Media
Curious about how followership shifts the focus as we look to new, more effective, ways of leading? I share what I’ve found bringing together academic expertise and professional practice.
Business and Management Ink article on why followership is [finally] equally important
Conversation with Sharna Fabiano, author of Lead & Follow: the dance of inspired teamwork. Lead & Follow, Influence of Followership Behaviours on Organizational Success.
Conversation with Seriously Social host Simone Douglas.
Interviewee for the HRM Online article Followership: why you need to cultivate this skill in your teams
Research
My PhD research into followership and leadership explains how leaders and followers achieve success together. It challenges how we often think about workplace relationships and roles. A better understanding of followership behaviours and the contribution followership makes to organisations has implications for human resource management practices and for professional development of both followers and leaders.
link to my (award winning) thesis
link to At the core of followership - identification of followership behaviours (contact me if you are unable to access the full paper and would like a copy)
link to conceptual paper (contact me if you are unable to access the full paper and would like a copy)
I suspect that understanding and developing good followers in organizations may actually be a secret key to success, and every bit as important as leadership development. Ruth's research sheds important insights into this phenomenon of followership. Professor Ingrid Fulmer
Ruth Sims
An organisational development and communications professional and followership expert based in Australia, with global connections into leadership and followership communities. I bring a unique, research-based and expert understanding of followership and the difference that effective followership can make in your organisation.
Core skills are in planning strategically and implementing those plans, making connections, engaging communication, and the ability to listen, seeing the big picture as well as the detail of how to get where we need to. Relationships are fundamental to working well together, whether you are a CEO or senior manager; a change, HR, L&D or OD Practitioner, a team members and colleague, or a member of an professional or community group.
Integrity is important to me in my relationships, in the organisations and causes I align myself to. If you want to keep doing leadership the same old way, I’m not the consultant for you!
Ruth is a highly skilled professional who often brings a different and valuable perspective to complex challenges. Her expertise in team dynamics and leadership make her an ideal person to call on when trying to develop team culture or implement change. Mark Priddle, Client Solutions Director