Design and Effectiveness of Followership Training for Enhancing Teamwork in Designer Organizations

Abstract

This study aimed to design and verify the effectiveness of methods for enhancing followership in design organizations. Based on three elements of followership (critical behavior, proactive behavior, and considerate behavior), we implemented a program combining half-day training sessions with six months of practical application, tailored to the unique characteristics of design work, with 12 designers at Company A. Results demonstrated significant improvements in both followership and teamwork. Notably, we discovered that how designers perceive critique experiences from art universities significantly influence their critical behavior. Among art university graduates, we identified two distinct groups: those who viewed critiques as "growth opportunities" and could demonstrate critical behavior from the early stages, and those who perceived critiques as "one-sided evaluations" and struggled with critical behavior. This research integrates the "learning environment design" framework with the followership concept from organizational behavior theory, providing a perspective that bridges professional education and organizational behavior domains, while offering practical implications for effective human resource development in design organizations.