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 References
Tolstikov-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.html
Mighty 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 Center
https://www.whistleblowers.org/how-whistleblowers-changed-the-world/
Global Followership Conference
www.followershipconference.com
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Connect with Yulia Tolstikov-Mast
https://www.linkedin.com/in/yulia-tolstikov-mast-ph-d-b8b18611/
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