To lead or follow. It's quite a predicament. I believe we all have basic leadership skills we use when in a group, but some are obviously better at it, though. The most influential leaders are actually very charismatic and charming to boot. They could easily sway many others with their words alone. Followers, are also important. What would a leader be without some followers? Some show their skill in helping others astoundingly, without taking credit themselves. Followers can also be very important. I am a follower by nature. While I lack several leadership qualities, I make up for it with my hyper competent listening and following skills. Whenever I'm in a team, i'm the guy to take what the leader says, and create a plan to get us through. I'd love helping people, so I help with all the writing and planning.   








Are you more of a leader or follower? Have you ever used your skills to effectiveness? Thanks for reading this.

I lead.

Ever since I was in the Marine Corps and I led a gun team on the other side of the world, I've been a leader.

I have a relentless positive mental attitude, I'm open to ideas from everyone, I accept everyone and judge them based on performance, not religion, sexual orientation, skin color, level of education, paychecks, etc., and all are equal until they're not.

I'm a leader of Marines and I lead my team of a dozen people at my facility. They also are extremely protective of me and our building and they always pass on the things they hear about us, good or bad, so I'm never caught by surprise. They shield me from my boss and I protect them from the bigger world.

Leadership is tough to explain but easy to recognize. My team appreciates me because I tell them things like thank you, I listen to them and evaluate them fairly, and I help them develop their careers. I let them experiment and I give them all the support I have available.

I've been around the boards long enough to recognize most folks here aren't leaders. That's fine. You're not defined by how many people would want to follow you somewhere.

Eh, I think I'm somewhere in the middle.

I'm the guy who would much rather sit back and let someone else have the responsibility, even if it means they get the glory as well. I don't really enjoy telling others what to do or guide them in any way. I definitely see myself as more of a Beta than an Alpha, and have no problems with that. I don't care enough to be a leader, so I'd rather not put my own indifference in the way of others success or progression in any given field.

That being said, when it comes down to it, I lead pretty well. I've always been a very calm and collected person, even in extremely stressful situations. I can take what information is at hand, and generally use it to make the best decision possible, regardless of the circumstances. One example would be when a friend of mine had a seizure, I had to be the one to care for him, and yell at every one else to either call an ambulance or hide the paraphernalia that was spread out about the apartment (lol). 

I guess I would say I have the ability to, I'm just too lazy / indifferent to really try.

I think I'm more of a leader now given my job in real life(I'm a production manager) I set the example and pretty much make sure everyone is on task and being productive and I oversee the entire kitchen, I have put in my time as a follower and I went above and beyond apparently of what was expected of me, put in the effort and produced  the desired results so naturally I was promoted(this is just a real life example).

I guess what I'm getting at is there is nothing wrong with being a follower (work wise) as long as your doing what is expected of you and getting the job done, trust me people notice those who work hard and follow directions and they tend to be the ones that get promoted and in turn they become one who leads and sets the example. 

Depends on the problem or job. for HUGE projects and things that take a lot of planning, I am a follower. For easy repair jobs or small projects that I have done in the past, I am a leader

I'm more of a follower.

I'm still young so I only really experienced a leader / follower role in school projects. I'm not creative nor am I a positive person so I always let someone else take the lead.

If possible I do try and watch from 'behind the scenes' if you will and make sure everything goes in the right direction. So in a sense I do like to have some kind of authority or front role but I don't want to be the center of attention.

I guess I'd be most comfortable with a "second in command" role. That just fits my personality and who I am better.

I find "follower" to be a loaded word. Anyway, to use a hockey analogy I think myself more as a goalie than a center player. I usually do not like to have the spotlight shining at me but do like making important contributions to projects I am involved in. I may not actually initiate a project but I certainly play an active role in it rather than wait for a role to be given to me.

I'm a leader. I like to take action into my own hands so I can get things moving the way I like them to happen.

When I can control things, it makes me feel like I have ownership over what the final product is and I just feel happier with how it comes out, no matter what it is, because I did what I felt was best. 

I feel like I'm more of a follower than a leader. Sure, I can lead to a decent extent, but I feel like I'm a better follower. When I do lead, it's usually not with words, since I'm not a big talker, it's usually by example. Back to my answer, I'm a really good listener. I'm a firm believer in the saying that "You have 2 ears and 1 mouth, use them in that ratio". I'm pretty good at following directions, and I'm pretty respectful in general. I think being recognized for good things is awesome, but I don't mind if I'm not in the limelight. I actually prefer to be under the radar, since it's not really "me" to want a lot of attention on me constantly. 

I guess I am a leader barathemos basically explained most of my reasons as of why. I was going to say follower so it was a hard choice of thought to talk on. I don't always like to rely on someone if they haven't really shown to help like for what I am after, and how I do things as well. Like for instance asking for help on certain things. Sure I do like ask for help, but if there is something I like getting done early I make sure to get the job done myself if I feel I can do it, and out of the way with. @.@

Mynamescox44 : Man, you're laughing at a potential OD-related seizure? That dude must have been a good friend.

