Being a follower

I was talking to my boss today and was getting a frustrated, not with him, but with myself. You see, he is the kind of guy (and he said this to me) that loves someone to just tell him to do something broad, like "make this accelerator work, we don't really know much about it, but just make it work." He does not like getting told specific things to do and the like at all. In fact, it seemed to me that he talked down about the kind of people who need that, because they are not motivated enough. "You need to be self motivated," he said afterwards. Now he wasn't reprimanding me, just making a statement. I agree with his assertion, however I am conflicted about his definition of "motivated". It seems to me that he defines "motivated" as "you need to be able and like to have little or no guidance in your job".

Let me digress a bit now. All around us, at graduations, at motivational speeches, in churches (in somewhat a different sense, though), and advertisements we see people pushing us to be leaders. I feel as if wherever I go, people expect me to be a leader, in fact, they expect everyone to be a leader. Being a loyal follower (not a person on a leash, but someone who follows intelligently) is looked down upon; or at least it seems that way. Is it so bad to be a follower? Obviously not everyone can be a leader, or else nothing would get done. Even leaders are rendered moot if they have no one to lead.

Back to my original story. Unlike my boss, I like being told what to do (to an extent). I find the challenge not in trying to solve an incredibly broad problem, but doing it the most efficient way possible while still doing the job better than right. I get my satisfaction by crossing things off a list, and being able to say, "I did that to the best of my ability." There are situations where I will step up and lead, but usually I will step aside if anyone else wants to lead instead, simply because I would rather follow. But I also don't follow blindly. I asses the situation, and if I feel it is not morally or ethically right, I say something.

My boss is a good man, but I don't think he understands where I come from. In a world that constantly strives to push people to be leaders, no one tells their children or those that they mentor that following is o.k., too. In movies the leader always gets the glory, not those who supported him when he was about to die. In politics the main politician gets the glory, not his advisory board that gave him sound advice. At work the team leader gets the glory, not the accountant that churned through who knows how many spreadsheets to find that bloody error. I am not saying the follower should get all the attention, but I think its important to know that, yes, we can be a follower, and still be an intelligent and hard working individual.

When I told my boss, an engineer with a PHD, that I was thinking of just going into construction (I love construction and working with wood), not dropping out, but doing construction after school, he seemed to strongly oppose it. He kept saying that I should start my own business, or be an engineer that makes a ton of money. Those are good things, but not for me. Making money isn't everything, and neither is leading.

I am sorry if this post was not really well written, I just wrote things as they came to mind.