Followership Characteristics among US Federal Government Employees

Abstract

Empowering collective action among leaders and followers in the US public sector has been encouraged to solve public problems in a complex and globalized society. However, without considering who the participants are, how much influence they have, and the various situations in which they find themselves, empowerment is not an adequate solution to existing public challenges. Understanding followership—the process empowered participants use to follow— is a prerequisite to understanding successful empowerment. This study examines followership as it is practiced within the US federal government. Data from the Federal Human Capital Survey data, which had 212,223 respondents and was administered by the Office of Personnel Management in 2008, were used. The results indicate that different followership styles are dominant in different agencies. Followership styles also differ depending on job rank, which also explains possible distinctions between different groups in public organizations.