If alpha means leader, then it also comes with just as many responsibilities as rights. Few people think about that. Everyone says they want to be the leader, but as soon as the first crisis hits and everyone looks at them in panic asking "what do we do? tell us what to do!" they can't handle it.
Being leader means that if the group fails - you fail. Other people's shortcomings become your problem, when they would not be otherwise. If the group has a problem - it's your problem. Leader of the pack fights the stray dog.
An mma buddy of mine fought in Strikeforce when it was in St Louis. Our trainer was backstage getting him warmed up, and I was going into Scottrade with a dozen or so of our other guys. We had just gotten our tickets from the (dirt bag) promoter running the show. For some reason, half of our tickets worked and the other half wouldn't scan. My ticket and my gf's both worked. But the five or six guys with bad tickets were left outside the gate and couldn't get in.
Normally our trainer is in charge of whatever we're doing and we just follow him. But I was #2, because I worked in promotions and ticketing for our events. I'll never forget these guys - all of them serious mma fighters - calling out my name, and saying "help us! we don't know what to do! what do we do?" They looked like they were about to cry.
I told them to calm down, and that we weren't going to leave them. I sent the guys with good tickets into the venue. Then my gf and I checked back out through the gate, and I just started screaming at anyone who looked official. Finally someone with a clipboard came, and was very nice, and took us all to get new tickets that worked.
Afterward my trainer and I had a good laugh about it. He thought that story was hilarious. "They're like a lost pack of children, aren't they?" he said.