Follow the Follower
Follow the Follower is an applied improv exercise in which a group sits in a circle and simultaneously makes sounds and movements while attempting to mimic everyone else -- with no designated leader and no pre-assigned role of follower. Because everyone is following everyone at once, leadership emerges organically from small initiations that the group collectively amplifies. The exercise makes visible how group behavior self-organizes without authority, and how individual actions propagate through a collective system.
Structure
Setup
All participants sit in a circle with clear sightlines to everyone else. No leader is named.
Progression
On the facilitator's cue, everyone begins making a sound or movement simultaneously. Each participant is also mimicking what they observe from others in the circle. Because no one is designated as the authority, the group's behavior is determined entirely by what propagates -- a sound that catches on spreads; one that doesn't may be absorbed and disappear.
The group's sounds and movements will shift, stabilize, and shift again as different impulses emerge and spread. The facilitator observes without intervening.
After three to five minutes, the facilitator may freeze the group and restart with a new initiating sound to observe how the group self-organizes from a different starting condition.
Conclusion
The exercise ends with the group sitting in silence after the final sound or movement has dissolved. Debrief follows immediately.
How to Teach It
Objectives
Follow the Follower develops group attunement, ensemble listening, and the experience of collective behavior that has no single controller. It also reveals how leadership emerges from distributed systems and how individual contributions shape group behavior without formal authority.
How to Explain It
"Everyone follows everyone. No one is in charge and no one is exempt. Make something and follow what you see. See what the group makes together."
Scaffolding
Begin with a single starting sound from the facilitator before releasing the group to self-organize. This ensures the exercise launches with a clear input before the leaderless dynamic takes hold.
Common Pitfalls
Some participants wait to see what others are doing before contributing, effectively opting out of the system. The coaching note is that waiting is also a contribution -- it creates silence -- and that the group's behavior is affected by whoever is not participating as much as by whoever is.
In Applied Settings
Learning Objectives
In applied settings, Follow the Follower makes the dynamics of emergent leadership and collective behavior legible and discussable. Most organizational conversations treat leadership as something that comes from positions or personalities. The exercise demonstrates that group behavior is shaped by distributed contributions and that anyone's action -- however small -- propagates through the system. This reframes the question of influence: it is not exclusive to formal leaders.
Workplace Transfer
The exercise transfers directly to team dynamics conversations: how culture is created and maintained through distributed behavior rather than top-down decree, how individual actions propagate (or fail to propagate) through a group, and how group norms emerge without anyone explicitly deciding on them. Leaders and team members who have experienced Follow the Follower tend to become more aware of their own behavioral broadcasting and its effect on the people around them.
Facilitation Context
Follow the Follower is used in leadership development, team dynamics workshops, and organizational culture programs. It is particularly valuable for teams exploring the difference between formal authority and actual influence. Groups of 8 to 20 work well in a circle format.
Debrief Framing
Ask participants: "When did you feel like you were leading? When were you following? Was there a moment when both were true? What does this tell you about how behavior spreads through a group -- and who you think of as the 'leader' in your own team?"
Skills Developed
Worth Reading
See all books →
Group Improvisation
The Manual of Ensemble Improv Games
Peter Campbell Gwinn; Charna Halpern
The Improvisation Game
Discovering the Secrets of Spontaneous Performance
Chris Johnston
Improvising Real Life
Personal Story in Playback Theatre
Jo Salas
Action Theater
The Improvisation of Presence
Ruth Zaporah
The Improv Mindset
Change Your Brain. Change Your Business.
Gail Montgomery; Bruce T. Montgomery
Improvisation the Michael Chekhov Way
Active Exploration of Acting Techniques
Wil Kilroy
Related Exercises
Who's the Leader?
Group stands in a circle with one member in the middle. The group silently chooses a leader whose movements they mimic. The center person tries to identify the leader.
Three in the Middle
Three participants stand in the center of a circle and collectively respond to prompts or create scenes, requiring ensemble coordination and spontaneity.
Group Mirror
Group Mirror is an expansion of the classic mirroring exercise to the full ensemble. Players stand in a cluster and attempt to move as a single organism, with leadership shifting fluidly among members. The exercise develops the group mind sensitivity that distinguishes a true ensemble from a collection of individuals.
Turning Circle
Turning Circle is a group exercise in which players stand in a circle and must all turn to face the same direction simultaneously without verbal coordination. The group repeats the exercise until they achieve perfect synchronization. It builds nonverbal awareness and the ability to sense collective impulse.
Flock Dance
Flock Dance is a group movement exercise in which all players move through the space together like a murmuration of birds or a school of fish, with leadership passing organically from player to player without spoken negotiation. Whoever is at the front of the group leads; as the group turns, a different player takes the front and assumes leadership automatically. The exercise trains ensemble sensitivity, the ability to lead and follow simultaneously, and group responsiveness without verbal coordination.
Organized Chaos
Organized Chaos is an ensemble exercise in which multiple activities or scenes happen simultaneously and players must track, contribute to, and switch between them on cue. The exercise trains the ability to maintain awareness of several threads at once and teaches performers to find order within apparent disorder.
How to Reference This Page
The Improv Archive. (2026). Follow the Follower. Retrieved March 17, 2026, from https://improvarchive.org/exercises/follow-the-follower
The Improv Archive. "Follow the Follower." The Improv Archive, 2026. https://improvarchive.org/exercises/follow-the-follower.
The Improv Archive. "Follow the Follower." The Improv Archive, 2026, https://improvarchive.org/exercises/follow-the-follower. Accessed March 17, 2026.
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