What Makes A Good Leader?
 

What would you say are the traits of a good or great leader? I first think that the person should be a demagogue, they should be able to unite and convince people that they can reach the goal. Secondly, they should be able to plan out and execute the plan for success. Thirdly, I believe the leader should be good at their position. Honestly if you can't even program, why do you even bother being the programming leader? That is different for team leaders, I believe that they should be able to coordinate and have a great personality while having wisdom. The leader should know when to take the risk or be more conservative. They should have the ability to synchronize the team's process and put more emphasis on the lacking divisions. Lastly I believe the leader needs to be very respectful and never cocky, but always confident about the team.

Now being said that, do I really qualify to be in a leadership position? This year, even though this was my first year, ended up hogging the computer and the code. I wrote at least 90% of the years code, the other 10% being the team leader's code for autonomous. I do feel that I did not put 100% of my effort onto the coding this year, my mentor had to clean up the code during competition because it was spaghetti code. I usually do not do that with my coding, that showed that I did not care for robotics as much as I should. I am very OCD about people touching my code, so I am not sure if it is wise for me to run for the programming leader, me being only a 2nd year and my OCD, I would probably end up hogging the code again.

Now if I do run for it and win the position, what kind of advice do you have for me regarding the leadership position. I got things done, when people asked for me to do something, I got it done. But should I take charge again and end up programming the whole robot my self or should I just step back and let the others work on it first and just fix up the code after wards? Now I feel like the second option, I am very OCD about coding, if they don't put the spaces or indent correctly I freak out and fix it. Thats a personal flaw. Also to me, it seems lazy or bossy to have the other programmers code the robot.

Re: What Makes A Good Leader?
 

Very well put. I really think a leader must be open minded and able to see both sides of an issue. I think that they should be able to unite a team behind a common goal. I personally believe that being a leader is something you are born with, and weather you develop you skills in that area is up to you.

Re: What Makes A Good Leader?
 

Coming off my first year as a leader on my team (it was also my second year on the team) let me say being a leader is a stressful job. you have to be able to ensure that everyone knows what they are suppose to be doing and when they are suppose to be doing it. As for passing work off to others, being a leader that is necessary. Had i done EVERYTHING that was needed to do scouting i would have completely flipped out and lost all mental sanity by the middle of my first competition. The biggest piece of advice i have to offer though is If your going to be a leader, be sure you know what your getting yourself into (i sure didnt) and Lead through example, the people you are leading like to see that you are also able to tackle your fair share of work.

Re: What Makes A Good Leader?
 

I realize this is a little out of context, but the best leaders are NOT subject matter experts (SMEs). The traits necessary to be an excellent worker are vastly different from those necessary to be a good leader. This is especially true in Engineering.

In an FRC team, maybe not so much.

One of the wicked truths of Engineering is that after a certain point your salary stops growing, or doesn't grow by much. Engineers, being the logical folks they are, realize that the bigger money lies in management, so they become supervisors and managers.

Some are good at it and succeed, their workers like them.

Most are awful at it, making their workers and themselves miserable in the process. Engineers like to solve problems with Things, but People are not like Things: A Thing is invariant; it is the same tomorrow as it was yesterday, so any problems you're solving are standing still.

People are variable, maddeningly so.

So when an Engineer sets out to solve a problem, a Thing problem is attacked methodically and eventually solved. A People problem constantly changes, and cannot be solved using typical Engineering methods.

There are people who thrive on People problems; they are intuitive and can understand these behaviors. These are our best Leaders.

Most engineers head in that direction because they are not good at People. Most engineers don't make great leaders, instead they are great workers.

Re: What Makes A Good Leader?
 

I would delegate the work. I'm almost definitely CAD leader for next year, and I'm about to start training my CAD team now so that during the season all I need to do is tell them what I need made. This isn't out of laziness. I'm doing this so that all of the kids get experience and learn what they're best at. Also, this way the whole CAD team will be forced to work together and rely on each other, even if two people don't get along, which will be an excellent life skill to learn, and as we all know FIRST loves teaching life lessons :D.

Re: What Makes A Good Leader?
 

