Barbara Kellerman's Theory Of Leadership And Followership Theory

Barbara Kellerman is a unique theorist – she was one of the first theorists to focus the bulk of her research on something overlooked by other researchers: followers. Kellerman (2005) sees leadership in a way few others do: as a relationship that exists between leaders and followers and the context in which that relationship operates. By that logic followership must be an extension of leadership, rather than a result of it.

Kellerman’s theories examine followers not as subordinates, but as co-participants in leadership (Ekundayo, Damhoeri, & Ekundayo, 2010). Thus she focuses as much on the followers as the leadership it is trying to unlock. She sees followers as defined by their level of engagement extending from isolationists to diehards (Kellerman, 2007). By defining these followers, according to Kellerman, leaders can quickly determine the nature of the leader-follower relationship. This provides leaders with information on how much or little their followers are invested in the organization they are involved.

In Kellerman’s research

Looking at these reasons it is easy to see why followers are becoming pickier about the leaders they follow. The leveling of communication through social media and other technologies has created a more complicated hierarchy within organizations – especially in technology driven ones such as distance education. Where once the professor would teach to students now online classrooms are using teaching methods and theories, such as Connectivism, which makes the student’s experiences just as important as the information being given. In this arena of flattened communication structures, followers will need to be recognized for the value they are providing and Kellerman’s research can help leaders begin to do just