Any discussion of leadership involves followers. I believe that in today’s knowledge-driven society the word follower may be an anachronism. The organizational leader is not giving a command to the followers to charge the hill without question. Where such leaders exist, the followers need to look elsewhere for long-term employment. That organization will not be here in the future. Leadership involves building a real sense of collegiality in which participants act as though success depends wholly on their individual input to the project or group. Refer to Managing Individual and Team Relationships for a full discussion of teams.
Those who take the lead are the visionaries, the pathfinders, the coalition builders, the ones who make the impossible possible, the doers, and the implementers. They are not just blue-sky thinkers. They balance the need for individual and team performance. They build a sense of trust and collegiality with the group. They build a sense of excitement. The relations are collegial. Their value system includes being the best. The word follower doesn’t exist.