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Leadership is Half the Story: A Fresh Look at Followership, Leadership, and Collaboration
Can you imagine a choreographer only training one dancer to lead while his or her partner sits in the lobby staring at the wall? Yet we do this all the time in organizations. Half the partnership is missing. Leadership is Half the Story introduces the first model to seamlessly integrate leadership, followership, and partnerships. This research-backed, field-tested book contributes many new ideas and practical advice for everyone in an organization – from CEO to HR director to front-line manager to consultant. All of us lead, not just those with the formal title. All of us follow, not just front-line staff. In great collaborations, one moment we are leading and then we flip to following; in other words, the relationship between leadership and followership is dynamic, context-specific, and ever-evolving. This empowering perspective opens up leadership to everyone, normalizes followership, and enables more productive and innovative collaborations. Candid discussions about both roles allow for better coaching, mentoring, skill development, and interpersonal agility, and result in stronger teams. Marc and Samantha Hurwitz give us a category-busting book that “practically glows with energy and vision,” according to Marshall Goldsmith, executive coach and best-selling author of What Got You Here Won’t Get You There .
296 pages, Hardcover
First published March 31, 2015
11 people are currently reading
126 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
June 25, 2015
There is an old saying that “a good leader is a good follower”. There are some of us who may come to believe that the concept may be true at the start when one has no members to lead, only to be forgotten when a position is assigned to him.
But is it important to learn how to follow, especially if you yourself have come to lead a bunch of people? Marc Hurwitz and Sam Hurwitz said: Yes! You definitely need to learn how to follow especially if you are in a leadership position, for leadership is only half the story.
The title of the book really caught my attention. Before reading the book, I already have a basic idea that the authors maybe pointing out about being a good follower. Then I asked myself, could this be another book on how to manage your boss? What do I need to learn to be a good follower if this is the subject of the book? Is it really relevant? More importantly, as I think about it, why I can’t seem to find any book similar to this one? Because of those questions I was intrigued to learn.
ACCURACY AND RELIABILITY (Score: 5/5)
Marc and Sam Hurwitz have several years of experience in consulting with numerous organizations in different parts of North America. Their professional experience as well as their personal stories is interwoven all throughout the book. The concepts are backed by enough data and other supporting details. This book is years in the making so I can see that the concepts are well tested in the field. The authors applied the lessons here in their actual practice.
SUBSTANCE AND VOICE (Score: 5/5)
Anyone who is working in an organizational setting will benefit in the lessons of this book. This work is for everyone I suppose. The authors would like the reader to realize that there is a balance of treatment between leadership and followership. One cannot just emphasize one without considering the other. In this case, the authors were able to deliver their case very well.
STYLE (Score: 4/5)
There are two authors in this book as you can see. Unlike other books with two or more authors, this one gives you an idea if it’s Marc or Sam who is discussing a concept. Sometimes I find it amusing to see their little pictures every now and then.
ILLUSTRATION AND FORMAT (5/5)
The pictures and formatted text boxes in the book are very helpful in reinforcing the concepts. This made the book more practical as oppose to having mere theories.
In the end, I find the book an eye opener. I realize that we should not put all the blame to the leadership in cases of poor performance since the follower in each of us has an equal responsibility as well. I believe that the organizations around the world will really benefit in adopting the lessons in this book. This is what really means when we say “we hold everyone accountable”.
But is it important to learn how to follow, especially if you yourself have come to lead a bunch of people? Marc Hurwitz and Sam Hurwitz said: Yes! You definitely need to learn how to follow especially if you are in a leadership position, for leadership is only half the story.
The title of the book really caught my attention. Before reading the book, I already have a basic idea that the authors maybe pointing out about being a good follower. Then I asked myself, could this be another book on how to manage your boss? What do I need to learn to be a good follower if this is the subject of the book? Is it really relevant? More importantly, as I think about it, why I can’t seem to find any book similar to this one? Because of those questions I was intrigued to learn.
