The assigned chapter for the week in the Northouse text proved a timely resource in the topic of introducing and maintaining leadership development in the organization. According to Northouse (2010), the psychodynamic approach to leadership emphasizes the importance of the leader, and follower I might add, becoming aware of their personality types and their implications on work and relationships. One cannot improve what one does not work on. This takes intentional effort. Especially as the landscape of the organization and subsequently, leadership has changed in recent times. Macoby (2007) argues for the notion of social character as a way of looking at leadership in terms of the psychology of followers. He defines social character as "macro personality based on the emotional attitudes and values shared by people in a certain context." Maccoby (2007) contends that there has been a shift in the social character of our times which has resulted in movement away from an industrial economy to a knowledge-based one. Here, formal hierarchical organizations are giving way to networks, collaborations and more of a horizontal structure. Persons in organizations today no longer want to be mere followers but collaborators in a joint effort between leaders and "what were once followers" (Northouse). They favor continual improvement and creativity as opposed to stability.

Given the mindset change and expectation as regards leadership and the organization, the only logical conclusion is to treat everyone in the organization as leaders, or soon-to-be leaders. Rost (1991) says that both leaders and followers are different sides of the same coin. Or as Robert Kelley (Prof. Gilbert lecture) said, everyone leads and follows. Since employees are the only sustainable source of competitive advantage in the knowledge economy not easily copied by competitors (Hang...), organizations have