A few years back I had the privilege of interviewing Colleen Barrett, President Emeritus at Southwest Airlines and chief nurturer of their famed culture. She has since become a treasured friend. You can watch that interview here.

Colleen has mentioned that she is as good a follower as she is a leader. During our interview, she addressed the concept of followership and said that following can be just as important as leading. We certainly see this in today’s matrix organization structures where you might be a leader in one meeting and a follower in the next.

This classic and whacky video wonderfully illustrates the power of followership: