Followership

This study adopts a qualitative approach to deconstruct the meaning of followership. Interviews were conducted with employees in various industries to examine how individuals socially construct their roles as followers and to explore followership schemas and contextual influences that relate to these constructions. Results suggest that while some individuals socially construct definitions around passivity, deference and obedience, others emphasize the importance of constructively questioning and challenging their leaders. With regard to personal qualities that are thought to make followers effective, major themes such as obedience, expressing opinions, and taking initiative were found to be most disparate across different groups of followers. Results also revealed that contextual factors may affect both followership constructions and behavior in the follower role. These findings have important implications regarding a need to examine the construct of followership in leadership resea...

If you want to acquire real knowledge on Compassionate Leadership, read this book.If you want to get introduced to the art of compassionate leadership - the art of getting the best for and out of people through the fulfilment of self-worth, read this book. If you want to learn how to give teams a real sense of purpose and direction in order to motivate and inspire them to perform at a high level, read this book. If you want to excel as a great leader by creating and maintaining engaged, committed and high performance team, read this book. Manley Hopkinson’s authored book : Compassionate Leadership is divided into eleven chapters. It outline key learnings and exercises at the end of each chapter.  It covers the finest aspects of authors life and will provide you with understandable, memorable and usable way of applying principles in business and life.

Training & Development Journal
Year : 2015, Volume : 6, Issue : 1
First page : ( 90) Last page : ( 91)
Print ISSN : 2231-0681. Online ISSN : 2231-069X.

The ubiquitous Hitler debate in leadership ethics is portrayed with fresh eyes through a case study of Becker and Gansel’s 2008 film The Wave (Die Welle) from the perspective of followership ethics. Set in a post-Berlin-wall German high school, this dramatization of school teacher Ron Jones’ experiment in 1960s California depicts the subtle yet strong undercurrent of destructive followership and exposes the tendency to underestimate follower power, presenting a poignant argument for the need to address followership ethics to students and practitioners of leadership across contexts. Numerous followership scholars taking a critical perspective of leadership have noted the lack of emphasis on followership ethics in organizational literature and argued that exploring followership ethics is imperative to advancing leadership theory and improving leadership practice. The present paper takes a somewhat different approach to organizational case study, using a motion picture as the basis for analysis and commentary to illustrate the relation between misguided follower motivations and ethical leadership failure.

Followership informs effective leadership through followers’ active involvement in organizational health.  To simply follow is to do as one is told, but followership is taking an active role in providing intentional feedback to leaders so that organizations perform well.  The Leader-Member Exchange Theory (LMX) provides the framework for followership and leadership to interact based on the quality of their exchanges.  For leadership to be effective; therefore, those with legitimate authority must be cognizant of the value of their followers’ expertise authority.  Narcissistic leadership, however, poses a threat to high-quality exchanges.  A narcissist’s emotionally volatile combination of self-importance, grandiosity and vulnerability poses a threat to effective followership.  A case study of the infamous Fyre Festival was conducted to determine how followership is influenced when an organization is led by a narcissist.  Through coded content analysis, the case study reveals that followership is, in many ways, adversely affected by narcissistic leadership.

Décrocher un stage ou un premier emploi ne s’improvise pas. Il faut apprendre à « se vendre » pour que le recruteur vous voit comme le ou la candidat(e) idéal (e). Cet ouvrage, véritable guide pratique à l’attention des étudiants et jeunes diplômés, vous permettra d’obtenir votre stage de fin d’études, votre contrat de professionnalisation, et votre premier emploi. Il est également utile à toute personne en reconversion professionnelle ou souhaitant découvrir les nouvelles méthodes de recrutement.    L’ouvrage est rythmé par des quiz, par les témoignages et les astuces d’anciens candidats, par les questions et attentes des recruteurs, par des conseils pratiques faciles à appliquer, par une foire aux questions, par des photographies, et par des outils pratiques (plus de 400 questions de recruteurs, timing pour candidater au bon moment, sites Internet utiles, etc.).     Vous découvrirez des astuces pour élaborer votre CV, votre lettre de motivation, votre e-mail de motivation, votre profil sur les réseaux sociaux professionnels. Vous vous familiariserez avec les différentes épreuves de recrutement que vous pourriez passer. Vous apprendrez à décortiquer une offre d’emploi, candidater, vous préparer efficacement, négocier votre salaire, relancer, suivre votre candidature, attirer l’attention des recruteurs, faire bonne impression, gérer vos émotions, votre gestuelle, votre timidité, etc. 

