Nan, you're right that an alpha struggling with something internal is even MORE worthy of our rooting for him than one who's battling something external, because we figure he's spent his whole life preparing to be good at the external stuff...whereas the internal? Uh, not so much.

I’m watching a tv series right now where the alpha male is a war vet, but suffers from ptsd. So he definitely has the classic characteristics of alpha, but struggles internally and so we love him and root for him all the more.

Laura, that's a good summary of two frequently observed pros & cons when dealing with an alpha: seems like getting things done & being a jerk can easily go hand-in-hand! (Glad you got away from that boss. 🙂 )

Michael, you gotta like anyone who's so confident in their own competence that they don't rush to show it off at the earliest possible moment. Somebody who doesn't feel the need to be admired is all the more deserving of admiration.

To be a really Take Charge Kind of Guy, you have to be convinced that you know what's going on, and as a general rule if you're convinced you know what's really going on the moment you walk into a situation you're probably wrong.

As a result, I don't tend to write Alpha Males -- at least, not the traditional ones. My characters can take charge in a crisis, but that's usually because they've been hanging back, watching, assessing, questioning their conclusions, and reassessing. And as a result, when everything goes sideways they actually know what needs to be done. If they're more powerful than the people around them (I write a lot of fantasy, often with horror or sci-fi elements, so that isn't uncommon) then they still tend to hang back and see what other people will do, knowing that if they choose to walk away nobody's likely to be able to stop them; they can afford to wait.

Dorothy, your husband sounds like an alpha male who's finally met his true love match -- congratulations to both of you!

Cindi and Jenny, this is fascinating! I'm always a little startled when a young man gets on the elevator before me, but knowing that his mother probably taught him it would be insulting to do otherwise makes him a respectful person after all. 🙂

Denise, good call on the people an alpha surrounds himself with -- that sure says a LOT about who he is!

Christine, how cool that I'll get to see you there -- and you'll get to see part of your quote about alpha males during the second-Wednesday lecture. 🙂