Team Effectiveness: How Employees Shape Success Without Leadership Roles - Ruth Sims

Send Fan Mail by Text!Full transcript and show notes: https://www.sharnafabiano.com/2026/07/29/team-effectiveness-how-employees-shape-success-without-leadership-roles-ruth-sims/ Organizations often assume success depends primarily on the quality of their leaders. Ruth Sims challenges that assumption by exploring a different question: what role do people play in creating successful outcomes when they are not the ones with formal authority? Drawing from her research and decades of experience in higher education administration, she examines how employees influence teams through initiative, judgment, and intentional participation.Ruth Sims is a long-time higher education administrator and PhD researcher at the University of South Australia Business School, where she studies followership and organizational behavior. Her experience on the organizational side of academia gives her a practical perspective on how leadership and employee contributions interact in real workplaces.In this episode, you'll learn:Why organizations succeed because of employee contributions as well as formal leadership.Why effective participation requires understanding the purpose behind your work.How teams create space for different people to contribute at different moments.What researchers are discovering about the relationship between leadership, followership, and organizational effectiveness.References in this episode:Carsten, M.K, Uhl-Bien, M., West, B.J., Patera, J.L, McGregor, R., (2010) 'Exploring social constructions of followership: A qualitative study.' The Leadership Quarterly 2, 543–562.Uhl-Bien, M., Riggio, R.E., Lowe, K.B., Carsten, M.K. (2014). 'Followership theory: A review and research agenda', The Leadership Quarterly, 25th Anniversary Issue 25, 83–104.Connect with Ruth Followership Whispererhttps://www.linkedin/in/ruthsims1 Support the show*Sharna Fabiano is the author of Lead & Follow: The Dance of Inspired Teamwork and host of the Lead & Follow Podcast. She helps founders, solopreneurs, and new leaders build strong collaborative relationships and successful teams. Get a discounted coach session with Sharna with promo code PODCAST https://www.sharnafabiano.com/coaching/Order the book: Lead & Followhttps://www.amazon.com/Lead-Follow-Dance-Inspired-Teamwork/dp/1646632796/Support the Show!https://www.buzzsprout.com/1735834/support