How Ordinary People Influence Leaders Through Collective Action - Yulia Tolstikov-Mast

Send Fan Mail by Text!Full transcript and show notes: https://www.sharnafabiano.com/2026/07/29/how-ordinary-people-influence-leaders-through-collective-action-yulia-tolstikov-mast/ Can people without formal authority influence the decisions of powerful leaders? Dr. Yulia Tolstikov-Mast explores how collective action, shared values, and individual choices can shape outcomes far beyond traditional leadership structures. Using examples of global movements—including how messages initiated by groups such as soccer players can be amplified into broader social change—Yulia examines why influence does not only flow from the top down.Yulia Tolstikov-Mast, Ph.D., is a global leadership and followership scholar, award-winning researcher, and educator. Her work explores global citizenship behaviors, non-Western approaches to leadership, leader–contributor role switching, and how cultural contexts shape the way people participate in collective efforts. She is the editor of The Handbook of International and Cross-Cultural Leadership Research Processes and served as Co-Investigator in Russia for the GLOBE 2020 Research Project.You’ll learn:How people without formal authority can influence leaders and institutions Why collective action becomes powerful when individuals amplify shared messages What it means to see yourself as an active participant in global communities How culture shapes ideas about leadership, influence, and participation Why organizations and societies need engaged contributors, not passive supporters Episode ReferencesTolstikov-Mast, Y. (2016). Global followership: The launch of the scholarly journey. In J. S. Osland, M. Li, & Y. Want (Eds.), Advances in Global Leadership (Vol. 9, pp. 109-150). Bingley, UK: Emerald.Tolstikov-Mast, Y., & Aghajanian, C. (2023). Intersectional approach to combating human trafficking: Applying an Interdisciplinary Global Leader-Follower Collaboration Paradigm. In: Dhiman, S.K., Marques, J., Schmieder-Ramirez, J., Malakyan, P.G. (eds) Handbook of Global Leadership and Followership. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-75831-8_38-1"What is Global Leadership?" https://blog.utc.edu/mark-mendenhall/files/2015/05/World-Financial-Review_What-is-Global-Leadership.pdf"10 socially-conscious players who showed footballers don’t need to 'stick to sport'"https://www.squawka.com/en/socially-conscious-footballers-dont-need-to-stick-to-sport/Title IX Company https://www.titlenine.com/who-we-are.htmlMighty Be Our Powers: How Sisterhood, Prayer, and Sex Changed a Nation at War, by Leymah Gbowee https://www.amazon.com/Mighty-Be-Our-Powers-Sisterhood/dp/0984295194 National Whistleblower Centerhttps://www.whistleblowers.org/how-whistleblowers-changed-the-world/ Global Followership Conference www.followershipconference.com *Connect with Yulia Tolstikov-Masthttps://www.linkedin.com/in/yulia-tolstikov-mast-ph-d-b8b18611/ 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