Reciprocity in Leader and Follower Behavior among Federal Employees: Test of a Nonrecursive Model

The purpose of this article was to advance followership theory and research by studying reciprocal relationships between leaders and followers. Using FEVS data, a nonrecursive path analysis demonstrated strong evidence of reciprocal, positive relationships between leader behavior fostering employee development and follower initiative taking. This virtuous cycle provided preliminary evidence that a “reversed lens” followership model is applicable to public sector organizations. Leader and follower behavior were also positively related to follower effectiveness, providing additional evidence of the efficacy of the followership model tested. Implications for PA research and practice were discussed.