Completely agree! In some cases, a leader should not be leading if they do not know what they are doing AND there is someone else with experience. I have had the pleasure of being a student under some amazing coaches on team 1519 Mechanical MAYHEM. But what sets them apart is that even when they do not know how to do something, they will research the problem with the student and learn together until the knowledge required has been found. That is something a leader should be able to do in my honest opinion, continue learning.

Re: What Makes A Good Leader?
 

But where is the line between hogging the code and just contributing?

Re: What Makes A Good Leader?
 

If you are having a hard time seeing when you are too involved, just ask. Ask them honestly if they feel as though you are doing too much and leaving them behind. If you have strong communication between you the leader and those beneath you, you will be surprised at just how much you will be able to accomplish together.

Re: What Makes A Good Leader?
 

From experience, there are many things that go into being a good leader, and even more things that go into being a great leader. We had to apply for something new our team tried this year, which were "Section Leader" positions. We had to go though an interview process, and I'm very glad to say I got 3 of the 5 positions I applied for (and the other two no one else applied for, so they went un-headed, and I worked in those categories). A few things I think you need to look at for being an individual section leader would be:

• Like... no. LOVE what you want to do. Robotics is an extra circular activity, and while learning engineering/life skills, you should also be having fun. Going into a position that you don't like every day won't be good for you, the team, or those you're leading.
• Being a leader does not mean you personally take on every job in that section. It means you are teaching students what it takes to do that, making sure everything gets done, and be able to manage time so everything gets done, yet coordinate it between several students, so no one is waiting on someone else to finish a project or assignment.
• Being a leader is more then just a title, or to prove you're the best at something (if you want to look at it that way, which I suggest you don't), it's being able to train people and work along side of people so you can move up and along, and that individual section can continue to grow.
• Being able to work with and teach team members is important. If you can't get along with anyone on the team, you can't be expected to work ALONG SIDE of them. Same for teaching. If you can't show someone how to do something, or help someone when they need it, being a leader may not be the right job.
• Something I stressed in the last point, being an individual leader does not mean you are above everyone else. You are a part of a TEAM that works together. Being an individual section leader, you are expected to work with your group and get things done. However, you can't end up doing EVERYTHING in that section. It's not fair to the other members of the team.
• Posses leadership qualities, such as determination, hard work, openness, humility, assertiveness, ect.

From experience, those are a few things that go into being a individual section leader. Luckily, I'm also 2337's team leader this year. Although I can not speak too much of what it takes, I've had a month or so of being in that position, and a few things I've noticed it takes:

• Leadership qualities, as previously mentioned in the last bullets. If you can't lead a small group, you can't lead a whole team.
• Honestly, popularity has something to do with it. If no one on your team can stand you, or you do not get along with members, no one will want you as a leader. That's not to say acting like you like people will help you. You must genuinely enjoy your team members, and want to work along side of them.
• Stepping up and taking responsibility. I know I've been working closely on PR things we've been doing (although that was my job before I got team leader), working with head mentors on off-season planning and team building, putting in those extra hours, being able to work at home, doing whatever it takes to make your team the best it can possibly be!
• Again, you have to love what you do. I didn't get to where I am now by showing up a few days a week to robotics and doing the minimum I needed to do. I stepped up as a Freshman and took on brand new things on the team, shaping the things we do now. I didn't put in all the work and all the hours because I wanted to be a leader, but I wanted to do it for the team. I knew it'd better further the team, which should always come first.
• Taking a few for the team. If something needs to be done, maybe someone needs to put in a few extra hours here, go do a few things there, be the one to do it. Step up to the need for a leader, and take on those responsibilities happily.
• Be knowledgeable. Our previous captains have been VERY good at what they do. We've selected the best of our mechanical guys, the best of our electrical guys, but never (before myself) had we selected someone from the PR side of our team. I was good (and if not good, then dedicated) at what I did.
• Continual improvement, one of my personal mottos. ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS be looking for a way to improve the team. This will separate good leaders from great leaders.

Just my take on the topic. Again, I don't have tons of experience with a team captain, but I have had quite a bit already, and tons of experience with individual group leadership. Again, these aren't all the things that it takes to be a leader. If you have questions, feel free to private message me, and I'll help.

