The Actions of Leaders by Kacey

The Actions of Leaders by Kacey - March 2015 Scholarship Essay

To decide whether or not having leadership skills is necessary to be successful in college, I must first explore what “being successful in college” means. Is it graduating at the top of your class, double majoring, or just graduating? As a first generation college graduate and a soon to be graduate student at an ivy league institution, just by making it through my undergraduate years and being accepted into a graduate program, makes me feel like a success. To me, learning is a very personal experience; college is a place where you really find out who you are and you delve into making your passions your career. It is the time in your life where you can be utterly and truly “selfish,” in the way that, what you are doing with your time will directly affect the outcome of your own life. College is the time in your life when you are focused on increasing your scope of knowledge and your specialties.

This is why initially I had decided that leadership skills were not necessary for a student to be successful in college. Having the skills to lead others should not determine your success in college. However, having the ability to lead others is actually only a small sliver of the skills a leader must have. According to Forbes “Top 10 Qualities That Make A Great Leader,” being able to lead people is not even one of the necessary skills. Forbes included leadership qualities such as: honesty, ability to delegate, communication, sense of humor, confidence, commitment, positive attitude, creativity, intuition, and ability to inspire. All of which, are skills that are necessary to be successful in college.

It is obvious to me now that leadership skills do not require you to focus your time on others, but are skills that also give you the ability to grow as an individual. Students must be honest in the work they submit or they can be removed from their university, which alone is a skill absolutely necessary to be successful. Communicating, being confident and having a positive attitude are all ways you can excel in your work. Asking for help when needed and being able to admit when you don’t understand, are skills that are difficult and embarrassing, but necessary to understand difficult concepts. Creativity, intuition, positive attitude and ability to inspire; Like previously mentioned, learning can be a very personal experience. Following your own intuition and being able to make the best decisions for yourself is a great way to make sure you will not only be successful in college but also in your long term goals. Lastly, being able to delegate. This skill can be self-explanatory in a business model, but sometimes it is not always necessary to work in groups and delegate work as a student. I would view this skill as more being able to delegate work among myself, and being able to plan and figure out when you should complete certain tasks.

In conclusion, you can have exemplary leadership skills, without ever being a physical leader for peers. Leadership skills can not only help you become successful in all aspects of your college experience but in your professional and personal life as well.