This study addressed the problem of conflict in the workplace as experienced by leader-member exchanges (LMXs). The background and significance of this study concerned the research problem and questions asking about systems conflict in the workplace according to LMXs. The study used a generic qualitative research design; participants were obtained online via purposive and snowball sampling. Participants who were Facebook users were asked to describe their conflict experiences in the workplace that were then thematically analyzed. Results showed that either systems conflict in LMXs described leadership and followership; or that types of members in such exchanges described conflict systems. Addressing the problem by answering the research question fills a knowledge gap that the scientific community and organizational leaders might use to address systems conflict in the workplace.

Keywords: generic, qualitative, systems, conflict, leader-member exchanges

Organized around research design, methodologies, besides other integral elements of research, this book is a step by step platform aimed at providing to its readers a reliable and in-depth understanding of the procedures & core concepts involved in the subject, making it more straightforward and practical to apply. The book has reached its final shape after an extensive literature survey across texts focussing on students of both the undergraduate & post-graduate levels. Doctoral level researchers & professionals can enjoy the book by way of adding a dimension to the understanding of basic research methodology with regard to its application in the research world. The book addresses the specific needs of the students, research scholars & managers by successfully blending concepts of research with its literal applications.
The key strengths of this book includes:

Caselets that focus on methodology.
Exercises that will help to gain insight into research disposition.
Marginal definitions as a quick reference.
Multiple choice questions with terminal questions and exercises.
Explicit illustrations enhancing recapitulating of the text.

ABOUT AUTHOR: Dr.Anubha Maurya Walia
Human Process Interventionist, International Trainer, OD Consultant, Speaker & founder of PRISM™ Philosophy. Her mission is to blend the Andragogy principles with experiential learning insights in an attempt to empower and develop her far-reaching audience.

Reviews "The Good Shepherd," by C.S. Forester, the 1955 novel portraying command at sea during the Battle of the Atlantic between Allied destroyers and corvettes and the German U-boats.  The novel has been adapted to produce "Greyhound," the 2020 film starring Tom Hanks.  The novel portrays the stresses and the need for physical endurance, mental agility, master of platforms and weapons, calm, and dedication to duty.

This chapter will examine the exemplary followership of Charles Spurgeon during his 38-year ministry pastoring the Metropolitan Tabernacle. It may appear odd at first to ascribe followership attributes to such a high-profile leader, but Spurgeon’s correspondence between himself and the deacons displayed courageous followership behaviors. Followership is a mutual reciprocation of communication, compensation, and co-creation that concurrently forms and re-forms between both parties furthering the organization’s primary cause. Given the pitfalls of power by many charismatic leaders within Christian organizations, the need to study exemplary followership is critical. The chapter’s methodology is a bounded case study in the field of pragmatic qualitative research utilizing primary (autobiographies) and secondary sources (biographies). Additionally, Spurgeon’s sermons’ underwent syntactic concordancing to determine what the Prince of Preachers thought and taught about leadership. This chapter’s underlying theme is that Christian leadership is paradoxically followership, and Spurgeon’s life exemplified it.

Extant literature on the construct of leadership process has laid a lot of emphasis on the characteristics and behaviors of the individual leader. The attention paid on followership in the process and its role in realizing organizational outcomes is limited. This paper specifically examined through systematic literature review the twin elements of the leadership process: influence and motivation; and how leaders and followers enact them among themselves for enhanced organizational performance. The review involved search of relevant literature in published books and peer reviewed articles in various databases including Google Scholar, JSTOR, Sage, Emerald, ProQuest, EBSCO, and Science Direct. In total, 25 published works and 57 journal articles were reviewed in the study. Scholars have already linked leadership with organizational performance but have overly been biased in the scope of focus on the leadership process dimension. From the review of the extant conceptual, theoretical, and empirical literature, this study raised various issues presenting a case for a new conceptual model to further the existing understanding on leadership process and organizational performance. An integrated conceptual framework linking leadership process and organizational performance considering the critical role of followership and organizational contexts is proposed. The emerging theoretical propositions upon which future research can be conducted for practical purposes are discussed.