ACCURACY AND RELIABILITY (Score: 5/5)
Marc and Sam Hurwitz have several years of experience in consulting with numerous organizations in different parts of North America. Their professional experience as well as their personal stories is interwoven all throughout the book. The concepts are backed by enough data and other supporting details. This book is years in the making so I can see that the concepts are well tested in the field. The authors applied the lessons here in their actual practice.
SUBSTANCE AND VOICE (Score: 5/5)
Anyone who is working in an organizational setting will benefit in the lessons of this book. This work is for everyone I suppose. The authors would like the reader to realize that there is a balance of treatment between leadership and followership. One cannot just emphasize one without considering the other. In this case, the authors were able to deliver their case very well.
STYLE (Score: 4/5)
There are two authors in this book as you can see. Unlike other books with two or more authors, this one gives you an idea if it’s Marc or Sam who is discussing a concept. Sometimes I find it amusing to see their little pictures every now and then.
ILLUSTRATION AND FORMAT (5/5)
The pictures and formatted text boxes in the book are very helpful in reinforcing the concepts. This made the book more practical as oppose to having mere theories.
In the end, I find the book an eye opener. I realize that we should not put all the blame to the leadership in cases of poor performance since the follower in each of us has an equal responsibility as well. I believe that the organizations around the world will really benefit in adopting the lessons in this book. This is what really means when we say “we hold everyone accountable”.
January 13, 2015
Leadership is Half the Story is an aptly named, informative book. Recognising that many people lack the knowledge of how to be a good follower, Marc and Samantha Hurwitz acknowledge that many people think if there are staff issues, leadership is often to blame. They aptly point out that being a good leader is only half the story, it is up to employees to be good followers.
Leadership is Half the Story provides many anecdotes, information from research papers and examples of how teams achieve much success if leaders and followers collectively work to take responsibility for improving their role in the workplace. With easy to follow tools, the book is sure to be a great starting ground for teams wanting to work better together and to achieve more.
“A partnership that is generative accomplishes much more than each individual partner could on his own, and not just a greater quantity of work but more depth, breadth, creativity and innovation as well.”
An interesting and informative read, Leadership is Half the Story is a great investment for those who lead, those who want to lead and those who acknowledge that they can improve their followership skills.
Leadership is Half the Story provides many anecdotes, information from research papers and examples of how teams achieve much success if leaders and followers collectively work to take responsibility for improving their role in the workplace. With easy to follow tools, the book is sure to be a great starting ground for teams wanting to work better together and to achieve more.
“A partnership that is generative accomplishes much more than each individual partner could on his own, and not just a greater quantity of work but more depth, breadth, creativity and innovation as well.”
An interesting and informative read, Leadership is Half the Story is a great investment for those who lead, those who want to lead and those who acknowledge that they can improve their followership skills.
January 14, 2024
"Leadership is Half the Story" by Sam and Marc Hurwitz FLIPs the script on how we see leadership and followership. The FLIP concept they introduce emphasize the teamwork needed in today's workplace, where teams rule, and things change fast. On a daily basis, most of us flip between being leaders in some contexts, and followers in others. This book provides a thoughtful Generative Partnership Model to help us navigate between these roles, and create consistency and meaning in what we deliver to each respective audience. The book challenges the stigma around followership, showing that everyone plays leadership and follower roles - on a daily basis.
The authors stress the magic of generative partnerships, where collaboration goes beyond individual efforts. They make a strong case for shared goals and a balanced mix of leadership and followership traits. Trust is a big player here, with competence and integrity taking the spotlight.
The authors introduce cool concepts like organizational mentoring, urging leaders to influence culture positively. The book is all about being agile – keep learning, develop partnership agility, and embrace organizational agility.
The authors give practical and well-laid-out tools like personal operating manuals and living dashboards for leadership communication. They suggest ditching the old-school performance reviews for contribution and progress reviews, keeping the focus on continuous improvement.
This book is a game-changer for every leader, follower, and organization that wants to make a TRUE impact. It breaks down the walls between leaders and followers, pushing for a dynamic and collaborative workplace.
As a leader, I can’t emphasize enough how much this book has changed the way I see my role as navigating between being a good ‘dashboard communicator’ for my boss and leadership, and a consistent ‘cascading communicator’ for my team. This has not be a one-read and done book… I continue to revisit it as my leadership changes, my team grows, and my organizations evolves.
