Rethinking followership: A post-structuralist analysis of follower identities

A number of recent studies highlight the importance of followership, of identity issues for leadership processes, and of leaders' capacity to shape followers' identity. Reviewing these various contributions, this article outlines the potential value of post-structuralist theories for the study of followership and follower identities. It presents an alternative way of conceiving identity and power and examines a wider repertoire of follower selves, exploring in particular the workplace enactment of conformist, resistant, and dramaturgical identities. Suggesting that leaders' impact on followers' identities may be more complex than previously recognized, the article concludes that studies of leadership need to develop a much deeper understanding of follower identities and of the complex ways that these selves may interact with those of leaders.