You know them when you see them, right? Some say a leader is born, not made, but I don’t think that’s true. Leaders certainly share some characteristics, such as:
- Intelligence
- Listening skills
- Communication skills
- Courage
- Respect
- Adaptability
- Clear expectations
That’s a good list for now. We don’t need every skill out there, just the big ones. Intelligence is mandatory and both Tier and Ash seem to have this one down so we’re gonna move on.
Listening skills – now this is something lots of leaders think they have, think they don’t need, or fail to use. According to Junco, Ash sucks at this and Tier wins in this category easily.
Communication skills – I’ve seen Tier mishandle lots of tense situations because he’s not a great communicator. In fact he can get downright nasty unless he forced to say what’s on his mind. He’s certainly got a passive aggressive side to him in this department. Ashur, on the other hand, seems to handle the talking part better than he does the listening part. Score one for Ash.
Courage – both Ash and Tier have no issues in this department.
Respect – this too is hard to differentiate. While they both have opposite leadership styles, the men respond to each of them equally.
Adaptability – I think both Ash and Tier lack in this quality. They are pretty rigid and like to have consensus (yes Tier – even you). Junco is absolutely the most adaptable soldier on the team because she’s never had the luxury of relying on others, but she’s definitely not a leader.
Clear expectations – in battle both men are able to spell out objectives, but Junco tells me that Ash is far better at this, probably because he’s the communicator.
So, who’s the better leader? Luckily the 039 doesn’t have to choose because both men direct this team and when one fails the other picks up the slack. When Tier is lax, Ashur is strict. When Tier is out of control, Ashur is reserved. When Tier is treating Junco like shit, Ashur makes her happy.
It’s almost like the cancel each other out. It's like asking - Who's the better superhero? Batman or Iron Man? Batman is in control, he's a bit tight, right? That's Ashur. While Iron Man, he's cool, funny, easy to hate...that's Tier.
Regardless of who has which quality – one thing’s for sure…Tier and Ash are a package deal and I doubt the team could run without them both in control.