Slide presentation in PDF format about an educational intervention proposal to foster a collaborative culture for inclusive special education in a junior highschool.  The intervention is modelled after the Community of Inquiry framework, and aimed at being implemented as an Inquiry Through Blended Learning (ITBL) faculty development program like Vaughan and Garrison's (2006).

Purpose-This study aims to investigate the relationship between transformational leadership style and factors of employees' reactions towards organizational change in the telecommunication sector of Pakistan. Furthermore, to understand the importance of followership it has been analyzed as a moderating variable in the relationship between transformational leadership style and factors of employees' reactions. Design/methodology/approach-A mixed methods study design was applied to investigate the factors underlying the phenomenon of transformational leadership and organizational change. A quantitative research design was followed by qualitative research questions to get more in-depth insights into the used relationships. The primary purpose of the qualitative study design was to support and strengthened the results of the main quantitative research design. Findings-The results of the study showed that transformational leadership style was positively related to all three factors of employees' reactions (frequency of change, trust in management and employees' participation) towards organizational change. Moreover, followership has a significant effect on the relationship between transformational leadership style and factors of employees' reaction. Practical implications-This study suggests that for successful implementation of change in organizations, the employees play an important role and that managers with transformational leadership behaviour play a critical role in shaping positive change reactions. This study also highlights that both transformational leadership and followership are essential elements in shaping recipients' reactions, with active followers contributing to the role of leadership in the change process. Originality/value-This study is the first attempt specifically in Asian context to highlight the role of followership as a moderating variable in leadership theory in the organizational change context.

This essay will address the leadership capabilities and competencies of Steve Jobs while reflecting the thoughts on the followership. The key objective is to analyze critically Steve Jobs as a leader and his impact on his followers, as leadership is incomplete without followership.

Theories of collaboration exist at the interfirm and intergroup level, but not the intragroup
or team level. Team interactions are often framed in terms of leadership and followership, a
categorization which may, or may not, accurately reflect the dynamics of intragroup interactions.
To create a grounded theory of collaboration, the Farmer’s Exercise was given to groups of
students, their interactions were recorded and post-exercise interviews of participants and
observers were done. From a detailed analysis of the recordings and interviews a grounded
theory of collaboration was developed. Two broad categories of collaborative behavior formed
the frame of the theory that we call Collaborative Theory (CT). The first category, Individual
First, is composed of three causal themes: turn-taking, observing or doing, and status seeking.
The second category, Team First, also has three causal themes: influencing others, organizing
work, and building group cohesion. This second theme can be identified with managerial and
leadership action but we argue that it need not. Although this is a preliminary study subject to
further validation and testing, CT already identifies collaborative behaviors that shed new light
on intragroup interactions.

Provides a brief introduction to personality and short descriptions of the Big Five and Dark Triad models of personality. Describes Sy's (2010) typological model of positive and negative followership and discusses how personality characteristics might play a role in these follower types.

The current article acknowledges the absence of followership from the leadership literature for many years. Major theories of leadership are reviewed to assert that (1) modern leadership studies have been developed strictly from the leader’s perspective with little or no attention on followership, (2) leadership studies have primarily been based on the static understanding of leadership (leaders always remain leaders),1 and (3) there seems to be a need for a new paradigm for leader–follower relationships, which may result in organic relationships between leaders and followers through exchange of leadership and followership functions and roles. Thus, it is argued that the mutuality of relationships and infl uence between the follower and the leader exists. To address the need for a new paradigm for leadership, the leader–follower trade (LFT) approach is introduced, which may result in the nonstatic and organic approach to leadership–followership as two valuable human behavioral functions. In this case, leadership and followership functions and roles may be traded or exchanged by the positional leaders and followers in different situations or organizational settings toward mutual
respect, empowerment, and effectiveness.

