Why We Follow Leaders—and Why We Don't

This groundbreaking book investigates the human tendency to follow, as well as the occasional defiance of this norm. This is the first work to focus not on why people with power and authority behave as they do, but on why people without respond as they do.

Leadership is a relationship. There is no leader without at least one follower. Still, notwithstanding their essential importance – especially to leaders – followers are largely ignored. This book is a corrective: followers are placed in the foreground, and leaders in the background.

First, Barbara Kellerman focuses on the rewards and punishments that prompt us to go along with the leader and conform to the group. Next, she highlights what motivates some individuals some of the time to do the opposite. Finally, she demonstrates that the human condition is submission: obedience is typical, while resistance is atypical. Drawing upon the latest research in business, government, psychology, philosophy, religion, education, and the sciences, Kellerman’s accessible inquiry will be of interest to readers across disciplines and practices.

This latest publication by globally renowned expert Barbara Kellerman is a vital and fresh contribution to the leadership field. Moreover, this book about followers and followership is a critical companion to any book about leaders and leadership.

• Publication date: 6 October 2026
• Page count: 248
• Dimensions: Height 216 mm; Width 140 mm; Thickness 25 mm
• Publisher: University of Toronto Press
• Format: Hardback
• ISBN-13: 9781049808406