There are different ways of looking at this. If you program in LabVIEW, try delegating some VI's to other people. Give the new members some easier ones, and some of the experienced members the harder ones. If you feel you are the best one for the job, do the really hard stuff yourself (such as sensors and autonomous, especially if you're looking towards a very autonomous robot). Just make sure you're setting deadlines, making sure things get done, but you don't (and shouldn't) have to do it all yourself.

Another part of being a leader is admitting at times that you might not be the best one for the job. As an example, our team is working on a Chairman's award. I'm working with a group of people and delegating taks that need to get done. I was able to admit I am not the best one to write an essay, but maybe the best one to do the video. I'd go to someone else who is better than me and ask them if they'll take that task.

Re: What Makes A Good Leader?
 

I believe that line is inherent in the concept of hogging. If you are pushing someone else out of the way, you are not "just contributing".

Re: What Makes A Good Leader?
 

I agree to a point, but engineers are rarely one dimensional in reality. My boss right now is a good example of an engineering leader; he is both passionate and competent in what he is doing, and it makes leadership easy for him. I felt the same way on my FRC team, I loved it so much that it was easy to lead because I was willing to step outside my comfort zone.

So engineers often make great leaders, but it takes the full application of our intellegence, and a lot of flexibility to do it well.

Re: What Makes A Good Leader?
 

I think Don touched on some poignant subjects in his post.

There are operators. These are the people who make the parts. On a FIRST team, the operators would be the ones who drive the robot and play the game.

There are Engineers (students). These people are problem solvers.

There are Team Leaders (student captains). These are a hybrid of engineer / manager. Their job is to coordinate what goes on in their team, and be a buffer between the managers and the engineers so the engineers can problem solve. He has some managerial reponsiblity, and some engineering responsibility.

There are managers (mentors). These people do not solve problems on the engineering level. Their primary responsibility is to run shepard over team leaders. What MANY managers seem to forget is that in this position, their customers are their engineers and operators. Their primary responsibility is to remove roadblocks that are preventing engineers from solving problems, and to buffer engineers and team leaders from upper management.

A lot of people think that a manager tells everyone what to do, and by and large those people would probably not make good managers. Making parts / making an end product is what pays the bills in the end. If the manager is not directly enabling that to happen, then they aren't performing their job well.

Anyway - this is suddenly getting much longer than I wanted it to be. If you hog the code, you are not a good team leader. A team leader teaches the engineers to give them the skills they need, then delegates the work to them. He may do some coding himself, but he has many other jobs: participating in decision making, solving problems that the engineers are struggling with, and interfacing with other managers to insure that the engineers are going to produce something that satisfies the team.

Therefore, if you want to be a 'code monkey', and your team is built on a business structure, then technically a team leader position isn't for you. If your team is not that strict about it, then you still need to decide how you are going to divvy up the work. Taking all the work says one thing: you have no confidence in your co-worker's ability to perform. That means that as a team leader, you have failed: it's your responsibility to teach them and make them productive.

Generally, we have a rule that students that have performed a task before don't get to touch the tools or keyboard for the first couple weeks. Their job is to teach the new folks how to do things and help them. That gives everyone confidence that their counterparts can do their jobs.

Re: What Makes A Good Leader?
 

Ok Zach, thank you for your wonderful post, but I do not want to quote it for the sake of the readers. I will say this, I love programming, no question about it, joined robotics for the sake of programming. Now here is where the problem starts, I am terrible at teaching. If you program, it is more about how you think, not the syntax. I code in C++ and Java, we used Java this year, which I personally do not like. Also I told my mentors straight up, I will use C++ next year. Now that I think about it, if I want to be a leader, I probably have to make sacrifices myself, Java is easier to learn than C++. I have 2 more years for robotics, which is not a lot, that means someone else has to step up after me. I think it is better in the long run to have the programmers suffer a little bit learning C++. I am already putting in the extra mile with my mentors, you know about my little autonomous robot project (check my sig). I think the major thing I lack is the ability to teach and patience. I sometimes even freak out (not literally) just a major facepalm moment when guys use too many if statements to do something. Yes, I need to mature on that part if I want to be a leader



edit: Would you find it rude if a Junior ran against you for a leadership position if you were a Senior? I am not sure if this guy is going to run again, but he was the programming leader this year, but I pretty ended up being "the" programmer...

