Antioch University faculty member Yulia Tolstikov-Mast, PhD, was invited to present multiple sessions at the Global Followership Conference in July, bringing new perspectives on followership, leadership, and collective action amid global crises.
As a featured KickStart speaker, Yulia delivered a TED Talk-style presentation, Leader–Follower Role-Switching in a Time of Polycrisis. Drawing on volunteer work with Ukrainian refugees in Poland in April 2022, the talk explored how responding to complex global crises requires people to move fluidly between leading, following, coordinating, supporting, and learning as situations evolve.
In the research presentation, Grounding Followership in Diverse Contexts, Yulia introduced a context-forward model for followership research, arguing that context should serve not only as a description but also as an explanation, with international and cross-cultural studies beginning with construct equivalency.
During the interactive workshop, Collective Agency in a Polycrisis, participants examined assumptions underlying effective followership research, including autonomy, constructive dissent, and proactive engagement. The workshop emphasized that concepts such as voice, silence, loyalty, dissent, courage, and accountability are shaped by local histories, power structures, and lived realities rather than existing as universal constructs.
Conference participants praised the presentations, describing the work as “inspiring,” “outstanding,” and expressing appreciation for the opportunity to learn from Yulia’s research.
Learn more about the conference at https://www.globalfollowership.com.
