Necessary Leadership Skills in College by Emilee

Necessary Leadership Skills in College by Emilee - March 2015 Scholarship Essay

Some people are seemingly born with the ability to lead and others appear content to follow; however, while one may not be required to always be the leader, it is very beneficial to be able to lead when necessary. The ability to take charge of a situation, organize people and ideas, and delegate is very important in college.

From my understanding, college consists of both individual and group assignments. In order to successfully complete group assignments one has to be able to work the people they are partnered with. It is fairly safe to assume that not everyone in a group will have exactly the same ideas for the project. Someone has to be willing to initiate a discussion, listen to all of the other student’s thoughts, and head the creation of a plan for how they will accomplish what is required. It is not safe for a student to assume that someone else is going to fill this roll. Students should be able to recognize when a leader is needed and know how to fill that need as well as act as mediator for any negotiating of ideas that needs to be done. They should not use their proclamation of leadership to impose their ideas on their group mates, while their ideas cold be wonderful and should be considered, acting as a leader does not make one right.

Delegation is another crucial leadership skill for these kinds of situations. After plans for how a task is going to be accomplished is made, all group members should have to contribute. Unfortunately, not all college students are equally motivated or have the same goals for their GPA. If left alone all the work would most likely be accomplished, but only by those who cared enough to do it. A leader’s ability to delegate tasks that need to be done and hold everyone (including themselves) responsible is beneficial to all those in the group.

Another important note to make is that someone with leadership skills should not feel the need to always be in control. It is entirely possible for two or more amazing leaders to end up working together. If they are all vying for the head position the resulting work could be less than amazing. Part of being a successful leader is knowing how to work with other leaders too.

There are many leadership skills that are beneficial and potentially necessary to reach ones full potential at the college level. These skills will enhance a student’s ability to work well with others and produce good results during group activities.