This paper examines the moral standing of leaders not from any particular philosophical or political vantage point, but rather from that of the followers. Followers expect leaders to be competent just as they expect professionals and others; but they also expect leaders to provide moral leadership. Followers frequently judge leaders by standards of morality that are considerably harsher than those by which they judge other people; they may also forgive leaders sins that they would not forgive in others. As a result, leaders are often cast in black and white terms as either saints or devils. The paper argues that criteria used to judge leaders are rooted in fantasy and myth as well as early life experiences, and goes on to highlight the archetype of the caring leader. This is a leader who offers personalized attention to his/her followers and is willing to go beyond the call of duty in dispatching his/her responsibilities. The paper then links the ethical archetype of the caring leader with some current discourses on the ethics of care and the obligations it creates for a caring leader. Using some illustrations from hospital leadership, the paper concludes by identifying some of the difficulties that leaders face in meeting the exigencies of an ethic of care.

This paper compares Kelley's theory of Followership and Greenleaf's theory of Servant Leadership. It discusses their strengths and weaknesses, how they might compliment each other, and the extent to which these theories may apply cross-culturally. Attention will be given to the problems that might arise from exporting these models.

While leadership scholars increasingly acknowledge the influence of followers in the leadership process, less attention has been paid to their role in the destructive leadership process. Specifically, the current debate lacks a broad-based understanding of different susceptible follower types that synthesizes related research across academic domains. Expanding on Padilla, Hogan, and Kaiser's (2007) toxic triangle model of destructive leadership, we integrate research and theory across various academic literatures to derive a cohesive taxonomy of vulnerable followers that we call the susceptible circle. We describe the core characteristics of each follower type, drawing on Barbuto's (2000) theory of follower compliance to highlight the psychological processes that motivate each follower to comply with destructive leaders. We then conclude by discussing theoretical and practical implications, as well as avenues for future research.

How can a better understanding of what it means to follow help the budding leader? The old statement, “either lead, follow, or get out of the way,” no longer has relevance. Followers have just as important role to play as leaders. Here’s why …

Followership is an emerging field of research in the current era. This chapter reviews followership literature and provides future research directions. This review is based on two theoretical frameworks of followership, namely role-based approach and constructionist approach. The purpose of this chapter is to provide a cursory review of followership research conducted in the last two decades. This chapter is a good starting point for novice researchers who want to pursue research in followership and leadership. In relations to future research directions, research topics that could be investigated in the light of leadership and followership are proposed.

Tujuan penulisan skripsi ini adalah untuk memberikan penjelasan tentang makna sesungguhnya dalam mengikut Yesus berdasarkan Injil Lukas 9:57-62 dan mengimplementasikan mengikut Yesus dalam kehidupan orang percaya. Adapun hasil penelitian dapat disimpulkan sebagai berikut: Pertama, setiap orang kristen harus memahami dengan benar arti menjadi pengikut Yesus yang sebenarnya. keKristenan bukan hanya sekedar pengakuan mulut bahwa Yesus Kristus adalah Juruselamat dan Tuhan, dan juga bukan hanya sekedar pergi ke gereja dan memiliki atribut Kekristenan, seperti nama-nama berbau Kristiani, mengenakan kalung salib dan mengambil bagian dalam kegiatan pelayanan gereja. Pengikut Yesus bukanlah seseorang yang beragama Kristen. Pengikut Yesus adalah seseorang yang mengenal dan dikenal Yesus secara pribadi. Jika ada orang yang belum bertemu Tuhan secara pribadi, maka orang tersebut tidak dapat disebut sebagai pengikut Yesus Kedua, mengikut Yesus adalah merupakan suatu pilihan dan sekaligus panggilan. Setiap orang yang memilih untuk mengikut Yesus, harus juga siap untuk melewati jalan yang dilalui Yesus. Yesus tidak diterima oleh dunia, pengikut-Nya juga pasti akan ditolak. Namun ketaatan mutlak kepada Yesus, harus menjadi dasar hidup setiap pengikut-Nya. Ketiga, penerapan yang dapat terapkan dalam kehidupan setiap orang percaya ialah; memiliki kesiapan hati dan komitmen bahwa mengikut Yesus Tanpa Jaminanmereka akan terhindar dari yang namanya penderitaan. Karena dunia tidak menerima Yesus, maka setiap pengikut-Nya akan ditolak. Mengikut Yesus juga bagi setiap orang percaya harus Tanpa Syarat, sebab Yesus harus menjadi yang terutama.Setiap orang percaya juga harus siap meninggalkan kesenangan duniawi yang hanya bersifat sementara. Keempat, tugas dan tanggung jawab setiap murid atau pengikut Yesus ialah memberitakan kabar baik tentang keselamatan dari Tuhan. Pemberitaan ini dilakukan bukan hanya sekali, akan tetapi dilakukan secara terus-menerus dimana setiap pengikut Yesus berada.

