Two years ago, School District 74 hosted a series of leadership workshops designed to strengthen the administration's leadership performance school and teaching staff. Participants were encouraged to see 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 would be improved through the development of strong leadership (in itself an important recognition), but also that anyone (and everyone) could be a leader in their own place within the system. . It's a ridiculous idea. If leadership is seen as the only label for merit or personal importance, it implies that followers are less capable, less thoughtful, and less important than leaders. If everyone is a leader, then the notion of leadership quickly loses its meaning; leadership involves following, and without followers, leaders could never lead effectively. In the past, the focus on leadership has largely ignored the reciprocal relationship between leadership and followership. The purpose of this article is to briefly discuss followership and recognize its importance to organizations, particularly school systems. The word “follower” has long-standing connotations that imply a lack of incentive, independence, or even intelligence. The idea of ​​followers as thoughtless people, who simply carried out the instructions given by their overseers, began with the industrial model where managers and leaders were seen as one and the same. But, as Joseph Rost points out, followers should not be equated with subordinates in a post-industrial world, just as leaders are no longer equated with managers (Rost in Wren, 1995, p. 190). For most people, this is the role that comes up in the middle of the article......vleaders.org/dynamic_followership.htmManz, CC & Sims, Jr., HP (1995). Superleadership: beyond the myth of heroic leadership. In The Leader's Companion: Insights into Leadership Through the Ages (pp. 212-221). New York: The Free Press. Rost, J. C. (1995). Leaders and followers are the people involved in this relationship, in JT Wren The Leader's Companion: Insights into Leadership Through the Ages (pp. 189-192). New York: The Free Press. Spitzberg, I. J. (1995). Avenues for investigation into leadership. In JT Wren The Leader's Companion: Insights into Leadership Through the Ages (pp. 33-36). New York: The Free Press. Useem, M. (2003). Direct your boss. In Economic Times. Retrieved July 25, 2010, from the Center for Leadership and Change Management at Wharton University of Pennsylvania website: http://leadership.wharton.upenn.edu/l_change/up_lead/ET_Nov_13_03.shtml