Document Type

Article

Publication Date

Winter 2013

Abstract

Whether our interest is business, government. education, or almost any other entity that organizes humans in some way, it seems that we are perpetually in need of more individuals who can lead organizations effectively. But we also live in an era when we need institutions - i.e., the organizations that have formed, and that we have formed, to regulate and improve our lives - that are willing and able to be led. I have long felt, and have been heard to say from time to time, that "the dean can cause problems all by himself, but the dean by himself cannot make progress happen." More recently, I have connected this comment to this idea: just as there are characteristics and behaviors that a leader must have if he or she is to be effective in creating the conditions for and facilitating progress, there are also characteristics and behaviors that constituents in organizations must have if the organization itself is to be susceptible to being led by an effective leader. Discussion about leadership characteristics and behaviors is common; discussion about "followership" characteristics and behaviors is much less so.

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