LAUSR

There is a growing understanding that the foundations of followership are the key to deciphering the nature of leadership. (Shamir et al., 2007; Lapierre and Carston, 2014; Popper, 2014; Uhl-Bien et al., 2014; Popper and Castelnovo, 2018). This claim is central in the article’s attempt to understand processes underlying leaders’ emergence and the evaluation of leaders’ effectiveness. Two questions are addressed prior to presenting propositions that deal with the distinctions and affinities of both notions. (A) Why are leaders so important to followers? (B) How do the factors that determine leaders’ centrality for followers affect their reference to leadership effectiveness?