Should Universities Teach Followership Skills?

Colleges and universities have traditionally placed emphasis on students’ developing strong leadership skills. Many institutions have joined the leadership band-wagon by teaching leadership in the academic curriculum, developing co-curricular leadership programs and certificates, and including leadership as part of mission statements. In many university mission statements, there is an explicit focus on building and fostering leadership among its students. For example, in Washington University’s mission statement, leadership is mentioned as central to preparing students to become citizens of a global society. According to Washington University’s web site, “Central to our mission are our goals, which are to foster excellence in our teaching, research, scholarship, and service; to prepare students with the attitudes, skills, and habits of lifelong learning and with leadership skills (emphasis added), enabling them to be useful members of a global society; and to be an exemplary institution in our home community of St. Louis, as well as in the nation and in the world” (http://www.wustl.edu/university/mission.html).

Because leadership has been deemed such a desired quality to nurture and foster, the focus on followership on college campuses pales in comparison. Nevertheless, emphasizing the value of followership benefits universities as well as the greater society. According to Ira Chaleff, “’Follower’ is not a pejorative. It is a legitimate and necessary role. Sometimes we lead and sometimes we follow. Both roles are honorable if they are performed with strength and accountability” (p. 72). While higher education’s focus on leadership is understandable, its neglect of followership as central to the mission of the institution presents a gap in student learning. This missed opportunity to teach followership skills at the university level negatively impacts students and ultimately society. By not focusing on followership, colleges risk excluding critical lifelong learning that could contribute to a more positive global society and a more responsible citizenry. Thus, catapulting courageous followership to the core of a university’s mission will not only enhance individual college students’ abilities, it will promote more positive contributions to society.

Chaleff, I. (2008). Courageous followers, servant-leaders, and organizational transformations. In R. E. Riggio, I. Chaleff, & J. Lipman-Blumen (Eds.), The art of followership: How great followers create great leaders and organizations (pp. 67-88). San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass.

What are ways that universities can effectively teach followership skills?