Follow the Leader

I'm reading a book by Steven Covey called Principle-centered Leadership. A most excellent book with lot of great ideas and thoughts on how to be a leader and how to get people to follow you. But how does one follow? Few people are leaders in business without a leader themselves. How do you follow that leader? What if the leader does not follow proper leadership techniques? Are you allowed to not perform to your best if the leader doesn't perform in a way that encourages and draws others to work at a higher level? Does knowing that you are capable of performing at a higher level mean that you are required to perform at that higher level, even if hampered by your leader? How do you follow? That would make an interesting book.