What is leadership and how is it displayed? It is said that leadership can take on many forms and while I agree with that statement, it begs the question: How does one quantify it? If asked whether or not one has what it takes to be a great leader, how would one respond? And what evidence would one use to exemplify it? As society\u2019s next generation of leaders, we are called upon to answer these questions. My experiences as a Resident Assistant, and leader of a student organization, have led me to my own answer to these questions. While it is true that there are many ways to display leadership, leadership is not solely quantified by how it has impacted you, but by how it has impacted the community. Leadership is not about a title, but rather the impact and influence one has in the community. Thus, one of the best examples of leadership within a community can be found in team based role-playing games. Games such as Dungeons and Dragons, League of Legends, and Smite, all require their players to form a team with unique roles in pursuit of a common objective. Just as leadership is defined by one\u2019s impact on the community, so too is a player\u2019s leadership in their impact on the team. In an effort to assist thirteen individuals with discovering their own form of leadership in games, I have created a BuzzFeed Quiz which pairs the players with their ideal role in team-based games. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
While there are various roles a player can take on a team, the quiz focuses on the four\ncore roles. The Tank, the strong-hearted defender of the team. The Support, the tactical backbone\nof the team. The Aggressor, the strong-willed sword of the team. And the Ranged Fighter, the\nsharp-eyed spear of the team. Each of these roles are significantly important. The Aggressor and\nTank are the team\u2019s sword and shield. Their duty as the vanguard is to lead the team down the\npath that advances their goal. The Support and Ranged Fighter, on the other hand, act as the\nteam\u2019s eyes and ears. Observant and strategic, their duty as the rearguard is to support and lead\nthe team towards the correct path.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Of the thirteen individuals that were surveyed, almost half of them were given the\nSupport role, and all participants agreed with their designation. As leaders, this could suggest\nthat these six individuals utilize a leadership style that focuses on supporting others. Moreover, it\nsuggests that these individuals may be empathetic and possess the ability to accurately\nunderstand what others need. Interestingly, five of these six individuals have career aspirations\nthat involve a service for others such as, psychologist, doctor and attorney. The second most\npopular role was the Ranged Fighter. A role whose leadership style suggests a more tactful and\nindirect approach to achieving an objective. One individual who was given the Aggressor role\nsaid, \u201cI do not know why I got aggressor…probably because I believe Dishonored isn\u2019t a stealth\ngame.\u201d Being given the Aggressor role, suggest that these individuals utilize a leadership style\nthat focuses on pushing towards greater heights. For example, those individuals who were given\nthis designation have career aspirations such as a paper engineer and an entrepreneur. A\nsurprising result of this quiz, however, was that not a single person received the Tank\ndesignation.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How do our leadership skills set us apart from our peers? If asked whether or not one has what it takes to be a great leader, how would one respond? And what evidence would one use to exemplify it? Leadership goes beyond a title or an authority figure. Leadership is determined by the impact an individual creates. Accordingly, a community is filled with various styles of leaders. Likewise, each of the four roles have a specific strength that they provide, and if a single one was missing, it would lead to the failure of the team. Fittingly, the BuzzFeed quiz is relevant beyond gaming, as it can assist in determining one\u2019s leadership style in society. <\/p>\n\n\n\n