Occasionally things happen at work, on the job site that I find very frustrating. I have a very good reputation for being even keeled and not losing my temper so usually my unhappiness in something on the job shows as frustration. I have found that it's usually the same people that make me frustrated. In thinking about this I realized that the world is comprised of an ever changing combination of leaders and followers.
The question is, are you a leader or a follower? In my opinion everyone that is doing this thing call "life" with the most success are leaders and followers. Sometimes simultaneously and sometimes switching from one to the other and back again. But most everyone falls into one of these groups.
The true leaders, leaders that are worth following, are leading many while following a few who have blazed a proven path in front of them. All the while listening to advisers and those around them before making changes in the way they lead. Others might be true followers. people who are contented to just follow, punching the time clock, always looking forward to quiting time and doing the minimum necessary.
Most people are somewhere in the middle. They are followers with motivation and that motivation is making them unaware leaders. They do good at what is in front of them and they want to do better. As they do better others are motivated to keep up and this creates a great dynamic. These are the kind of people leaders want. These people are sometimes hard to find.
I've hired people that seem to be these followers that lead, potential future leaders, but more often than not they eventually become ordinary followers. The problem is these people become discontented in their lives eventually and the whole thing spirals down. Maybe this isn't as true in other sorts of jobs. But in construction it usually work this way. When things get slow in the industry they are the first to get laid off.
I only assume that this is industry wide and not something that I perpetuate on my own crew. Last October I laid a bunch of guys off and am now in the process of hiring some new replacements as things are getting busy again. So I'll be trying to find the true followers with leadership in their future.
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2 comments:
Troy, I feel you and you are dead on. At my delivery company down here, I hire some workers that are great, do more than expected,and help me lead the others. Then there are the other kinds of workers, and I go insane when I see how lazy/unmotivated they are. Not just at the job, but at their lives in general; they just don't seem to care. I try not to lose my temper as well, but it drives me NUTS inside!
I'm sorry that you keep getting stuck with all these people. I know some people that are very quick learners and are very handy to have around. The kind of people that like to move forward in life instead of staying put or falling. Let me know if you would like me to give them your number. I always thought of myself as a leader. But in a very different way than you explained. I have never followed the flock but instead set out in hopes of finding my own way, it obviously didn't work out a lot of times but I was fortunate to have people like you and Mel in my life to help pick me back up and show me a better direction when I needed a guiding hand. Thank you and I hope things start to look up for you.
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