2021-04-17 【Aiden in English】 〖We hear a lot about effective leadership but typically leadership implies that there are followers. What is effective followership? (800 Words) 〗 I patted my perspiring palms against the cool lab bench.
“Five minutes ‘til we start!”
Debuting in Experimental Design, a team-based event focused on creating an experiment from scratch. I breathed heavily to calm my pounding chest. Due to our inexperience under pressure, our squad leader divvied up portions of the experiment based on each individual’s comfort zone, molding gears for each person while strictly focusing on efficiency.
Our efforts earned us a third-place medal. Experimental Design showed me that machine-like followership resulted in success; however, when I stood on the stage two spots below our school’s A-team, I realized I was still missing something.
Then, a couple of summers ago, I interned at a biochemistry lab. My mentor, who almost commanded me to call him “Lou,” showed me around the lab for the first day, labeling strange machines and bottles with seemingly fictitious titles like “cell disruptors” and “ethidium bromide.” Nervous, I swallowed most of my questions and just nodded my head as he spoke.
A few days into my internship, Lou vanished from the lab for a couple of hours. Another labmate informed me that he had left behind some tasks for me to do. With my hands feverishly shaking in my gloves, I followed the instructions for a polymerase chain reaction (PCR).
A few hours later, Lou returned, and we examined the results. To my utmost despair, the gels returned colorless, meaning that I screwed something up. Badly.
“Eh, that’s unfortunate.” Splat. Lou tossed the gels into the trash. “Hey, let’s get some food.”
I was stunned. I had just ruined a hundred-dollar kit and wasted half a day's worth of time, and yet Lou was treating me to lunch. While munching on a meat lover’s pizza and watching the World Cup, I confessed to Lou that I needed some help with the PCR. He laughed and nodded, telling me that I should ask more questions if I was confused.
Followership used to mean playing a specified role to perfection, yet during my internship, I became a gear that didn’t fit in the machine. Yet by the time I accepted Lou’s request to manage a PCR on the final day of my internship, my idea of effective followership had completely changed.
“Lou, should I centrifuge the sample now or after adding the enzymes?”
“Do it now. We want to separate out that liquid-y stuff.”
“What about my other unused tissue?”
Lou nudged a trash bin towards me. “Toss it.”
Now comfortable to ask questions, express discomfort, and offer solutions, I felt my role as a follower expand beyond the cog in the machine… and when I placed the gel on the imager, the bands of the electrophoresis shone as brightly as my confidence.
【红霞译文】 〖我们听到很多关于领导力的说法，但通常领导才能意指追随者，那什么是追随力？(800字)〗 坐在凉爽的实验室长凳上，我拍了拍冒汗的巴掌。 “五分钟后开始！”
一个以小组为单位从构思到设计实验的活动拉开了序幕，我大口大口喘着气试图克服内心恐慌。鉴于大家经验少压力大，组长根据组员驾驭能力把实验分成几个部分，让每个人都能在保障效率的基础上发挥最佳状态。
经过努力，我们夺得第三名，实验设计结果表明机械性追随力赢得彩头。但是，当我站全校冠亚军之下的奖台上，心里总觉得缺点什么。
记得前年暑假，我到一个生物化学实验室见习，让我直呼“娄”的导师第一天带我参观实验室，只见天花乱坠的标签（诸如 “细胞破碎器”和“溴化乙锭”）贴在形形色色仪器和玻璃瓶上，我提心吊胆，问题刚到嘴边又咽了回去，由他自个说，我只顾得点头。
见习了几天后，娄大半晌不在实验室，同实验室另一个伙伴说娄要我自己动手做实验。我战战兢兢带上手套，按照说明进行聚合酶链式反应。
过了个把钟头，娄回来了，我俩核对结果，凝胶无色，意味着我操作不当，令人大失所望，太现眼了。 “嗯，见鬼去吧。” 啪嗒一声，娄把凝胶扔进垃圾桶。“嘿，咱吃点东西。”
我惶恐万状，没想到一下子竟造掉一百美元试剂盒，而且还白费半天功夫，可娄依旧请我吃午饭。当一边大快朵颐好肉者比萨、一边观看世界杯足球赛时，我坦白对娄交代在PCR上需要帮忙，他笑着点点头，告诉我如果有不懂的地方应该多提问题。
追随力常用来表示要把特长发挥到极致，而我在见习期间却成了无法协调仪器转动的齿轮，离别前最后一天当答应娄再做PCR时，我彻底改变了对追随力的认识。 “娄，我应该现在离心样品还是加酶之后再做？” “现在就做，我们要分离出液状物质。” “我该怎么处理其它尚未动用的组织呢？” 娄把垃圾桶轻推给我：“扔掉它。” 如今我爱提问题，爱讲不同意见，爱摆解决办法。身为追随者，我觉得自己扮演的角色已经远远超出仪器中齿轮所起到的作用……当我将凝胶放在显影仪上，电泳色带如我坚信的那样清晰明亮。
Today in History(历史上的今天):
2017: Flash Story─Sleep is Bliss(小小说─能睡是福) 2016 Yo-Yo @ Lansdale Intl Fest(2016年兰斯代尔国际节抖空竹)
 Weed Control by TruGreen (真绿公司·杂草防除)
Crosslink(相关博文):
12th Grade(高中四年级) | 
