Trust and Followership: A Qualitative Study

Followers are active agents in the leadership processes. Although previous researchers have investigated the effects of leaders’ behaviors upon followers’ behaviors, there is relatively short of studies on why followers vary in their followership at workplace. Based on an in-depth qualitative study of 27 employees and 13 managers, we found that the followership granted by followers to their leaders is subject to the trust they build with their leaders. We, then, uncover four types of followership and their connection with followers’ cognition-based trust and/or affect-based trust upon leaders. Also, we illustrate that followers’ perceived authenticity of leaders matter to leader-follower relationships. Our findings provide some insights into the nature of followership and help explain voluntariness and involuntariness of followers in their followership.