Leader or Follower??

[84porsche]

Are you a leader or follower or both depending on the situation? I ask because in my day to day life, I see more and more people taking a back seat.

[Moneyguy1]

I used to be a leader. SInce I retired, I have basically become an observer.

[scottmandue]

I consider myself an instigator.

[Seahawk]

Originally Posted by Moneyguy1

I used to be a leader. SInce I retired, I have basically become an observer.

I call Bravo Sierra...maybe a leading observer

Me? I prefer to make the call in situ Sometimes it is best to fade...

[Moneyguy1]

Sea...You may be right...It is nearly impossible to totally go vegetable.

If I see a problem and if I can help, I dive in, feet first.

So I ain't JAFO.

[84porsche]

Originally Posted by scottmandue

I consider myself an instigator.

I am also an instigator but I have been choosing my battles a little more carefully lately.

[Hugh R]

Depends if I have a dog in that particular fight. I used to be a middle manager in consulting firms, ran a department and had P&L responsibility. Now I have a couple of younger guys who my boss looks to me to lead, but he hasn't decided to make me an official manager. The title, means all kinds of management training, doing reviews, etc. I'm not sure I want that stuff again.

[strupgolf]

I'm a leader, and if they cant handle that then get out of my way.

[WI wide body]

I worked in manufacturing and couldn't wait to get out because the corporate structure did not favor either individualists or leaders.

But after I retired I actually missed the day to day interplay. Then when I started doing short assignments for my former company it was really fun since I could be honest and truthful without all the accompaning bull*****.

Now I play golf for living...pay is terrible but the fringe benefits are terrific!

[Hard-Deck]

Both. Military life is both. You have to be a follower to lead and a leader has to follow. If you cannot grasp both, you're gone, 'nuff said.

[Craig 930 RS]

Observer who "no longer plays the game"

[legion]

Reluctant leader. I'm a junior member of my team. I try to give the more senior people their say first. I secretly hope one of them will take charge. I'm not always comfortable giving direction to people twice my age. If it's obvious things aren't going to get done, I will make sure they get done.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

leader, but sometimes I crave the comfort of followership.

[Moneyguy1]

legion

Age is no guarantee of leadership ability. Think Alexander the Great.

[jsb944]

Chris

as a Project Manager and corporate trainer (training managers) what you said is very wise!

It's ok to follow...and as the military folk know (I train with a retired Army Colonel) you have to be able to do both (follow and lead).

When you see the ball about to be dropped and you're a junior member of the team...time to manage up as they say...and not let the ball hit the floor.

interesting thread!

[84porsche]

Originally Posted by legion

I'm not always comfortable giving direction to people twice my age. If it's obvious things aren't going to get done, I will make sure they get done.

This is one of the hardest things for me because being younger than most in management, I am viewed as not having enough experience. I want more people to take the bull by the horns so to speak but they never do and its frustrating. Somehow they got into the leadership positions but don't lead once they are there. They try to just keep their jobs and not step on toes. I am a lousy follower, I prefer to do something even if it turns out to be incorrect.

[stomachmonkey]

Originally Posted by 84porsche

This is one of the hardest things for me because being younger than most in management, I am viewed as not having enough experience. I want more people to take the bull by the horns so to speak but they never do and its frustrating. Somehow they got into the leadership positions but don't lead once they are there. They try to just keep their jobs and not step on toes. I am a lousy follower, I prefer to do something even if it turns out to be incorrect.

Incorrect can have drastic consequences. Thankfully the less responsibility you have the less likely those consequences will cause irreparable harm.

Some of what you see is not necessarily apathy but is actually the result of more experience.

As you move up the chain you become more exposed to the nitty gritty details of what is really going on in the business. The bigger picture if you will.

You start by managing people, then groups, then depts, then entire business units etc...

As your responsibility grows it starts to shift to be more corp wide.

You start to understand how sometimes good decisions for your group can have a negative impact on other business units or the corp as a whole.

You have also learned when is "the right time". A lot of business decisions will "evolve" over time. Decisions and action before the picture comes into focus is wasted effort. You need to manage time and resources and nothing sucks more than expending them at the wrong time.

Politics start to come into heavy play. "Horestrading" starts to happen, take a hit for me on this and I'll make that other thing happen for you.

I used to think the same way as you do now.

Then one day many years later I found myself listening to younger staff express the same frustration.

That's when I realized that I had become "my parents".

When I was 16 I thought I knew everything and that they were out of touch when it was really me that knew nothing and they were as wise as their years.

[VaSteve]

Interesting thread. I am the PM on a project of about 6 people. Everyone on the job was older than me (until we traded some staff out). This was one of the most difficult projects I had to run. I had two team members that thought *they* were the PM and fought me for a while. The most leadable guy on this was the 50 year old ex-Army guy. Took direction and just did it. Oh, how I wish I could have been a follower on this one. I could barely drag the client along. I could have done wonderful work and my life would have been so easy. As it stands, I had one guy decide to retire (I think I drove him too hard..today was his last day) and I'm ready to quit myself since I got little support from above.

There are so few people willing to step up to the plate. I have always found myself stepping up/in to get stuff done. Sometimes it's incredibly frustrating watching thing fail until I step up. Sometimes it's very rewarding but draining.

Originally Posted by stomachmonkey

You have also learned when is "the right time". A lot of business decisions will "evolve" over time. Decisions and action before the picture comes into focus is wasted effort. You need to manage time and resources and nothing sucks more than expending them at the wrong time.

Politics start to come into heavy play. "Horestrading" starts to happen, take a hit for me on this and I'll make that other thing happen for you.

...

When I was 16 I thought I knew everything and that they were out of touch when it was really me that knew nothing and they were as wise as their years.

Good points. A lot of times I have told my team that we have to let some of the smoke clear and wait a little bit to see what happens. Don't however, accept all delays as "experience" lots of people are afraid to decide. Lots of people are promoted from tech roles into management and can't hack it.

[stomachmonkey]

Originally Posted by VaSteve

...Don't however, accept all delays as "experience" lots of people are afraid to decide. Lots of people are promoted from tech roles into management and can't hack it...

100% correct.

But time behind the wheel will give you the tools to spot the diff AND will teach you how to best leverage the weaker players.

[pwd72s]

Originally Posted by Moneyguy1

I used to be a leader. SInce I retired, I have basically become an observer.

+1