Kata Kunci: Mengikut Yesus, Lukas 9:57-62, Pengikut Yesus

Convocation Address to the Columbia University graduating PhD Class of 2019. A call for a radical defense of the university and of education more broadly, and for fidelity to the word "equality"--one that necessarily questions leadership in a time when that concept is reduced to the counting of followers on social media.

This proposal investigates the connection between the professional identity formation of followers and their formed sense of projected identity authenticity within the workplace.  From researching this connection, a new diagnostic model is proposed to uncover the connection, as well as its effect on the perceived health of leader-follower relationships.

The work focuses on followership perception of effective leadership communication. The review of the literature shows that past and current studies have not answered all the question about followership as a significant part of the leadership process. (Uhl-Bien, Riggio, Lowe, & Carsten, 2014). Furthermore, there are no studies on followership communication as there are few in leadership communication (Barret, 2011; Hackman & Johnson, 2013). Some of the notable followership authors provide frameworks for followership typologies (Kelly, 1992, 1988; Chaleff, 2009; Kellerman, 2008) but none offered a communication characteristic of each type of follower. Furthermore, the Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) theory (Dansereau, Graen, & Haga 1975), describes how each member (follower) in the organization relates with the leader, but fails to specify the kind of communication behavior that the leader has with each person in the in-group and out-group and why? The purpose of this work is to develop an extensive inquiry on followership communication and proactive perception of effective leadership communication as a concern for organizations, communication studies, and everyone in the corporate human society where leadership and followership thrive. Hence, the current research sustains the idea that leadership is half the story (Hurwitz & Hurwitz, 2015). Followership should, therefore, become a substantial part of the leadership discourse and leadership communication styles need a balance with followership communication styles (Hackman & Johnson 2013).
Keywords: Organizational Leadership, Followership Perception, Effective Communication

The role of dark side personality characteristics in the workplace has received increasing attention in the organizational sciences and from leadership researchers in particular. We provide a review of this area, mapping out the key frameworks for assessing the dark side. We pay particular attention to the roles that the dark side plays in leadership processes and career dynamics, with special attention given to destructive leadership. Further, we examine the role that stress plays in the emergence of leaders and how the dark side plays into that process. We additionally provide discussion of the possible roles that leaders can play in producing stress experiences for their followers. We finally illustrate a dynamic model of the interplay of dark leadership, social relationships, and stress in managerial derailment. Throughout, we emphasize a functionalist account of these personality characteristics, placing particular focus on the motives and emotional capabilities of the individuals under discussion.

Organizations face a myriad of challenges as the world interconnects through the process of
globalization. In order to sustain viability and produce competitive advantage, organizations must develop a global
communication strategy. Communication skills need to be developed at all levels of the organization, from a
coherent mission statement to individual employee development. Organizations need global leaders, capable of
moving in and through divergent cultural environments. Identifying and equipping these future leaders is an
antecedent to success in the global marketplace. This paper offers an instructive model to guide organizations as
they face increasingly complex, cross-cultural environments.

