Leadership or Lack Thereof? by Kaylee

Leadership or Lack Thereof? by Kaylee - March 2015 Scholarship Essay

It is my belief that leadership skills are not only necessary for college success, but also success on a personal level. Without leadership skills, do we ever really develop who we are as a person? Being a leader is not always the captain of the football team or the lead role in the school play. Sometimes being a leader simply means standing up for something you believe in, or refusing to succumb to negative peer pressure. I feel that developing the attitude of a leader is important because this means setting goals and striving to achieve them, no matter how difficult the path will be to do so. Leading is an important part of the human ecosystem, and without a proper attitude, one can only be a follower.

Leadership qualities include listening and actually hearing other people’s ideas and feelings, and reacting appropriately to them in a productive way. Many people think that in order to be a leader one must assume the role of a “boss”, but this isn't the case. A true leader doesn't simply tell others what to do; they assist them and allow them creative and personal flexibility. Without these people, there would be no government offices, no school boards, and the dynamic of the workplace would be in shambles. To put it simply, we need leaders in our society in order to succeed as a whole.

Every person has chances and opportunities in which they could choose to be a leader. As I stated, simply overcoming negative peer pressure and not doing something you feel is wrong can make you a leader, just as much as being the president of your graduating class. The world needs and has seen leaders of many different levels, all of equal importance. These men and women have done great things, but this is, in many cases, due to the leadership skills they possess. While not everyone is a “natural born” leader, everyone can develop certain traits that enhance and further develop their character and become a leader. Leadership skills are important to have in college because this is the time in which students plan for their future careers, and without the ability to make appropriate decisions for them, they can’t achieve the goals they set forth for themselves.

Leaders are the wheels that put others in motion to accomplish great things. Without some form of leadership skills, it is unfortunate but true in most cases, that one would simply “fall through the cracks” and not end up where they’d originally planned. Leadership skills are important to the college student for the same reason that a positive outlook is important, they allow one to develop as a person and to help others along as well. Although some leaders may not get the credit they deserve, the satisfaction of knowing who you are, and what you are capable of, are often rewards in their own right.