Re: What Makes A Good Leader?
 

Coming from another programmer:

1. I was technically a lead programmer this year. Because I was the only programmer. Last year there were three. We spent so much time trying to synchronize copies and versions that we got almost nothing done, and the lead mentor (who works as a programmer) wrote all of the code in competition, some of it between matches. This was the first year in a very, very long time (ever?) the Killer Bees had a student programming leader, something I am very proud of. It was helpful to our team, since our coach could go out and watch matches instead of write code. Writing all of the code does not necessarily mean you hog the code. If you are a good programmer, your code is readable, and are dedicated to the team, it is possible to do all or most of the coding. It might actually be easier to do it this way, then you don't have to deal with versioning and who has the latest copy of what file and interfaces and whatnot.

1b. We do not run for any positions on the bees. All of the sub-teams are led by mentors, and we (students) choose a sub team to work with. The drivers are selected by the mentors as a whole, based on dedication and other factors. Anyone in the pit crew, comp team, and Chairmans team can be considered a leader, as they are the highest in their field and were selected for higher responsibility positions.

2. Teaching is hard. I know. I taught programming to FLL students once. In their NXT-G language, which is quite hard to use BTW. If you can teach concepts instead of syntax, it is much easier. In LabVIEW especially, you can generally find the block you need, so you don't have to explain what each block does or what calls it contains, you know. You can focus on thinking like a programmer, designing the code, and how the algorithm works, then talk about language specifics.

2b. When someone makes a mistake, help them solve it. Many new programmers create lots of IF statements, usually many more then necessary. You can teach them that there is a different way. Example: Last year we had a 4-wheel independent steer. The first time we drove it, it had two pairs of two pods, each with a steering motor and pot. We, the programmers, decided the best way was to have several cases based on how far the pods were to each side, and set the motors accordingly. Jim, lead mentor/programmer, taught us about P and PID control. We looked at it, and couldn't figure out how it would work. Then it did. And we realized that there was a better way to do it then having a whole bunch of case statements. So, instead of just freaking out, help them and make sure they don't ever do it again.

3. About the junior vs senior thing. We don't consider based on junior/senior, we consider leadership positions based on experience, and a little bit more to upperclassmen (not freshmen especially). If "he" is a better leader, whether or not he is a better programmer, he should get the position (likewise for you).

4. Original question: What makes a good leader?
a. ability to get things done. Very important in robotics.
b. good to work with. Important when working with a team.
c. dedicated to team. Comes to as many meetings as possible, does whatever he/she can to help team.

5. Spaghetti code is not good.
5a. In LabVIEW, we have a magic button "Create SubVI" which takes selected code and sends it into a subVI, equivalent to a function. Awesome little button. We also have a magic button "clean up diagram". It re-arranges everything to be neat and tidy. Also an awesome little button. (We've also got Clean Up Wire, cool icons for our SubVI's, and threading)
5b. You get none of this in C++, but sending things into functions when possible and partitioning code into seperate modules and classes helps A LOT. Best of all, if you partitioned things correctly, then the "teleop" call will just pass input data to the rest of your code. In Autonomous, you can call the same functions you called in teleop and it will do the same thing. Especially helpful with your PID controllers and other complex modules.

Re: What Makes A Good Leader?
 

Before I get to the quote, I would just like to say, that about a year ago, I faced an issue where I wasn't sure if my leadership abilities were being recognized.

What got me through it is that I recognized that anyone else who is elected leader had to have been elected for a reason. Whether it is that person's abilities to lead a group of people, their skills in the subject area, or simply their vibrant personality, there has to be a reason.

Secondly, I believe someone posted, "You don't have to have a title to lead". You can be a leader in the little things. Leaders make sure that their opinion is heard. They make sure that the herd is going in the direction that achieves the greater good, and if it isn't, then you do something about it.


And now I will address this issue. This year, we had a rising sophomore run for the position of VP, a position that has seen only rising Juniors and Seniors. She ran against rising juniors and seniors, and she won. I don't not know what the people who ran against her felt, but I do not believe "rude" would've been an emotion. But above all, I feel that the most deserving person received the job.

