Leadership Less Needed by Reginald

Leadership Less Needed by Reginald - March 2015 Scholarship Essay

When someone is described as being a leader multiple characteristics come to mind; honesty, delegation, communication, creativity, and the power to inspire (according to Forbes) are among the few to name. College teaches individuals these important traits through the many different classes and organizations that the school offers, but leadership skills are not necessary for college success. From an associate’s degree to a master’s, a person can be the exact opposite of a leader and still manage to obtain their degree.

To illustrate, a major test for the semester is about to unfold. Chase has been studying, keeping up in class, and feels prepared for his exam. Just to make sure of his success though he writes a few notes on his inner thigh before the exam. Honesty has been betrayed, but he still passes the course.

In another instance, Suzy has a class that requires her to work with a team. She is really smart and was nominated by the others to lead and organize the project. She accepts, but does not trust her team to get their portions done. Suzy does the whole project by herself and turns it in, showing no delegation towards others.

For another example, Sam is a mediocre student. He does well in class when the professor knows he can do great. A few times, the professor shows interest in Sam and invites him to office hours to see if there is anything more they can do to help him to excel. Sam never meets to talk to the professor and shuts down communication.

In another class there is Mike and Jon. They are in the same class and sit next to each other every day. A worksheet is passed out at the beginning of every class for the students to complete. Everyone is to complete the worksheet on their own accord, but Mike and Jon do it together, usually producing the same answers for each question and destroying the creativity of the worksheet. When time is over the worksheets are collected and the professor shares the highest grade and the lowest grade. Upon hearing the lowest grade, Jon bluntly exclaims loud enough for everyone to hear, “Wow, how could you be that stupid!” Utterly crushing the power to inspire others to do their best.

At any rate these students do not show qualities of a natural leader, but manage to pass their classes, graduate, and continue on with their lives. In the end, leadership skills are not necessary for college success.