Ritual is often considered too mystical for secular organizations and too empty and formulaic for Protestant Christians. This research begins the work of changing those attitudes by showing the importance of ritual for follower development. An overview of American Protestant discipleship literature confirmed a lack of use of ritual for follower development. This study begins bridging that gap by examining the extent of importation of Jewish festival ritual into the New Testament narrative to increase follower development. However, the outcome of the study was also relevant to secular organizations who seek to strengthen organizational identity and effectively communicate and instill core purpose and values in organizational followers. The study identified the use of ritualization in one of history’s largest follower organizations—the church. The research was framed through the question: In what ways does the Pauline corpus use narrative ritual from the Jewish festivals of Leviticus 23 in the development of Christian followers? A review of ritual theory and followership theory and surveys of Leviticus and the Pauline corpus plotted the intersection of these various avenues of research. Rituals embody truth that nurture development of meaning, purpose, and values for followers as well as strengthen social identity. Priestly rituals, like those included in Leviticus, were given by God to develop in His followers the type of behavior, thinking, and beliefs consistent with His righteousness and to create a social identity. The goal of this work was to show that at least a portion of those rituals were not abandoned with the advent of Christ but remained a useful tool for first-century discipleship. Specifically, this research used sociorhetorical critical analysis (Robbins, 1996) to perform an inner texture examination of Leviticus 23 using the parameters of Klingbeil (2007). Additionally, an intertexture analysis of the Pauline corpus using select echo parameters of Hays (1989) was employed. Recommendations for application of this research include the development of biblical ritual for ecclesial contexts and the purposeful use of ritual within organizational leadership.

The term “dark personalities” or “dark personality traits” refers to a set of traits that are socially maladaptive, aversive, undesirable, and malevolent, but not enough so to be considered clinical-level pathology. A social psychology account emphasizes their maladaptiveness in terms of a negative influence on interpersonal relationships, including maximizing personal gains at the expense of others, callousness (Jones and Paulhus 2011), low empathy (Paulhus and Williams 2002), and low commitment to moral values (Jonason et al. 2015). A significant amount of research on the dark personality features has been concentrated around organizational and employment context, mainly due to the costs for individuals and organizations resulting from negative, harmful behaviors or attitudes (Spain et al. 2014). There are many dark personality features but this article will focus on the three most well-known ones called the Dark Triad (DT): narcissism, Machiavellanism and psychopathy. Since narci...

Abstract: A study was conducted to measure the relationship between leadership styles and followership style (i.e. Independent thinking and Active Engagement) using 79 usable questionnaires obtained from employees who are working in Delhi NCR, showed important findings by using Pearson Correlation analysis: first, the most preferred style of leadership is Participative leadership style; second, Exemplary style of followership is most preferred followership style; third, Participative leadership is not significantly correlated with Independent & Critical thinking. Keywords: Participative leadership; Followership style, Active engagement, Independent thinking.

The specified objective of Followership in Action: Cases and Commentaries (Koonce, Bligh, Carsten, & Hurwitz, Eds.) is to help students better understand the study of followership. Case studies with scholarly post-commentaries are presented which represent a wide variety of organizational behavior issues that apply to leaders and followers, and which can be categorized utilizing the leader-centric, follower-centric, relational, role-based, and constructionist framework of traditional followership research as modeled in Uhl Bien et al. (2014).

This study adopts a qualitative approach to deconstruct the meaning of followership. Interviews were conducted with employees in various industries to examine how individuals socially construct their roles as followers and to explore followership schemas and contextual influences that relate to these constructions. Results suggest that while some individuals socially construct definitions around passivity, deference and obedience, others
emphasize the importance of constructively questioning and challenging their leaders. With regard to personal
qualities that are thought to make followers effective, major themes such as obedience, expressing opinions, and
taking initiative were found to be most disparate across different groups of followers. Results also revealed that
contextual factors may affect both followership constructions and behavior in the follower role. These findings
have important implications regarding a need to examine the construct of followership in leadership research, as
well as raise interesting possibilities for advancing an “expanded” view of leadership in organizations.
Keywords: Followership, Leadership, Social construction, Social cognition, Qualitative research

A review of ritual and follower theories suggests an intersection valuable for follower development. Ritual embodies organizational values resulting in stronger social identity. Effective followers have robust social relationships, specific traits, and display acceptable behavior. Ritual’s ability to strengthen social identity, practice valued traits, and define normative parameters suggests ritual is a tool for follower development. Future research includes development of a ritual measurement, analyzing similar and dissimilar rituals across organizations, and identifying ritual translation methods.