Secondly, last year, I ran for the position of President, and I did not win. I went through a rough period where I considered some extremity courses that included rebelling or other nonsense, but ultimately I choose to support my team and the new president, and I am glad that I choose that position.

I encourage you to support your team and whatever decision the majority makes. Becoming president or whatever is just a title, and if you feel that you are giving 100% into leading your team in the right direction, then you'll find that people will automatically look to you for leadership.

- Sunny

Re: What Makes A Good Leader?
 

I really just wanted to address a couple of the points you made and offer my $.02:

In regards to your worries about seniority issues, In my opinion before you nominated yourself for a leadership position I think you should have a long a good talk with the person who held the job this year. Even if you feel you did most of the coding on your own this year, talk to him because there may be more to the position then you realize. He may explain to you why he is more qualified for the job or he might surprise you by telling you he wants you to run. I however do not think it is a good Idea to run without talking it out with him. He will most likely respect you more if you tell him your plans to run ahead of time. In my own personal experience, the leader should be the most qualified person for a job, and a good true leader recognizes when they are no longer the most qualified and steps down allowing someone better to rise up to take their job.

Also would you be willing to make a compromise? You mentioned that you want to take on leadership positions but it would appear that you are not comfortable teaching yet. Take it from someone who has been both the director (captain) of programming and the Vice President of a team, teaching is one of the most important and most fulfilling parts of being a leader on a team and patience is not something you can try to get by without especially in a position like programming where it often takes time for a new person to understand. Your code "hogging":ahh: most likely directly stems from your lack of patience and this is not cool in a programming leader. Perhaps you need to take another year to become more comfortable and confident in your abilities and your relationships on the team before you consider leading. You could consider "shadowing" the programming leader from this year, next year learning what it's like to hold the position, and practicing your teaching skills before people begin looking up to you, then next year when he graduates you will be ready to confidently take his place.

Again these are just suggestions, I am not trying to say that you would not be a good leader next year (because I have never met you before, and therefore honestly don't know), I am only trying to convey that there is a lot to think about before you become a leader. As I said before I was the director of programming for my team this year and sometimes that jobs means more than just writing code. I was in charge of showing new members Labview, making sure vi's were written on time(delegation is key), planning out autonomous, writing autonomous(sometimes its ok to have a piece of code thats mostly yours), setting up the classmate's wireless for drive practices, fixing signal problems, dealing with complaints from builders and the drivers(once again patience is key), building projects, and making the majority of code changes at competitions. But I loved every minute of it because at that point I had been programming for almost two years and I really enjoy teaching people about programming. Next year however, I will be passing my title to an underclassman because I want her to have the opportunity to be a leader; I have watched her grow to love programming this year as much as I do, and because as a Senior and the Vice President of the team, I know that I unfortunately will not be able to devote all the time that is necessary to be the director of programming next year. This does not mean I won't program as much as I can next year, because I love programming and so i guess my parting thought is;

if you truly love writing code don't allow a title to affect how much time you spend programming :)

So you know just some things to consider:)

~Hannah

Re: What Makes A Good Leader?
 

I'd like to recommend that anyone interested in leadership on an FRC team (or in general) read Launching a Leadership Revolution by Orrin Woodward and Chris Brady. It is one of the best discussions of leadership that I have read, including prerequisites to leadership, 5 "levels" of leadership, and illustrative stories concluding each section. This is a must read for mentors, and any student who is interested in taking on a leadership position on his/her team could benefit greatly from it.
On a similar note, Tribal Leadership by Logan, King, and Fischer-Wright is a great book focused on creating a culture of excellence within organizations. The principles they discuss are immediately applicable to FRC teams. Maybe Isaac would like to go into a little more detail on this one : )

Sorry to refrain from offering a 30 second opinion on the subject; hopefully anyone hungry enough to actually read one or both of these books will find them as beneficial as I have.

Re: What Makes A Good Leader?
 

Here's a very good lieder.

Re: What Makes A Good Leader?
 

