Air Force's dynamic duo: Leaders and followers Published May 14, 2015 By Col. Jill O'Rear 60th Inpatient Squadron TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- When is the last time you thought about leadership? What about followership? Our work environments are built around both of these core functions and their quality determines the effectiveness of the organization. What kind of a leader and follower are you? How can you improve your leadership and followership skills? The military certainly provides us with multiple lessons in leadership and followership, beginning in Airmen Leadership School and Squadron Officer School. It is important for both leaders and followers to be mindful and continuously and deliberately improve their abilities as they apply the lessons they have learned both in the classroom and through day-to-day experiences. The minute we become arrogant enough to think that we know it all we close our minds and become incapable of further growth. Since the emergence of leadership theory, there has been a substantial amount of effort put forth to understand leadership. It was originally thought that leaders were born, not made, a concept promoted by trait theory. However, this theory was found to be inadequate to explain leadership capabilities. Subsequent theories include servant leadership, authentic leadership, transformational leadership, situational leadership, path-goal and leader-member exchange. The proliferation of leadership theories is proof of its complexity. It is now clear that the ability to lead is largely a learned behavior, although certain traits do increase the effectiveness of a leader, such as charisma. Many leaders will probably tell you that their leadership style is not strictly of one type, but rather a blend of styles. My own leadership style has components of authentic, transformational and servant leadership theories; these theories all emphasize the importance of inspiration, motivation, empowerment, positivity, authenticity and stewardship. Unfortunately, there has been much less effort put in to the study of followership and what makes a good follower. Followership is an interactive relationship with leadership. Leaders cannot lead without followers. Leaders cannot be effective leaders without effective followers. Dependent upon the situation, leaders also are followers and followers are leaders. Each needs to recognize their importance in and to the organization. Robert Kelley, author of "The Power of Followership," identifies four main qualities of effective followers: self-management, commitment, competence and focus, and courage. He proposes that the motivation, perceptions and behaviors of followers determine their effectiveness. Lastly, he clearly describes that effective followers "have the vision to see both the forest and the trees, the social capacity to work well with others, the strength of character to flourish without heroic status, the moral and psychological balance to pursue personal and corporate goals at no cost to either and, above all, the desire to participate in a team effort for the accomplishment of some greater purpose." Leadership and followership can be described as a "dynamic duo." What kind of a leader are you? What kind of a follower are you? How can you help your leader? How can you help your follower? Deliberate mindfulness and active engagement is critical for both roles. Aim high and never stop growing.