About the Center

Ira Chaleff makes note of IWU’s “early adoption” of followership in his book “Celebration of Followership” (page 183). The master’s program that began around 2010 included a standalone followership course. The existing EdD which later was converted into a PhD, based on recommendations from the Higher Ed Commissions, included it as part of a leadership model.

By 2020, much had happened during that span of 15 – 16 years. The first followership conference was held in 2006, in which our faculty participated. Emerging books such as the “Art of Followership,” updated editions of Ira Chaleff’s,” The Courageous Follower,” and Barbara Kellerman’s “Followership” book were released during that time period. In 2019, we begam designing a bachelor’s level leadership program and, like the master’s degree, chose to include a followership course. That program launched in 2020 as we continued to develop courses.

For the followership course, we struggled to find a text that we thought was just right – something that competently surveyed the field, providing a primer on the entirety of followership. Most followership books or works discussed a single model or typology. Moreover, several followership books we viewed were based on personal experiences and merely the opinion of one person, so when we couldn’t find what we wanted (and with some encouragement from some of the stars of the followership domain), we wrote one.

The first edition of Essentials of Followership: Rethinking the Leadership Paradigm with Purpose was published in 2022. Much to our great pleasure, the book became widely acclaimed by numerous though leaders in the leadership academy and among the followership thought leaders. The book now has been adopted by approximately 30 or 35 universities. In fact, we are beginning to lose track, which we think is a good thing.

Based upon that work which led to two national awards in 2023, we were able to gain some traction for renaming our academic department as the Division of Leadership and Followership Studies in 2023. To our knowledge, it is the first to be thusly named in the U. S. Most recently, we launched the Center for the Advancement of Followership. Stay tuned for much more  as we get all the pieces in place, including a new journal to support more research in the field.

In the fall of 2024, the second edition of Essentials of Followers was released. Many at our institution are working hard to bring the Center for the Advancement of Followership to life as the premier followership resource center anywhere in the world. Consider becoming a member and enjoy the ride!