The interaction between organizational superiors and their subordinates has a practical implication on the entire organizational life cycle in terms of ethical conduct. This study explores how ethics among public leadership could trickle down on the conduct of public employees by using two empirical cases from developing African countries context.
Using the attraction–selection–attrition and social learning models, the study assesses how superiors influence street level bureaucrats’ interaction with clients or customers. Drawing from existing cases and other secondary data, we propose a leadership-ethical diffusion model that argues that subordinates’ perception and experience of superiors’
behavior tend to create a kind of organizational ‘ethical groupthink’, which spans the rank and file of the organization

A qumráni közösség rendkívül zárt volt, és az elzárkózó, félrevonuló jellege rányomta mindenre bélyegét, így a tanító és tanítvány viszonyára is. Ez az ezoterikus vonás nyilvánul meg azokban a kemény tilalmakban, melyek szerint – ahogy erről Josephus Flavius az esszénusokkal kapcsolatban tudósít – még halálos fenyegetés esetén sem szabad idegeneknek, be nem avatottaknak felfedni a szekta „titkait”, azaz tanait, továbbá azokban az előírásokban, ahol az áll, hogy titokként kell őrizni a szekta műveit, az angyalok neveit stb.
Nehezen megfejthető, hogy ilyen mérvű zártság, szigorúság és lemondás ellenére miért volt mégis vonzó egyesek számára a közösséghez csatlakozás gondolata. Mégis feltételezhető, hogy az intertestamentális korban is léteztek olyanok, akik nehéz körülményeik, gondjaik, kiábrándultságuk vagy kielégítetlenül maradt, fokozott lelki igényeik miatt életidegenek maradtak a korabeli társadalomban, nem találták helyüket a vallásos életben, és menekülni vágytak egy ideálisnak vélt közösségbe, ahol minden külső hatástól teljesen elszigetelten vegetáltak, ahol az élet a legapróbb vonatkozásaiban is szabályozva volt és csak vakon kellett engedelmeskedni.
A qumráni közösségbe való jelentkezés azzal kezdődött, hogy a „felügyelők” és az „oktatók” – gondolhatunk itt a saját terminológiánk szerint a tanítóra – szóban fejtették ki a novíciusnak a közösség titkos tanításának alapjait. Erre a „titkosságra” utalnak a fennmaradt kriptografikus szövegek is. A jelentkezőnek vakon kellett hinnie és engedelmeskednie az Igazság Tanítójának, mert csak így kerülhette el az eszkatológikus Ítélet Házát. A Tanító tanításába vetett hit jelentette a boldogságot és az üdvösséget az igazság követői számára.
A Szentírásban található tanító–tanítvány viszonyhoz mérve egy teljesen idegen kép tárul elénk, amikor a qumráni iratok tükrében vizsgáljuk ugyanezt a kérdést. Rögtön az elején riasztó az a rideg, merev hierarchia, amely a qumráni közösségben uralkodott. Mindenki a közösségben eltöltött ideje alapján foglalt helyet, és töltött be bizonyos tisztségeket Qumránban. Az is megdöbbentő, hogy nem létezett elhívás, vocatio a tanító részéről, hanem akárki saját döntése alapján csatlakozhatott a tanítványi körhöz. Az újoncok csak bizonyos, évekig tartó próbaidő sikeres letöltése után váltak a közösség teljes jogú tagjaivá.
Az is egészen furcsa, hogy a tanítók váltogatták egymást, tehát nem alakulhatott ki egy bizalmas, bensőséges viszony a tanító és a tanítvány között. Az is elmondható ezek után, hogy nem a tanítón, hanem a tanon volt a hangsúly. Nem lehetett egyszerűen odamenni a tanítóhoz, és zaklatni őt mindenféle személyes kérdéssel. Kötelezően és tisztelettudóan kellett felnézni rá, mint akinek hivatalból kijár az engedelmesség, mivel sokkal régebben volt jelen a közösségben, mint a tanítványok. Az Ószövetségben és az Újszövetségben a prófétához vagy a rabbihoz csatlakoztak a tanítványok, együtt éltek vele, és a közös élet során folyt az elméleti és gyakorlati oktatás. Az együttélés és együtt járás fontos eleme volt a tanító–tanítvány viszonynak. Qumránban ugyan együtt éltek és dolgoztak az emberek, de a tanítás tízes csoportokban folyt, miközben a tanítók váltogatták egymást.
A közösség szabálya azt is előírta, hogy a tanítványoknak tanulmányozással kellett eltölteniük az éjszakák egyharmadát. A legvalószínűbb feltételezések szerint a Szentírást tanulmányozták. Volt tehát közösen eltöltött idő is, amikor kis csoportokban a tanító oktatta a tanítványokat, és ehhez járult az egyéni tanulmányozás. A virrasztással eltöltött idő a Szentírásban való elmélyedést és az önsanyargatást szolgálta. Azért beszélhetünk önsanyargatásról, mert az étkezés esetében is jól meghatározott adagokról beszélnek az iratok, és ezek a fejadagok is meglehetősen egyszerűek voltak, és nélkülözték a változatosságot.
Nem létezett vocatio a közösséghez való csatlakozás alkalmával, és nem létezett misszió a tanok megismerése után. Mindez magyarázható a szekta teljes zártságával és kizárólagosságával. Az emberiség tagjait nagyon könnyen kategorizálták: léteztek a világosság fiai a közösségen belül, és a sötétség fiai a közösségen kívül. A gonoszoknak egyértelműen el kellett veszniük, ezért nem is imádkoztak értük, nem is próbálták őket megtéríteni, jobb belátásra bírni. Éppen ezért számukra végtelenül egyszerű volt a különbségtétel és az ítélet kérdése. Várták a messiást, aki számukra életet fog hozni, míg mindenki más el fog pusztulni. A be- és elzárkózott szektás jelleg teljes mértékben illett rájuk, és szilárdan meg voltak győződve, hogy ez az egyetlen helyes út.
A tanító és tanítvány viszonya Qumránban teljesen esetleges volt. A tanító személye nem volt fontos, nem számított annyira, mint példamutató vagy követendő minta, jóllehet előírásszerűen kellett tisztelni őt. A személyes kapcsolat helyett a Szentírás és a közösség iratai bírtak normatív jelleggel a tanítványok életére. Az iratokat kellett tanulmányozni és az előírt szabályoknak kellett hajszálpontosan engedelmeskedni az üdvösség reményében.