And leadership, for everyone, isn't about telling others what to do. It's about encouraging and empowering others to take responsibility for their actions to the betterment of the group. I don't fire off commands and orders at my team, I tell them, "How are we going to do this thing together?"

Then I let them run around free and see what they come up with. They take more pride and they attack jobs and work when they get to be the ones deciding how to do it or what's more important and what's less important.

That's leadership. It's not commanding so much as it is developing others.

Ghostbear1111 :  
You don't know me, my friend, or the circumstances involving the seizure, so I don't see how you're in any position to judge? Please keep the sarcastic comments to yourself, or just don't bother summoning me at all.

Mynamescox44 : When you're with people who are 'hiding paraphernalia' while an ambulance is en route, there's not much else going on besides drug use. Maybe there's bomb-making? Either way, it's tough to not judge someone who so off-handedly LOLs at a seizure.

I don't know what happened. But I read what you wrote and your attitude toward it and if you're not just trying to show off, maybe you shouldn't put yourself in that situation.

What you're doing is the equivalent of "The last time I was at the hospital was when I took my friend who got shot while robbing a bank. But don't judge me."

Your word selection leads me to make assumptions of what you were doing. I'm pretty sure you meant to thinly suggest you're doing drugs.

Drug-users and people who hang out with them get judged. If you don't want to be judged, maybe try something else. No one who told a story that started with "I was helping at the volunteer garden" ever got judged.

Ultrajeff : I'm a born leader,I believe in loyalty,and I believe that with my help my followers can do anything,I will be the light in the darkness,followers are important because they can one day become something great if they arnt already all they need is s little push to blossem them into something beautifull until they can fight alongside you with pride and loyalty no matter what we stay together and like a puzzle one piece isnt enough,but one every piece is linked together in sync it forms a beautifull picture the type you wanna glue together and put on your wall because your so proud of it.

I'm more of a traitor then a follower or a leader.

- To be a leader you need extrovert qualities and I don't have that. I hate bossing people around and viewing myself as superior than others just so I can feel special about myself. You also need to be a master at convincing, manipulating and brianwashing others so that they listen to you.  Not not all leaders are bad but those who are soft spoken I prefer the best as they are easier to work with. You really need that charles manson like charm to get people to follow you and that is something I do not have.

- To be a follower you usually go along to get along and that isn't something that I typically do not like doing. A leader may tell you their intentions but who really knows if they can be trusted. At times if I follow I feel like a sheep being lead into the slaughter house with no power in any decision making process. Basically I am a robot doing whatever for someone elses benefit and that gets to me. I'll follow sure but I have my limits as to how much I'd follow and it also depends on the circumstances.
 
Being a traitor is the equalizer between leader and follower, I'm not saying I intentionally am out to screw people over but I feel like being a traitor is the only way to gain leverage with someone who is power hungry or if I feel they are screwing me somehow.

I don't want to hurt anyone but at the same time I don't want to become someones b!tch so I am on the fence here. I guess what I'm trying to say is I prefer working and being around people who view themselves as equals.

How about... Both? To me, a good leader knows when to follow and a good follower knows when to lead. When I'm following, I'm learning how to become a better leader. When I'm leading, I'm learning how to become a better follower.

Also, I always do my best to utilize all of my skills to achieve maximum effectiveness.

Preference?

I'm a sigma- rebel- do it on my own, independent- lone wolf- oxymoron.

It's kindof ironic because I have quite a few friends, all of which I rely on to bring value in my own life. I love working on my own because I can decide how everything works, determine when it starts, and when it ends, and I don't need to make other people's wants fit in with my own desires.

It works great for smaller parts of art, and even writing- to a degree. But not completely.

Authors need people to read. . . reread, and proofread their material. Achieving complete independence is almost impossible in life, and those who value self sufficiency are much weaker on their own than they could be in a group.

I prefer to work alone, and have lot's of thought time. I work best that way, and it's inherit in my personality. However, we all need to work with groups from time to time. I'm more of a leader than a follower, but honestly, I put more of an emphasis on Independence. Why? The Chain is only as strong as the weakest link, therefor everyone in a group should focus first improving themselves. That's how I think.

Once I've gotten my problems sorted out, then I'm more able to help/lead others, or be a valuable asset to a team. Of course, everything is situational in life, and we may find ourselves needing to take up roles we never thought we would. I'm ready to lead or follow wherever it's necessary. Where I can, I prefer to work mostly alone or in a small group.

Everything in life is subject to change.

Good question, but it has a slightly complicated answer.

I'm not really a follower. I stick to myself, I try to use my own logic, follow my own orders, and take control of the situation without any outside help. However, I don't necessarily lead either, because I don't take charge of the situation and try to get others to follow. If people choose to follow my actions, they could be considered followers and I could be considered a leader, but primarily I don't lead nor do I follow. Not to say I stagnate but I just work on my own -- I lead and follow myself, and myself only.