Two years ago School District 74 organized a series of leadership workshops designed to strengthen the leadership performance of school administration and teaching staff. Participants were encouraged to think of themselves as leaders and to identify situations in which they were or could be leaders. The idea seemed to be not only that our school system will be improved through the development of strong leadership (on its own an important recognition), but also that anyone (and everyone) can be a leader in his or her own position within the system. This is a ridiculous idea. If leadership is approached as the only label that designates personal merit or importance, then the implication is that followers are less capable, less thoughtful and less important than leaders. If everyone is a leader, then the idea of leadership quickly loses its meaning; leadership implies followership, and without followers leaders could never lead effectively. Past emphasis on leadership has largely ignored the reciprocal relationship between leadership and followership. The purpose of this paper is to briefly discuss followership, and to acknowledge its importance to organizations, especially school systems. The word “follower” has long-time connotations that imply lack of incentive, independence or even intelligence. The idea of followers as unthinking people, who simply carried out instructions given by their overseers, began with the industrial model where managers and leaders were thought of as one and the same. But, as Joseph Rost points out, followers should not be equated to subordinates in a post-industrial world, just as leaders are no longer equated to managers (Rost in Wren, 1995, p.190). For most people, following is the role t... ... middle of paper ... ...vleaders.org/dynamic_followership.htm Manz, C. C. & Sims, Jr., H. P. (1995). Superleadership: Beyond the myth of heroic leadership. In The leader's companion: Insights on leadership through the ages (pp. 212-221). New York: The Free Press. Rost, J. C. (1995). Leaders and followers are the people in this relationship, In J. T. Wren The leader's companion: Insights on leadership through the ages (pp. 189-192). New York: The Free Press. Spitzberg, I. J. (1995). Paths of inquiry into leadership. In J. T. Wren The leader's companion: Insights on leadership through the ages (pp. 33-36). New York: The Free Press. Useem, M. (2003). Leading your boss. In The Economic Times. Retrieved July 25, 2010 from Wharton University of Pennsylvania, Center for Leadership and Change Management Web site: http://leadership.wharton.upenn.edu/l_change/up_lead/ET_Nov_13_03.shtml
In a quote from Tom Peters, he states that “ leaders don’t create followers, they create more leaders.” Working as a lead administrator in a building can have some powerful challenges, but as with anything, the approach is what makes the difference. A good leader will take advantage of the tools around them, knowing that every building has individuals who offer their very own strengths. In focusing on the individual teacher strengths of each specific teacher, a rapport can be built, but most importantly, the outcome will be a stronger building because of the process of spreading the wealth. Ultimately, no teacher in any building became a teacher without being a leader first, and as I have looked back on my own past upbringing through scouting by other educators, I see the outpouring of wealth of experience from those teachers just waiting to make a
Kopser, Joseph, and Allen Trujillo. "People will Be What They Can See: a Case Study in Leadership." The Cavalry & Armor Journal, January-March 2014.
Leading organizations of school administrators offer educators various opportunities to encourage educators to become leaders. No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) has mandated that leaders be better prepared for the task of providing quality education to all. NCLB “… is forcing all educational stakeholders to face the weakness of contemporary school leadership and is making it impossible to ignore the need for higher quality principals” (Hale & Moorman, 2003, p.1). It is believed that all educators can be and are leaders in their own right. A leader is a visionary and has the ability to inspire others to aspire to greatness. Of the numerous opportunities that are offered, those that are most beneficial include but are not limited to leadership training programs, professional development, and creating shared leadership opportunities for teachers to become leaders. The systems “…that produce our nation’s principals are complex and interrelated – and governed by the states. Each state establishes licensing, certification and re-certification” (Hale & Moorman, 2003, p.1). States use the ISLLC standards “…as the framework for preparation programs and in service professional development of school superintendents, principals, and other leaders” (Hale & Moorman, 2003, p.3).
Pierce, Jon L. and John W. Newstrom (2011) 6th edition. Leaders and the Leadership Process.
In keeping with our current awareness of followership, none of the authors in The Leader’s Companion debates the importance of followers in the leader-follower relationship. However, some (discussed below) differ in their definitions of followers and in their focus on the role of followership. This essay attempts to draw together some key ideas about followership, taken from several authors in The Leader’s Companion, with a focus on Robert Kinney’s contributions to the study of followership. Next, I will discuss some of Kinney’s subsequent work and his continuing contribution, not just to our evolving understanding of followership, but to its practical applications in a variety of contexts.
Clawson, J.G. (2009). Level Three Leadership: Getting Below the Surface, Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. (p.85)
Napierkowski, Thomas J. Beowulf: The Heroic, The Monstrous, and Anglo-Saxon Concepts of Leadership. International Journal of Public Administration, Volume 28, 2005. 503-16. Web. 16 Apr. 2014.
Mlls, D. Q. (2005). Leadership How to Lead, How to Live. Boston: Harvad Business School Press.
Lord, R. (2000). Leadership. In A. E. Kazdin (Ed.), Encyclopedia of psychology, vol. 4. (pp. 499-505). Doi:10.1037/10519-216
Kellerman’s theories examine followers not as subordinates, but as co-participants in leadership (Ekundayo, Damhoeri, & Ekundayo, 2010). Thus she focuses as much on the followers as the leadership it is trying to unlock. She sees followers as defined by their level of engagement extending from isolationists to diehards (Kellerman, 2007). By defining these followers, according to Kellerman, leaders can quickly determine the nature of the leader-follower relationship. This provides leaders with information on how much or little their followers are invested in the organization they are involved.
Whitener, J. K. (2007). Year of wonders: The wonder of leadership. Advances in Developing Human Resources, 9(2), 214-222,226-230,234-235. from ABI/INFORM Global.
This paper will describe two studies, one quantitative and the other a mixed method, which dealt with aspects of educational leadership. The studies chosen for review were conducted by Bush, et al. (2005), a study that reported participant results in a Leadership Academy, and another by Somech (2005) in which the results of an investigational study of leadership styles, participative and directive, with regard to their impact upon managing school effectiveness. To offer a deeper understanding of the respective studies, a discussion follows that details the design rationa...
Northouse, P. (2010). Leadership: Theory and practice (5th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.
Lussier, R.N. & Achua, C.F. (2010). Leadership: Theory, application, skill development (5th ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western.
Education is a very important aspect in the life of a child. The level of success a student has in the classroom is greatly influenced by their teachers. Students, as well as their parents, depend on the teachers to guide them through their education. But who guides a teacher to perform successfully in the classroom? Principals and teachers play an important role in schools. A good relationship among school leaders and teachers is necessary and play an important role in making improvements in the school. Leadership refers to the “process in which one person successfully exerts influence over others to reach desired objectives”. (Okoji, 2015) Good leadership involves honesty, vision, confidence and commitment. It is the ability to inspire a