Thank you, Marc & Sam for this brilliant guide!
The authors stress the magic of generative partnerships, where collaboration goes beyond individual efforts. They make a strong case for shared goals and a balanced mix of leadership and followership traits. Trust is a big player here, with competence and integrity taking the spotlight.
The authors introduce cool concepts like organizational mentoring, urging leaders to influence culture positively. The book is all about being agile – keep learning, develop partnership agility, and embrace organizational agility.
The authors give practical and well-laid-out tools like personal operating manuals and living dashboards for leadership communication. They suggest ditching the old-school performance reviews for contribution and progress reviews, keeping the focus on continuous improvement.
This book is a game-changer for every leader, follower, and organization that wants to make a TRUE impact. It breaks down the walls between leaders and followers, pushing for a dynamic and collaborative workplace.
As a leader, I can’t emphasize enough how much this book has changed the way I see my role as navigating between being a good ‘dashboard communicator’ for my boss and leadership, and a consistent ‘cascading communicator’ for my team. This has not be a one-read and done book… I continue to revisit it as my leadership changes, my team grows, and my organizations evolves.
Thank you, Marc & Sam for this brilliant guide!
September 24, 2019
3.5 stars to be exact.
It's not a mindblowing book, and if you're a more up-to-date leader you probably already know most of what the book has to offer, but it still gives you gentle reminders and build on what you know.
Also in case you're a leader or manager in a more traditional way, this book will definitely give you new lenses, using which you'll have a new lens to look at leadership. Give it a read.
It's not a mindblowing book, and if you're a more up-to-date leader you probably already know most of what the book has to offer, but it still gives you gentle reminders and build on what you know.
Also in case you're a leader or manager in a more traditional way, this book will definitely give you new lenses, using which you'll have a new lens to look at leadership. Give it a read.
February 14, 2015
Straight to the point and with a great example from this book’s publicity material: “Can you imagine a choreographer training only one dancer to lead while his or her partner sits in the lobby staring at the wall? Unthinkable? Yet this happens all the time in organizations. Half the partnership is missing.”
So this book aims to explain the missing link, bringing into focus the concepts of integrated leadership, followership and partnerships in a form that the authors say is suitable for everyone working within a company. One minute we may be following, one minute we may be leading and both positions are equally tenable for even the highest and lowest positions within an organisation.
This book was a pleasant surprise and managed to crowbar a little new thinking into an overcrowded subject area: there is no shortage of books about leadership after all! The book aims to be quirky and different but unfortunately some of the “packaging” just made it feel less serious, disjointed and reduced the reader’s superficial focus a little. Thankfully the book’s engaging take on leadership managed to keep the reader on track but at times it was a struggle.
The authors stress the so-called Platinum Rule of “treat others the way they want to be treated” but correctly note that whilst you might not be able to always accommodate every request or wish, even showing a genuine interest to want to change or consider a modification can go a very long way.
Prepare for that sound of many so-called leaders deflating! The authors also note that people can often be far too confident (and not so humble) and that can be a big problem: “People generally believe that they are better at doing something than they are. For example, managers generally believe they communicate well. Furthermore, they report providing the same level of communication to all their subordinates. Wrong on both counts! Subordinates aren't nearly as sanguine about the communication skills of their managers. Worst of all, the poorer someone is at communicating, the less likely he is to realize it. This self-efficacy bias leads to less motivation for improving communication behaviours and protocols, and reduces awareness of communication problems.”
Yet we think we communicate frequently even if the quality is not as high as we might like to admit. Even that can be a problem. Here’s a taste of the authors’ warning and there is a lot more of good material in this vein: “Be Brief: Inform, Don't Inundate Though you can never be too good a communicator, you can communicate too much and too often. You want to inform, not inundate. Give your boss complete information that is focused on action, not exhaustive data of the FYI variety. Whether oral or written communication, adhering to the 4 Cs (confirm purpose, be compelling, condense ruthlessly and ensure convenience) will help you create content that is followership savvy.”
