We need to be able to frame leadership without automatically starting with the concept of a leader and followers in an asymmetrical influence relationship. We need some ways to think about leadership beyond leaders and followers.

We need to be able to frame leadership without automatically starting with the concept of a leader and followers in an asymmetrical influence relationship. We need some ways to think about leadership beyond leaders and followers.

"Leadership" is a lucrative business. Every year, companies and organizations spend billions of dollars on it. However, there is very little scientific evidence suggesting that leaders are as important as we are given to think. In fact, scientists cannot even agree on what differentiates a leader from a non-leader. To make matters worse, the focus on leaders has led to people neglecting the role of followers. Consequently, the world is oblivious of the power and influence hidden in true followership. In this thought-provoking book, Christian Monö examines the most fundamental questions about leadership and followership. What is a leader and how are they important? Why do people follow leaders; is it in our genes to do so or or is it a constructed phenomenon? By approaching these issues from a follower perspective, Monö explores the true nature of both followership and leadership. In the process, he exposes and confronts many assumptions regarding leaders and followers; assumptions that greatly influence how we run our companies, organizations and even countries.

The article focuses on how leadership is defined as leaders' influence on followers. It is said that this definition is problematic because of how it makes narrow the concept of leadership and how it disregards asymmetrical influence relationship. Moreover, it mentions the need to consider and understand peer or collaborative leadership. It is suggested that, by seeing leadership as a collaborative effort, one is able to understand that "talking about what to do" can be a form of leadership, despite the lack of influence relationship.

The Art of Followership puts dynamic leader-follower interaction at the forefront of discussion. It examines the multiple roles followers play and their often complex relationship to leaders. With contributions from leading scholars and practitioners from the burgeoning field of leadership/followership studies, this groundbreaking book outlines how followers contribute to effective leadership and to organizations overall. Drawing from various disciplines?from philosophy, to psychology and management, to education?the book defines followership and its myriad meanings. The Art of Followership explores the practice and research that promote positive followership and reveals the part that followers play in setting the standards and formulating the culture and policies of the group. The contributors include new models of followership and explore fresh perspectives on the contributions that followers make to groups, organizations, societies, and leaders. The book also explores the most current research on followership and includes insights and perspectives on the future of leader-follower relationships.

Can we really run organizations without leaders? Yes, says organizational consultant Jeffery Nielson in this provocative book. According to Nielsen, it’s time to stop structuring businesses as “rank-based” organizations run by a privileged elite who are so isolated from the front lines that they are downright counterproductive. Debunking the leadership myth, Nielsen calls for an end to leader-based corporate hierarchies, which foster secrecy, encourage miscommunication, and steal the joy and dignity from work. His new paradigm is the “peer-based” organization. No matter how you feel about Nielsen’s theory of leaderless organizations, you are sure to find this book thought provoking. It will challenge your assumptions about the role of leadership in modern organizations.