In one aspect, a method for determining a leading subscriber in a network consisting of a plurality of network elements, with initially the same privileges and tasks is provided. A request message is sent to all network elements, the request message being marked by a sequence number taken randomly from a first set of numbers. Request messages sent by the remaining network elements over a pre-defined period of time are receive. The sequence number transmitted during the interval is compared with the intrinsic sequence number transmitted during the first stage. If the intrinsic sequence number has the numerically highest value in comparison with all of the received sequence numbers, the network element in question is identified as the leading subscriber.