Democratizing Leadership-Followership: Restorative Practices in the Age of Disruption

Working in tandem, growing social complexity and demands for more democratic processes are guiding leaders in the social service sector to explore the power of followership. Followership, the individuals who accept and enable organizational leaders, includes employees, volunteers, and clients coordinating activities to achieve societal compliance. Recognizing role fluidity could create more reciprocal and resilient relationships in the age of disruption, leaders turn to engage in partnership and collaboration with followership. Professionals who work in social services have found some success employing restorative practices, specifically the use of circles, in their work. Just as social media has democratized the public space – introducing more voice and participation – restorative circles provide a social medium democratizing social services. This is evident in social service organizations operating in the VUCA world based in the Global North and Global South. This chapter highlights examples and impediments shared by practitioners from the social service organizations based in Nicaragua, Singapore, Belgium, the Netherlands, and the United States. The chapter focuses on how practitioners employed restorative circles with staff and constituencies to manage conflict, build relationships, exchange feedback, and make decisions amid volatile and uncertain conditions such as during the global COVID-19 pandemic. From those examples, this chapter concludes by highlighting the connection between practitioner values, facilitation processes, and its contribution to the development of fluid leadership-followership relationships.