Advancing Leadership and Followership Education with a Leader–Follower Unity Model

Abstract

Leaders and followers are equally important for organizational success. Therefore, it is essential to educate individuals to become effective leaders and followers. In this work, a taxonomy of leadership theories with the follower component is developed to acknowledge the presence of followers in the leadership process. A Leader–Follower Unity model is proposed to portray an individual’s ability to act as a leader and a follower. The importance of teaching leadership from a Leader-Follower Unity standpoint is addressed. An implementation of a Leader–Follower course teaching both leader and follower skills is suggested.