Global Followership Conference: North America at Indiana Wesleyan University
July 7-9, 2026

AGENDA: EXPLORING FOLLOWERSHIP CONTEXTS

Although research and practice are beginning to identify some common behaviors of effective following, frequently the answer to the question of what it means to follow and how best to do it is: “It depends.” It depends on the cultural context – global, regional, national, local, organizational – in which leading and following occurs. It depends on the purpose that brings people together. It depends on implicit theories about leadership and followership held by organizational, social, or political members. It depends on the industry or sector. It might even depend on what is meant by the term leadership or followership, and even if such a word exists in a specific language or culture.  This conference is a safe, respectful yet exciting space for knowledge sharing and discovery about followership, from the followership-curious to skill-building to research to bringing followership into your practice or organization. It also aims to highlight different cultural practices surrounding followership.

CONFERENCE CO-CHAIRS: Mark Rennaker, Chair of the Division of Leadership and Followership Studies at IWU, and Mike Linville, Professor in IWU’s PhD in Organizational Leadership program.

2026 FOLLOWERSHIP AWARD OF DISTINCTION WINNER:
Basil Read

ABOUT OUR HOST

Indiana Wesleyan University’s Division of Leadership and Followership Studies is one of the first academic units in the world to provide focus on the topic of followership in several of its programs. The university and the division are widely acclaimed in the academic community for being “out front” in connecting both leadership and followership as essential to organizations.

Whatever your career field, leadership always matters! Followership always matters! From associates to bachelor’s to master’s to doctoral study, a leadership degree with rich understanding of followership can help you get to the next level.