The acts by members of the Myanmar diplomatic community, and other Myanmar professionals and citizens who are refusing to support a military coup, are examples of the bravery and integrity required of courageous followers as they practice intelligent disobedience and, when required, civil disobedience.
Article by Ira Chaleff published by The Washington Post on April 7, 20021. Bystanders to Derek Chauvin’s brutality on George Floyd did not act passively, yet their doing the right thing in vocally intervening did not prevent the tragedy
The latest Followership book is out! Foreword by Ira Chaleff This is a book that could not have been written even a few years ago. The knowledge it contains—how to effectively teach followership—had not been developed until very recently… It turns out there are multiple barriers to teaching followership including […]
I am delighted to share this unique podcast on leading and following, created by my two immensely talented friends, Scott Allen and Sharna Fabiano. I learn more about the follower-leader relationship from Sharna than from anyone else working in this space.
Once again, Sharna Fabiano has produced a gorgeous and novel perspective on the creative follower-leader dynamic.
A naval captain is fully responsible for his or her ship. Captain Brett Crozier understood that responsibility and acted with Intelligent Disobedience when his chain of command was dangerously slow to respond to reports of the spreading contagion on his ship.
I received the following message from Alexander Voronov, a colleague in Russia who is one of the handful of international scholars who have deeply studied the works of Stanley Milgram on Obedience. Here is his poignant observation: “Dear Ira: It seems to me that the picture on the cover of the Russian edition of your book Intelligent Disobedience creates associations …”
An article by Tessa White, Founder and CEO of the SHE TEAM, offers two wonderful examples of Intelligent Disobedience at work.
US Asylum Officers, with the support of their union, are exercising their obligation to Intelligent Disobedience in the face of orders that violate the legal and moral principles to which Asylum Officers are bound. This is an example of an ethically reasoned and orderly response to a policy they perceive […]
This week I attended a presentation about the famed “Tuskegee Airmen” – the unit of African American pilots that was established during WW II when many parts of the United States officially practiced segregation of blacks from whites. I learned of an example of Intelligent Disobedience that is acknowledged as […]
What follows is distilled from an article written by David Lee Finkle or “The Real Mr. Fitz”. Regarding my statement that “intelligent disobedience must be taught in schools”, he adverts: Chaleff makes the case that intelligent disobedience must be taught in schools. Not being part of the school system himself, […]
I am reflagging this article as it continues to be one of the strongest statements of the appropriate use of Intelligent Disobedience in the military.
In a world where the sand is continuously shifting underfoot, courage is a lifeboat. Yes, we need lifeboats even on land in these times of rapid transition, uncertainty, and abuse of power. Sharna Fabiano, Life Coach, Followership trainer and Tango teacher extraordinaire has written on How To Be Brave in […]
Several thousand children, many of them infants and toddlers, were forcibly separated from their parents and sent, frightened and alone, to different parts of the country. Were the Border Patrol Agents who took these children from their parents unfeeling monsters? In short, no. Then how did they do this monstrous […]
A trick question is sometimes asked by the prominent leadership scholar, Barbara Kellerman, from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard. “How many people did Hitler kill?” The correct answer, which almost no one gives, is “none”. The killings were all done by the followers of the Fuhrer (which means […]
My colleague, Barbara Kellerman, of the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, has been a champion of Followership for years. She has used my book in her courses and has written her own book titled “Followership”, as well as more recent work on Leadership that always includes Followership as an […]
A year after the exposure of the massive fraud VW perpetrated on American consumers, knowingly deceiving emission control tests while exceeding emission limits by as much as 40 times, the evidence is at hand of the real culprit in the crime – a culture that rewards “just following orders”. The […]
On October 2017 I participated in a panel on leaders, followers and populism, which became an energetic dialogue. It was held at the Moller Centre, Churchill College and organized by the James McGregor Burns Academy of Leadership, University of Cambridge. Georgia Sorenson who chairs the Academy, has invited me to […]
The Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst holds as much prestige in England as West Point does in the US. It was a great honor to be the first in their speaker series at the newly established Centre for Army Leadership. I was told to expect about 80 people. 600 enlisted […]
The recent hugely insensitive advertisement by Unilever for their Dove soap is a textbook example of organizational blind spots. This is a painful example of why the voices of minorities and staff at all levels of the organization must be invited, included, raised up and empowered to influence decision making. […]
Ira Chaleff's Quarterly Newsletter contains stories and usable information for those interested in courageous leading and following and healthy relationships to authority.
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