The study aims to examine the process and contingency to explain the relationship between follower's proactive behavior and leader's trust. Trust has been identified as one of the most critical elements of the high-quality relationship between a follower and leader and considered as a key boulevard through which followers can impact the behavior of their leaders. In this cross-sectional study, data is collected from leaders and followers (dyads) of a large corporation by conducting two self-administered surveys. Findings suggest that the proactive followers are more trustworthy in the eyes of their leaders. Perceived follower support plays a mediating role in this process. Further, we find that political skill of followers moderates this relationship. The study has significant implications for followership research, extending the comprehension about follower characteristics' effect on their behaviors and leaders perception. We contribute to followership literature by empirically validating the practices that help in trust building on followers providing a framework to practitioners for trust-building and empowering scholars for further identification of followers' behaviors and traits that can construct leaders' trust. The study indirectly expands the leadership literature and provides help to understand the leadership in the context of followership. These findings are useful for followers, leaders and for individuals who are involved in their development and training and invest and train employees for effective followership behavior. By improving the followership skills of employees advance the effective leadership outcome ultimately, therefore organizational improvement can be increased. Keywords: leaders' trust on followers, proactive behavior, followership behavior, perceived follower support, political skills.

Literature generally assumes that leadership is a form of skill, or a skillset, or possibly a mindset. People become leaders because they have these abilities, that others do not have, and by turning these others into followers. However, is it not a far more logical assumption that followers make leaders? And are “leadership skills” not rather the skills that prevent leaders, once chosen by followers, from failing?