What really IS necessary? by Keith

What really IS necessary? by Keith - March 2015 Scholarship Essay

The world is, in one word, immense. Countless lands, people, foods, animals, planets, stars, and ‘stuff’ lie far beyond the naked eye’s sight. With such a large amount of possibilities that this world offers, each individual has the ability to set his or her own dreams. Whether it is to become the next top soccer player, a respected surgeon, or the prestigious CEO of a big company, each and every dream has a different road required to reach it. Needless to say, numerous roads and dreams require the success of college to reach. That is what “college success” really is! College success is one’s ability to reach his or her own dream after the completion of college. So then, are leadership skills necessary for college success? Well let us see. Leadership skills are the abilities that an individual has that make them capable of managing or directing a group. Are these skill required for college success? Is it necessary to have the ability of leading others to reach any goals or dreams one may have? Well first, it is important to know what leaders are and how many there are.

A leader is the head of a faction, but it is important to understand that a leader has no power if he or she has no one to lead. A leader is only as powerful as the people he leads. Without people to direct, there is no leader. Now, the United States has one acknowledged “leader”. It is true that the president shares his power with Congress, so if we were to count Congress as a whole as the leaders of the U.S., the country would have 535 leaders, according to www.govetrack.us. 535 people lead 318.9 million people (the population of the U.S.). That means that about 0.00000167764 of people in the whole U.S. population are leaders of the nation-a very small amount. To compare with the nations of earth, the United Nations is what many acknowledge as the leadership of the planet’s nations. According to the United Nations Careers website, the UN consists of about 41,000 people. If we were to recognize the UN as the leaders of the world’s population (roughly 7 billion), that would mean that 0.00000585714 of the world’s population are leaders. Again, this information shows how many leaders there truly are in the world.

With this data, it is clearly seen that leaders comprise of a very small portion of a population. This does not mean that the significance of a leader is small. In fact, it is anything but small. What it does mean however, is that not everyone is a leader; not everyone has a position of power in which they manage others. The truth is that not everyone is raised for such a task. A good leader has the natural set of qualities needed to be successful, and it is difficult to grasp these qualities when one does not have the natural born attitude and abilities to do so. The best leaders were born leaders. So what does this mean for the rest of us? What does this mean for the 99% who aren't meant to be leaders? Well the answer is simple. Those who aren't lead must learn to be led. Again, this does not mean to be a mindless servant or follower. It means that we must learn to collaborate, work as a team with the other non-leaders, and to understand what leadership means. We must have the knowledge of what it means to be led and when we are being led incorrectly, so that we may fix the direction of the team for a better purpose. Leadership skills are not necessary for the roads and goals of numerous individuals. They are not necessary for college success. Why? Because, as it is clearly seen, most of us aren't leaders; we weren't meant to be one. What is necessary is the acknowledgment of a leadership and how to work under one. This mistake made by colleges, scholars, and high standing officials that leadership skills are crucial to the success of a high-achieving student is wrong. If you accept and raise only leaders, then the world or group that you will have will be one of only leaders. Who will become the leader of leaders? How successful will this assembly be if no one knows how to be led?