My oldest son had the opportunity to go to a state welding competition. There were several rounds with different objectives that he had to go through. One of them was an interview with a group of business owners so that each competitor could gain experience with the interview process and what employers in that field find important in potential candidates.
One of the questions that was asked dealt with his desire to be in a position of leadership. My son is very honest in what he tells people, and he told this panel of business owners that he wasn’t interested in a leadership position. That he preferred being able to come to work with a specific job, get that job done, and go home. This was a bit of a shock to some of the employers as 99% of job applicants will say they want to climb the ladder of success, be the leader, take charge.
After the interview however, one of the employers sought him out and thanked him for his honesty, explaining that, while every candidate will tell you they want to be a leader, very few are actually cut out to be that leader, costing the company time and money as they have to train several before they find one that can do that job. He is actually a better leader than he thinks he is, but genuinely doesn’t like the responsibility that comes with being that leader.
Over the years I have had many opportunities to be both leader and follower. Both come with pros and cons. Overall I think that I am more like my son. I like to have a clear assignment, be able to get that assignment done, and go home and work on other projects. However, in my many years serving in my Church and community, I have had ample opportunity to be a leader as well.
I have found that being a leader is really easy when you have good helpers working with you. Whatever the vision, whether your own or the vision of the organization, when everyone has caught the vision and is willing to work toward it, offering help, advice, and ideas, amazing things can happen, and the work load is lighter when everyone’s doing their job.
On the flipside, when you have people who feel slighted, or that they aren’t getting what it is they want, they can make it difficult to accomplish anything productive. In this instance, it doesn’t matter if you’re the leader of follower, it’s a miserable and unproductive situation to be in.
I think we all have opportunity to be both leader and follower. Learning to work together with other people isn’t always about who’s in charge, but more about how to work together with a group of people to accomplish something bigger than any one person could accomplish
As the leader I think the thing I struggle with the most is assigning or asking others for help. I don’t want to impose on people, even when they’re willing to help, and I’ve had people volunteer and then never do the job. This has often left me in a bind that is hard to resolve at the last minute so I tend to do as much as I physically can do on my own. Consequently I really appreciate people who I know will get the job done and I never have to worry about it.
I think overall, I would rather be the follower than the leader as long as my responsibilities are clearly outlined and things are well organized. But if asked, I will step up and do what I can to be the leader and try to be a good leader.
You must be logged in to post a comment.