Why Leadership Does Not Equate to Success by Haley

Why Leadership Does Not Equate to Success by Haley - March 2015 Scholarship Essay

From the time we are capable of understanding what the word ‘leader’ means, the importance of becoming one is stressed to no ends. Everybody is always pounding it into children’s heads that they have to lead and not follow. In all aspects of life, children are expected to exhibit impeccable leadership qualities. I believe that the incessant notion that everyone needs to become great leaders is overplayed, overrated, and plain untrue. People who do not have a full arsenal of leadership skills are more than sufficiently equipped to succeed in college.

There is no question that leadership is, and has always been, one of the most essential factors that contributes to making positive changes in the world. But is everyone meant to be a leader? Consider a world in which every single person devises their own unique plans and tries to make everyone else follow them. Everyone would be walking in their own separate directions and no progress would be made towards any goals. In a world with no followers, there cannot be leaders. Take a very obvious historical example: had Martin Luther King, Jr. given his brilliant speeches to a crowd full of people dedicated to being leaders, the Civil Rights movement would have gone nowhere. They would all be trying to come up with their own ways to lead others to equal rights and fair treatment of African Americans. Though their intentions would have been good, they would have achieved nothing. It worked out for the best that these people, instead, chose to be followers of King. There is absolutely nothing wrong with being a follower, as long as you choose wisely who or what to follow. The term ‘follower’ has a negative stigma, but the truth is that there is nothing shameful about being a follower.

This concept can be equally applied to college students. Some are fit to be leaders, and some are fit to be followers. Neither is more important than the other, because leaders and followers are entirely dependent on one another. Any assessment that college students need to be good leaders in order to be successful is sophomoric and close-minded. What is much more important is that you develop skills to differentiate between those who should be followed and those who should not. Leadership can be likened to a superpower: it can be used for good or for evil. People who do have good leadership qualities should focus on making sure they are leading people towards positive and productive solutions, and everyone else should focus on choosing these types of leaders to follow.

It is unrealistic to expect everyone to possess great leadership qualities and unfair to look down upon those who do not. College campuses across the board contain a small percentage of students that can really call themselves leaders; the remainder of the students fall into the category of followers. These labels, by no means, dictate a student’s level of success in the realm of college or in the realm of life.