I'm sorry, I made this post and forgot to submit it for several hours, so I'm sorry if this has been said by others.


A lot of those qualities are good to have, but not really necessary for leadership.

Personally I think a subteam leader in the context of FRC needs to have a basic knowledge of his subsystem, but not necessarily the most knowledge. More important than the amount of knowledge is knowledge of their amount of knowledge. A leader needs to know their limits. I would take that over confidence or technical ability any day of the week.

Motivation and organizational skills are a must as well. Confidence in your sub team, not necessarily. I would take a pragmatic leader over a confident, unless that gets in the way of motivation. The leader shouldn't be a downer and expect nothing out of their subteam, and they should definitely push and challenge them, but "confident" and "overconfident" are more similar than you think. It's far too easy to be overconfident.

Please don't call it "your OCD", it's insulting to people with actual mental disorders. Sorry, pet peeve of mine.

I wouldn't say being your first year on the team would be a problem. I hate when people give people stuff for no other reason other than "seniority". I would say hogging the programming computer and being upset when other people do anything to "your" code would make you a very bad leader. You can't lead a team if you just want to do it all yourself. That level of micromanagment is the opposite of a leadership quality.

I'm being blunt, but I figure you'd appreciate honest advice rather than softened advice for the sake of being super nice. I don't think you'd be a good programming leader... right now. Hogging the code is generally a sign of arrogance, that you think you're the only person who can do the code right. Your "OCD" about it being changed and the following from the next paragraph

is also indicative of this subconscious attitude. Note the implication that because someone else is working on it, it'll turn out wrong and need fixing up.

Task delegation isn't laziness. It will probably take more effort and work than coding a robot would have, especially because you could delegate some of it to yourself.

As for advice, I would suggest you remember your goals and work based on them. You're not working on a programming team with the goal of producing functional and effective code for an FRC robot. That is a goal, but not the ultimate goal. The ultimate goal is to inspire people to pursue science and technology, and depending on your team, teaching, engaging, and learning should be a part of that. When given the choice between getting the code done an hour earlier, or engaging more of your programmers, the choice is obvious.

I wouldn't define "taking charge" as "hogging the computer and coding the whole robot". That's the opposite of leadership. Taking charge would be coordinating your programming team to get the entire project done.

---


I think you're starting to catch on a bit. You've seen a shortcoming of yours, that you're bad at teaching, and you're considering the compromises you need to make to effectively do your job as a leader rather than as a coder. I think the important distinction to make is that you see leadership as the person who does the most work, when that's not exactly true. "Going the extra mile" as a leader isn't taking a big project and doing it yourself; "taking charge" isn't doing 100% of the robot's code. You'll need to separate being a leader from doing the work.

Re: What Makes A Good Leader?
 

Tribal Leadership is one of the best Leadership books I have read as far as applicability to FRC and FIRST in general. I purchased several copies and have had our other mentors read it, and passed it on to people within the CD community I have a lot of respect for (there is much more to come). You can actually download the audio-book version for free by signing up through Zappos.com
http://www.zappos.com/tribal.zhtml
It in MP3 format.
Why is an online shoe distributorship offering free downloads of a leadership book? Oddly enough for many of the same reasons 341 won Chairman's this year. SERIOUSLY! the audio-book is missing the chapter on Strategy which in my opinion is one of the best views of general strategy I have ever seen.
David, many of the things you are asking about would be much clearer after reading (or listening to) this book.
************************************************** *******
There are a ton of different ways to lead, and what works for some may not work for others. Some leaders are quite vocal and charismatic. Others are quiet and more of the lead by example. What is important is to understand the different styles and find a style that works best for you, and the people you are leading. I don't think it is leadership to lead a group that you are the only one contributing. That is really just doing, not leading.

If you think of a team as a whole bunch of parts, a poor leader will have a mess. A decent leader will assemble and use this team in a manner that the sum of the parts seperate is actually more than them as a whole. This is underachieving, but nearly inevitable due to overlap of skill sets, timing, and budget constraints. A good leader's output will equal the sum of those independent parts. That means everyone is fully utilized to the sum of their abilities. A great leader is able to produce an output greater than the sum. That is because a great leader is able to get people to work beyond their ability and instead reach their potential.

SMEs (Subject Matter Experts) typically have trouble extending beyond good as they know things can be done better if they do it themselves. This takes them away from leading and developing others and often blocks the efforts of others (hey you guys sit back and watch a pro). A manager I really respect once told me, "The toughest part of being promoted to management was watching others get better at my area of technical expertise than me. Eventually, them getting better became the most rewarding part of my job."

Re: What Makes A Good Leader?
 

I see another way to divide types of leaders; strategic and tactical.

Strategic leaders are the visionaries of the team. They think in terms of years, direction, philosophy. The immediate impact of their decisions is not always visible, but in the long run, you sure are glad they guided the team in a certain direction. They are the Generals, the CEOs, the head coach.

Tactical leaders are the guys in the trenches getting the job done. They lead teams of doers to accomplish a goal. They are the ones planning out the build season, the days objectives, the competition. They buy into the vision of the strategic leaders and make it happen. They are the Captains and the Chief Master Sergeants, the senior managers, the team leaders.

Regardless of the type of leader, they all need to earn respect of those they lead. They don't need to be loved, but they do need respect in order to lead. They need to be confident in their decisions. They need to listen to many sources of input, process that information, then make the best decision they can, sometimes working on incomplete information. They need to be honest.

One of the cool things I have found mentoring an FRC team is to watch the development of students on the team as some of them grow into leadership roles. The change that occurs between freshman and senior is amazing especially when combined with the influence of a program like FIRST.

Re: What Makes A Good Leader?
 

Personally, I think age has nothing to do with being a leader. I have seen 10 year olds ready to lead, and 20 year olds who aren't. It has more to do with your maturity and experience than your age.

Just because someone is a senior does not automatically make them the best person for the job. At times, the right person could be a freshmen who has extensive experience. A good leader will step down so the right people are in the leadership positions, regardless of age.

My $.02

Re: What Makes A Good Leader?
 

As The West Wing taught me, a good leader must believe that he/she was was put on earth by God to do their job, and to never show it.

Re: What Makes A Good Leader?
 

I would like to suggest that any young people interested in leadership, should read one of the many books by or about John Wooden. (storied college basketball coach) I am not a big basketball fan, but I am a big John Wooden fan. Simple and to the point. Check it out!

Another favorite is the "7 habits of Highly Successful People". There is a lot of insight into leadership in that book as well.

Both of these suggested readings make the point that you should "cooperate" with those you are leading. Something I really believe in.

Re: What Makes A Good Leader?
 

Since many have already made excellent and relevant comments, I won't bore with an entire page's worth of what's already been said! However I would like to say just this that I actually heard in a movie: sometimes you have to have served in order to lead. Going off on this, a great leader should be elected because of their experience by those who have experience as well. Our team holds interviews for lead positions (we have to Co-CEOs each year as well as VPs for each subgroup) which are held by the previous year's Co-CEOs for the new Co-CEOs, then the new Co-CEOs (after they are selected) replace the old ones for the new VP interviews, as well as a consistent panel of the same 5-7 mentors for all interviews. This has worked for our team from the beginning, so just thought I'd throw that in there!

Thanks!

-Gen

Re: What Makes A Good Leader?
 

We had a freshman do all of the programming this year. He did it, but was pretty well fried at the end.

The last thing you should do is "hog the code" because if two or three programmers can be effectively coordinated it will spread out the workload and keep fresh eyes looking at the code. Your "OCD" about neat programming could actually be a strength in this regard: if every programmer who works on the code works in the same general format of tabs and spacing etc they will more easily be able to read and comprehend each others code and therefore be a more effective team. Heck, even if you go through after every revision and neaten up the code to a uniform format you would probably be helping things.

If you could handle coordinating 2 other programmers, collectively developing a programming format that works for all of you, and be willing to compromise on programming styles I think you could do okay. Also remember that a good leader is humble, flexible, and usually has a non-abrasive personality.

Re: What Makes A Good Leader?
 

I know this question has been answered. But I'm going to answer it from experience. I was a junior this year and it was only my second year on the team. In fact, on my first year I was the electrical sub-team captain. This year I decided to run for team-captain against a senior who has been on the team sense it's beginning 3 years ago. His last year is next year and he thought for sure his last two years he would be able to be team-captain. I actually happened to win the voting and was team captain this year. I know for a fact that he never respected me the entire year. He was hurt by the fact that it was only my second year on the team and he felt him being older, and more experienced that it was his right to be captain.

You asked what they would fill, it's possible that is what they will fill. Or they accept you won it for the right reasons, and take it in stride.

------------------------------

Now I would like to do something here.

This thread seems to have been started to tell what a good leader is. But it also seems like it is only talking about what a good programming leader is. I would like to submit the following questions.

What is a great leader?

How do you become a great leader? Is it a gift, or something that can be learned?

I ask these because this being my first year as the team leader I was still learning how to lead well. I was able enough to get all the students(save one) to like me and follow me as their leader. The problem was most of the mentors. The engineering mentors (including our Boeing mentor) along with the head mentor, did not like me. They all said I was too strong willed and never listened to them. (Which was followed by the words "You aren't allowed on this team next year", looks like the senior will have his chance after all. ;) ) I wont deny that, but that was mainly when they said stuff like "Riveting is a lot stronger than welding", "It's impossible to weld aluminum" and "80/20 is a lot lighter that extruded aluminum." On the last one they failed to account for the weight of the brackets and only went by pounds per foot.

Anyway, my biggest point is this. How does a high school student become a great leader? Is this even possible? Should their be restrictions on who can lead and who can't? I would love to hear everyone's opinions on this.

Requesting your $0.02
-Rion

Re: What Makes A Good Leader?
 

A good leader must first be an excellent follower.

Re: What Makes A Good Leader?
 

Great questions....and if every aspect of a good leader could be defined, or learned, then there would be many more great leaders. Some parts are instinctive, some can be learned and no two great leaders have exactly the same qualities.

That being said there are a few traits that are very common and if you imagine what you look for in a leader, as a follower, then here are a few:

Listening: I want to follow someone who listens to me.
Empathy: I want to follow someone who understands my viewpoint.
Dependability, Integrity, etc.: I want to follow someone who is dependable and I trust and respect.
Communication: A very big one and the above three traits are part of it. In your example, as a follower, if I believe riveting is stronger than welding and tell you so then I want you to listen, understand why I think so and then communicate to me why you think it may not be true in such a fashion that I trust your response.
Be Fair: Not equal, but fair
Enjoy Every Minute: When my "leader" is not upbeat, I am not upbeat.

And probably the most difficult one for many leaders is to let your sub-leaders do things you don't agree with. Question, inspect, advise but let your leaders lead. Real leaders know when not to turn wrenches or write code. A leaders job is to motivate, have a plan, a strategy and keep the group headed in a direction that everyone knows.

Some of these come natural, some are learned and there are many more. But the biggest thing you can do as a leader (and one that very few leaders do) is to GET FEEDBACK. I mean true, honest, good and bad, feedback. It has to be anonymous from most people to be truly honest and you must devise your own methods but if you get that information, and act on it properly, you will learn why you aren't a good leader and become one if you have the ability. So many "leaders" are ineffective, or not as effective as they could be, and have no idea why.

Re: What Makes A Good Leader?
 

I feel that one of the most important skills for a leader to have is the ability to keep everyone working well together. This year we ran in to issues with simple things like sensor mounts. No one told the CAD team that the sensor in question (a gyro I think) was even going to be used until late in the season so no mount was designed. A good leader would make sure everyone knew that sensor needed to be mounted far enough ahead of time so that it could be designed in.

From a mechanical standpoint, I want a leader who will keep things moving. The time to prototype is in the offseason (if you can call it that), not during week 3. The leader needs to decide when to make a call, and then make a call at that time.

In general, a great leader must be humble. Let's say for example that your average mechanical guy was your new build leader. Now, instead of worrying about whether to use a panhead or cap screw he has to coordinate electrical, CAD, programming, and fabrication. A great leader woud, in this instance, admit that he can't program or wire an electrical board and appoint a "cabinet" if you will. While he doesn't necessarily need to be "hands-on" with everything, he should have a general idea about what's going on.