The power of followership in business success

What if everything we think we know about leadership is wrong? History has a long tradition of celebrating the achievements of great leaders like Winston Churchill and Bill Gates.

However, University of Queensland psychology professor Alex Haslam believes the outdated conception of leadership that focuses on an individual’s abilities does more harm than good.

In a paper published in The Leadership Quarterly, Haslam argues that what makes leaders effective is followership – the ability to inspire and motivate teams to strive towards a common purpose.

What is "zombie leadership"?

Haslam and his colleagues coined the term “zombie leadership” to describe a set of beliefs that dominate leadership discourse despite having little evidence to support them. The term is a riff on the title of Australian economist and professor John Quiggin’s influential 2010 book, Zombie Economics.

“The most fundamental myth is that leadership is all about leaders – great individuals who transform the world more or less on their own,” he says.

He adds that leadership should focus on the followers, not the individuals at the top of the ladder.

“If followers aren’t enthused and engaged and don’t translate leaders’ aspirations into some form of action, then there isn’t any leadership.

 

"You can’t do leadership in an empty room, and that’s precisely why zombie leadership fails. It doesn’t recognise the importance of followers and their followership. It writes them out of the equation."

 

“You can’t do leadership in an empty room, and that’s precisely why zombie leadership fails. It doesn’t recognise the importance of followers and their followership. It writes them out of the equation.”

In zombie leadership, followers lack autonomy. They are reduced to passive actors who do as they are told.

“Following orders isn’t what makes organisations, teams or groups succeed. What you need is passion, engagement, enthusiasm and creativity,” Haslam says.

The idea that the solution to any problem is a strong leader can result in poor decision-making.

“If you invest all your hope and resources in trying to find the person who’s going to be your saviour, then you’re going to be very disappointed,” Professor Haslam says.

“Critically, too, it can deflect from the real task, which is about mobilising groups and getting people engaged with the process of change. If you give people the impression they can rely on one person, not only is it wrong, but you’re also blocking off the path to progress.”

Haslam says followership elevates the group over individual leaders.

Teams benefit when leaders act in their best interests. “If leaders are fixated on the zombie leadership focus of ‘I’ and ‘me’, then it’s often very hard to deliver benefits for teams,” he says.

In the followership model, each group member is valued as an engaged and motivated actor who contributes to the team’s success. 

“It’s not a passive process, it’s an active, engaged process,” Haslam says.

“It’s not about just doing what you’re told. It’s about asking yourself, ‘What do I need to do here, and how am I going to do it?’ which is an altogether different thing.” He offers the French rugby 7s team as an example.

 

"When we ask people to share stories of when things have gone well or the strengths they see in each other, we create opportunities for story-sharing that perhaps wouldn’t happen in the natural course of work."

 

He comments that the team’s psychologist, Mickaël Campo, has worked hard to build a strong sense of identity, which paid off at the Paris Olympics where the team won a gold medal.

“Their star player, Antoine Dupont, didn’t even come on until the second half. They had a team plan and a team strategy. They played as a team and they won as a team,” Haslam says.

However, after the win, Dupont was celebrated as the hero of the day, showing how difficult it can be to shake the zombie leadership narrative.

“It totally misrepresents what was actually at the core of the success, which was this engaged followership that’s driven by leaders who are primarily concerned about the efficacy, performance and wellbeing of the team,” Haslam says.

Leaders who inspire followership do so by creating a sense of belonging and safety in their teams, says leadership expert Dr Paige Williams.

“If people don’t feel secure, then things like innovation, creativity and problem-solving – none of that’s possible because we don’t feel safe enough to do that important work together.”

In a culture of safety, employees know they can make mistakes and learn from them.

Dr Williams says sharing stories of disappointment or failure, however minor, can help build strong teams.

“It could be something as simple as not meeting a deadline they’d set for themselves or a difficult lesson they learned that week,” she says.

“By showing that they are learning through things not going perfectly, leaders create a culture of continuous learning, and an acceptance that sometimes the way we get through the things that don’t go well is the most important lesson.”

Celebrating strengths is another valuable tool in creating strong teams.

“A strengths-based appreciation practice is a really great way to create relationships,” Dr Williams says.

“When we ask people to share stories of when things have gone well or the strengths they see in each other, we create opportunities for story-sharing that perhaps wouldn’t happen in the natural course of work.”

Dr Williams recommends incorporating this type of peer recognition into regular team meetings. “At the beginning of a meeting or a team huddle, ask the team, ‘What’s something that’s gone well or that you’re proud of this week?’”

“It allows people to connect in a way that isn’t just about the work in front of them, which creates what I call a 'broader relationship bandwidth'. What that means is we know each other in different ways, and we can call on each other when we need support.”