This was an interesting book, an enjoyable read and something that should be strongly considered by everybody but especially for anybody who even remotely has a leadership or influencing role.
Leadership Is Half The Story: A Fresh Look at Followership, Leadership, and Collaboration, written by Marc Hurwitz & Samantha Hurwitz and published by University of Toronto Press. ISBN 9781442650138, 272 pages. YYYY
So this book aims to explain the missing link, bringing into focus the concepts of integrated leadership, followership and partnerships in a form that the authors say is suitable for everyone working within a company. One minute we may be following, one minute we may be leading and both positions are equally tenable for even the highest and lowest positions within an organisation.
This book was a pleasant surprise and managed to crowbar a little new thinking into an overcrowded subject area: there is no shortage of books about leadership after all! The book aims to be quirky and different but unfortunately some of the “packaging” just made it feel less serious, disjointed and reduced the reader’s superficial focus a little. Thankfully the book’s engaging take on leadership managed to keep the reader on track but at times it was a struggle.
The authors stress the so-called Platinum Rule of “treat others the way they want to be treated” but correctly note that whilst you might not be able to always accommodate every request or wish, even showing a genuine interest to want to change or consider a modification can go a very long way.
Prepare for that sound of many so-called leaders deflating! The authors also note that people can often be far too confident (and not so humble) and that can be a big problem: “People generally believe that they are better at doing something than they are. For example, managers generally believe they communicate well. Furthermore, they report providing the same level of communication to all their subordinates. Wrong on both counts! Subordinates aren't nearly as sanguine about the communication skills of their managers. Worst of all, the poorer someone is at communicating, the less likely he is to realize it. This self-efficacy bias leads to less motivation for improving communication behaviours and protocols, and reduces awareness of communication problems.”
Yet we think we communicate frequently even if the quality is not as high as we might like to admit. Even that can be a problem. Here’s a taste of the authors’ warning and there is a lot more of good material in this vein: “Be Brief: Inform, Don't Inundate Though you can never be too good a communicator, you can communicate too much and too often. You want to inform, not inundate. Give your boss complete information that is focused on action, not exhaustive data of the FYI variety. Whether oral or written communication, adhering to the 4 Cs (confirm purpose, be compelling, condense ruthlessly and ensure convenience) will help you create content that is followership savvy.”
This was an interesting book, an enjoyable read and something that should be strongly considered by everybody but especially for anybody who even remotely has a leadership or influencing role.
Leadership Is Half The Story: A Fresh Look at Followership, Leadership, and Collaboration, written by Marc Hurwitz & Samantha Hurwitz and published by University of Toronto Press. ISBN 9781442650138, 272 pages. YYYY
November 28, 2016
The book provides deep dive into partnership like leader-follower working relationship, which is not common understood. In authors' view, a generative partnership between leaders and followers will bring out the best performance of all, as well as simulating new and more innovation and creation. A generative partnership is built on right mind sets, great decision framing/advocating, healthy relationship, organizational agility, effective 4 ways communication, and high performance of all parties.
The book calls out numbers of principles, questionnaires, worksheet that is quite useful. Yet it feels a bit too long with occasionally verbose stories.
The book calls out numbers of principles, questionnaires, worksheet that is quite useful. Yet it feels a bit too long with occasionally verbose stories.
March 12, 2015
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review, I have worked I an office environment now since I was 18 and have seen many different managers as I climbed the ladder, but not many I could call a leader. I was attracted by the title as leadership is a big area in business at the moment and wanted to see if the authors had any tips on how I coul change my style in the future. The book covers a good variety of topics, it is very easy to read and follow. It has given me food for thought.
June 5, 2016
It was definitely good to discuss the f-word followership, and a lot of the examples where useful, but I don't see the value in having a full program built around what should be a natural human relationship.
If you have seen them give there 1.5 hour presentation, you can pass on the book.
I could discuss at more length but I don't want to give away the key takeaways from this book.
If you have seen them give there 1.5 hour presentation, you can pass on the book.
I could discuss at more length but I don't want to give away the key takeaways from this book.
January 15, 2015
For the May-June issue of Global Business and Organizational Excellence
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews