Leader or follower?
Have you ever felt forced to take the lead on something you didn’t really want to? Or do you welcome any and all leadership opportunities?
In the past, I have been placed in charge of some things that I would have preferred not to been the leader on. This lack of feeling of ownership over the project, paired with my general disinterest, made me think I had no leadership qualities in me. That I was destined to be a follower (which I truthfully sometimes prefer).
But I think I was just in the wrong setting. With the wrong “some things.” Because I thrive on being a leader in other instances. The most recent example, is my trip to Salt Lake City (SLC).
I am somewhat of a planner. I say somewhat, because with a lot of things, I am all “whatever happens, happens… meh.”
But before I visit a new city, or go to a city that I am not familiar with for the second or third or whatever visit, I tend to casually research it. I check out the city orientation/street setup, read up on the citiy’s history, maybe look in to some fun activities, see if there are any vegan restaurants. I figure out how to get around. I check the weather.
I figured most people do at least this.
I don’t think so.
I won’t name any names.
Ha.
So on my recent trip to SLC, I was reminded of the leader and follower role while in a unfamiliar city with other people you know. I definitely took the lead in getting us places, finding things to do, and so on. And I didn’t mind. I really enjoy that. I made an entire itinerary for my trip to NYC with Erin in March 2012 (complete with google docs and corresponding google map). I was in charge of schedule and getting around when Steven and his brother and I went to NYC in February 2013.
I really like it. I like being in charge. Ha.
But it blows my mind that people show up somewhere and have no idea what is going on, or what the city is about! Maybe they are relying on the people they are with? Or if you are traveling to visit someone, it would make sense to rely on that person.
So, what kind of traveler are you? Super meticulous planner? Casual planner like me? “I’ll figure it out when I am there” type? Or “where am I/who am I/what day is it” type? Ha ha ha.
You didn’t think I was going to write about SLC without some pictures, did you?
A portion of the trip was spend by myself, which is really refreshing. Don’t get me wrong, I am not anti-social*, and I did spend time with other people on this trip, but there is something to be said for getting to do whatever the heck you want to, and at your own pace! That included, for me:
Visiting the SLC Public Library:
view from on top of the library
the State Capitol (hey! any good tricks for remembering capitol vs capital?!):
hiking Ensign Peak
click to see larger
click to see larger
And… I still have to tell you guys about the Salt Flats! In another post… these are just pictures from some of the things I did by myself!
*all the time
Themocracy
Those pics are beautiful!!! Salt Lake looks gorg!
I think I’m sorta both. I tend to lead just because I like to do what I want to do and I’m good at bringing people together. BUT I hate to plan so sometimes I just go along for the ride.
When it comes to traveling though I’m definitely a ‘let’s figure it out when we get there’ type person. Since we don’t plan, we just wander around and adventure along the way!
Ha ha ha. That is the perk of leading! You get to do what you want! But you have to account for wandering and discovering, like you said! I totally ran in to this random book mural in SLC that I loved! 🙂
I do NOT like being in charge. As a mom, that’s tough sometimes 🙂
I am a planner when it comes to travel though. But honestly, we don’t get to travel very much.
OMG, we would so be the best travel buddies ever. I love to look for things to do, places to go and foods to eat. Even for my trip to Lexington, which was a mere 24 hours, I had mapped out where we would eat and for what meal. Sometimes, I even pick the foods. I don’t like to waste time when I travel and get home wishing I would have done something.
In life, I think I’m a bit of leader. Maybe it’s the first born in me but I tend to take charge and just get things done. (It might also be that I like to be bossy and get my way).
We should travel together 😉
That is a huge part of why I “sorta” research – I don’t want to get back and think I missed out on something!
SLC is gorgeous! The library is quite breathtaking. I never would have thought to go to the library. Is it something that tourists do in SLC because it’s so awesome?! Or did you go because you are into architecture?
I am much like you and casually plan things. I’m feeling a little overwhelmed about my upcoming Europe trip and I’m running out of time to do research. I’m starting to think I should bring books/maps onto the plane to research on the way there! I’ve found that unless there is someone more familiar with an area than I am that I tend to take a leadership role when traveling. It’s somewhat frustrating because the logistics of things can sometimes wear on me but someone has to know what’s going on so I choose to be that person in most situations. I would let Joey take on that role but I guess ultimately I like to be in charge. I’ve also learned that he’s more willing to pay whatever price for something (hotel, travel, etc) and just get it taken care of rather than search around for good deals. He doesn’t get any pleasure out of getting a deal I guess so I always take over anyway.
I don’t know if tourists go there. I went because I pretend to be in to architecture. I’m not really, though.
When do you leave for Europe? It seems like you still have lots of time to plan!
When I read the first line of your post I immediately thought of being in charge of cleaning, which I should not be the leader of, ever, but am as a mom. I do love to plan though. But I think I plan so much that I like to have ‘meh’ times just to have them. And enjoy them. Sometimes I plan them. Lol.
Heh, I have the same question included in one of my Hawaii recap posts, because I’ve thought about that too. I do a little casual research before I go anywhere, then we make a list of things that would be cool to do/see and go from there. There’s always a lot more things to do than time, so I guess it’s important to decide what is most important to do while you’re traveling somewhere. But at the same time, a lot of good vacation memories have come from things that were done on a whim, so I don’t go with strict travel itineraries.
I’ve never been to SLC – it’s not at all what I expected, so thanks for sharing your pictures!
I am a total planner when I am going somewhere new. We went on a cruise in Februrary and I was researching our ports of call for weeks before the cruise. I relax a little more when it’s not my first visit somewhere. I like to make sure I can see as much of a new place as possible and not get terribly lost while doing it.
I am totally the anal retentive over planner. I have gotten better in recent years about balancing that with leaving time for random adventures and relaxation. Usually the things you don’t plan for are the best!
And I love having time by myself when I travel. Since I travel so much for work, I spend a lot of time exploring by myself. It is nice to be able to go at your own pace and not have to worry about anyone else.
I am the planner, Brian is not. Usually when we go somewhere I look into everything and I plan out most things. Brian just goes along for the ride.
I am the planner. I love planning. I do that for a large part of my job and in my social life. Whenever my friends and I plan a trip, they always turn to me. It is pressure and sometimes stressful, but I do love it!
I think I was a travel planner in another life. For a new or semi-new destination, I do all of those things mentioned above (including mapping out potential running routes!). For a “serious vacation” I go into hyper detail mode. BUT…I don’t fully schedule the day(s). We’ll have a basic framework/key activities but I basically do all of the research so that we’ll have tons of options based on our mood, cravings, whereabouts, etc. That way we’re not stuck with crappy concierge recommendations or with no clue on what to do.
I had a friend who went to Hawaii for 10 days and planned/researched NOTHING! Consequently, they bored…I actually cringed a little bit when she got back and told me about her trip b/c I felt like she didn’t maximize all the opportunities!!
BORED IN HAWAII?! How is that possible?!
EXACTLY!!!! (Basically they were tired of laying around on the beach but didn’t know what to do and were unfamiliar with the recommendations they were getting) I am probably a little TOO adventurous sometimes but all the exploring opportunities and THEY MISSED IT!
I used to be much more planned when I would travel. I’d pack my days with an itinerary of what to do, when, where, etc. Of course, I had fun. But, what I’ve found is some of my most favorite experiences are the days when things didn’t go as planned. The days when I was delayed and had time to just explore at my own pace. I much prefer seeing a city the way locals see it, rather than scoot from one tourist destination to another. I’m taking my boys to Italy this fall. And, of course we’ll do some research about what we’d like to see in each destination, but I think a lot of our trip is going to be all about exploring on foot.
Italy is all about exploring on foot! I was flabbergasted when someone I knew went there and had a DRIVER. What the eff.
Theres times that I don’t mind taking charge, but I am NOT a planner. I like to know that there is an idea of what we’re going to do, but being so directionally challenged, planning out trips is very overwhelming for me. When we went to Disney World, my husband did all the planning and loved it. Good thing he’s around! Ha!
If I know that I’m going to be the go-to person I will come up with things to do and how to get there. But I’d still prefer that those things to do include tours of places that I’m not familiar with because I like leaving the logistics up to someone else. I just want to show up and have someone else lead me around! But, of course, I have a smart phone so I’m quickly able to look up things on the fly so that really helps with not having to plan it all out in advance!
I’m pretty casual about traveling. I’ll plan some things, but like to leave a lot of it up to chance!
Hmm, what kind of traveler am I?
I think I do some research, but the hubby does most of it. What we did in Colorado is go to a local place (running store and bike store) and we asked the locals what’s cool to do, and where should we eat. We try to embrace the surroundings and not eat ‘chain’ restaurants while on vacay. We ended up at a local brewery the first night, then asked our waitress what cool to do? She led us to the hiking trail, then we met some old ladies on the trail, and talked to them. That led us to come really cool places. ‘Cause that’s how we roll (and we are cool…)
So yeah, I guess we are casual, we let the locals tell us where to go. I mean they are from there…
Oh gosh. I could write a huge rant about eating at chains in SLC. I will pass on that.
I asked the people I met at the expo for suggestions, and my friend who lived there too 🙂
I’m an often put in a leadership position- because others don’t want to or because they know I will do it eventually. It comes naturally to me but I am also worried about seeming “bossy” as I’ve been called such on occasion.
I like to do a little research before I head out on a trip. It stresses me out to not know where to go or what to see and then I spend all my time that I should be enjoying/relaxing worrying about how to best use our time. So yeah, I plan.
The photos! The temple looks amazing!!
I tend to be the leader because damnit, if I’m on vacation or visiting someplace I want to make sure I go to the places I want to go to! I pretty much planned our Europe trip in 2002 completely down to trains, hotels and major landmarks. However, I don’t schedule down to the minute. I want to leave time to discover things I wouldn’t have seen had I planned all the things! I don’t mind being the leader for things I’m interested in…
awesome pics lady…I like to be both the leader, and follower. Sometimes giving the reigns to someone else makes the trip all that more enjoyable! 🙂
Love the pics. If I’m travelling with my hubby I’ll be mostly lazy and let him figure it out. If I’m alone or he’s there but working so I’m on my own or handling kids by myself, I am quite good getting around by myself. When I travelled for business, I was always the ‘leader’.
I love your pics!!! SLC looks beautiful!! I am super impressed with the library- so much better than ours!! I love libraries!!
I do not like being in charge- at all!! I am very much a follower (although I feel bad about saying that)!
When traveling, I don’t usually do any research beforehand, I just go and wing it. No plans (unless there is something there I have heard about and really want to do), no idea how to get around, nothing! Most of the time I check the weather to see what I need to pack but that’s about it. Maybe I should start traveling with you!!! 🙂
=^..^=
I think that most people have leadership qualities, but at times we don’t recognize variations in these qualities. For instance, we think that a good leader has to be a strong public speaker, but that’s not necessarily the case.
As for my own experience, I have taken on leadership positions at the school where I work, but it’s a very small pond. I don’t think I’d be much of a leader in a bigger arena.
And – even funnier, I was a bit outraged when I signed up to help out the tri club in which I sort of participate and they bumped me up from being a low-level volunteer to being in charge of something. How dare they!! Don’t they understand that I volunteer in order to NOT be in charge?!
It seems like organizations are hurting for volunteers so bad that they commonly try to get people to take a leadership role over a group! No! Some people just want to be told how to help!
I remember the itinerary and it was great to have someone else who knew what they were doing!
Love the pics! I am a leader a lot but not when it comes to traveling. When I was sightseeing in AZ I wished I had someone with me, but at the same time loved the freedom of being alone and being able to do whatever I wanted each weekend and change plans if I felt like and hike however long I wanted, eat whenever I wanted etc. But yes usually I just wing it, but for some bigger trips I try to plan a little bit more than usual.
I’ll let you guess what type I am.
I am so happy that you did as much as you did while here. I love to do a ton when visiting cities I’ve never been to (which means I need a lot of time when I finally end up visiting Chicago). I like to plan a small bit for visiting the more well known sites to see, but exploring and finding awesome places is the best part.
I am so glad I found your blog. I am at my parents house today in Salt Lake for the next couple of weeks and you have inspired me to go out and do a few things I haven’t done in Utah since I’ve been in this state several times! I can’t wait!!!
Aww, cool! Let me know what you end up doing! There is a lot I wanted to do and didn’t get to 🙂