What Is Followership?

Each July, the Tour de France cycling race exposes us to one of the greatest live demonstrations of successful followership. In our textbook “The Leadership Experience” Daft (2016) describes how followership plays an important role in organizational success, as “there must be people who willing and effectively follow just as there must be those who willingly and effectively lead.” After reading Daft’s description about followership, my immediate response was that the successful cycling teams display an ideal model of followership during the Tour de France race.
The Tour de France is a 21-day cycling race across France by approximately 20 teams consisting of nine riders per team. Although there are many aspects and classifications of the race,
In this prestigious cycling race, there is respect, trust, and motivation for being a member (follower) of a team. The Tour calls these team members – “domestique”. “A domestique is a rider who works for the benefit of his team and leader, rather than trying to win the race. In French, domestique translates as "servant" (Domestique, 2017). An example of a famous Tour de France Domestique is George Hincapie. George has written an autobiography called “The Loyal Lieutenant” that tells about what it is to be a follower for seventeen times in the Tour de France race. “Followership is not about subservience; it’s about recognising that a leader can only be successful if they have a strong team behind them all the way” (Docker,
A follower needs to have the courage to manage up, and be an indispensable resource for that leader. During the final stage of the 2012 Tour with three kilometers to go, tour leader Bradley Wiggins lost concentration and thought about his accomplishments and a pending Tour de France win. Recognizing this challenge at team Domestique, Chris Froome called out to Wiggins to refocus, as the follower Froome understood what his team leader needed at that time to be successful. When Wiggins could not regain his focus, in a moment of need, “Froome took the lead and the responsibility in the moment when it was required. In a team, leadership is assumed and released when appropriate, it is not sought, appointed or clung onto” (Crofts, 2012). In 2013, the following year the team nominated Chris Froome as their new team leader. This growth opportunity from team domestique to team leader was supported by Froome’s success in his earlier his role as a follower and his unambitious actions to serve his leader, Wiggins the previous year.
During the Tour de France, accidents happen, forcing riders to abandon the race. This affects teams in many ways from a decrease in team members resulting in changes in race strategies to the adjustment in the roles various riders play. This unforeseen and negative outcome drives the