you did not sign up for.

So what does good followership look like? I found out it is behaviours like:

• Self management, they manage emotions and remain respectful, even in disagreement.
• Ownership mindset, they bring solutions, not just opinions.
• Constructive challenge, they question ideas without attacking people.
• Reliability, they follow through and protect momentum.
• Respect for process, they debate, decide, then align.
• Team first posture, they prioritise outcomes over ego and attention.

When followership is ineffective, it tends to show up in four familiar patterns. I found my head nodding as I read each one:

1. Passive followership, the spectator Waits for instructions, avoids ownership, stays silent until issues become crises.
2. Cynical followership, the mood killer Dismisses ideas quickly, complains without solutions, spreads doubt after meetings.
3. Political followership, the game player Performs loyalty, withholds information, gossips, takes credit and shifts blame.
4. Destructive followership, the saboteur Undermines and criticises decisions, resists agreements, breaks trust, intimidates others

My conclusion is, if we want healthier teams and more sustainable leadership, we must develop followership too. Help followers develop more supportive behaviours and be aware of negative behaviours that undermine leadership and performance.

Leadership is not a solo sport, and many leadership struggles are really followership problems in disguise.

What followership behaviours have you found most damaaging to leadership outcomes?

And honestly, I’m considering designing a followership course. Should followership be trained, yes or no, and why?