Are leadership skills necessary for college success? Why or why not? by Shannan

Are leadership skills necessary for college success? Why or why not? by Shannan - March 2015 Scholarship Essay

Leadership has been an important topic for many years throughout the public sphere. You frequently here these qualities highlighted and praised in terms of government, business, and even working within the community. However, one connection that may not be as distinct as the others is the relationship between leadership skills and attending college. While the aspect of leadership may not be something that is frequently associated with prevailing views of college students or the college experience, the reality is that leadership skills are necessary for college success.

Before examining why leadership skills are essential for college students, it is first necessary to accurately define what is meant by leadership skills. In the past, leadership was viewed as an innate talent—something with which you were essentially born. However, this is simply not the case. The reality is that leadership skills are learned and developed just like more tangible skills. Additionally, a historic view of leadership likely brings to mind thoughts of vocal leaders standing before a group and leading them to new heights. While these individuals may certainly be leaders, that is simply one of the many perspectives and styles of leadership. The reality is that leadership skills are quite diverse and can be utilized by a wide variety of people in a wide variety of settings. One does not have to have a formal leadership role to utilize leadership skills.

There are many reasons why leadership skills are important for success in college. First, college students face an immense transition period with much higher expectations than they have been accustomed to. During high school, students have a great deal more structure in terms of classes, schedules, and life at home. However, college provides unique challenges. Students must balance their own time and schedules. This necessitates the development of a number of important time management techniques such as prioritizing, scheduling, and balancing various roles. Without the assistance of parents, college students must take full control of their lives to a much greater extent than many have had to before. Additionally, the transition to college generally is associated with much more rigorous course work that places a greater emphasis on critical thinking. This can require a greater amount of time and effort to be dedicated to the academic environment. It also requires college students to realize when they need extra assistance and find the appropriate sources to seek that help out. This requires the development of resourcefulness and self-efficacy, two important aspects of leadership.

In addition to the transition from high school to college, leadership skills are important for college success in many other regards. The modern system of education places a much more collaborative emphasis on course work. This, in many ways, is in response to the changing society at large. The world is quickly becoming more collaborative and team-oriented. As a result, future leaders require a new set of leadership skills. These skills can begin to be developed during group projects in college. They include things such as advocacy, assertiveness, active listening, interpersonal communication, and flexibility. An individual that demonstrates these skills will likely succeed in college and have a strong foundation for their next transition—that into the working world.

Another aspect of college that requires leadership skills involves the sheer scope of the environment. For most individuals, college is an eye-opening experience where they are exposed to a great breadth and depth of people and ideas. The diverse nature of today’s campuses largely results in the need for another set of unique skills to be employed. These include open-mindedness, cross-cultural skills, and acceptance of difference. As a whole, this skill set empowers leaders to be able to function in a variety of different environments, societies, and cultures.

As a whole, it is easy to see why leadership skills are so important to college success. College represents a difficult transition in the lives of most students that brings with it new opportunities and demands. Students can easily find themselves overwhelmed and leadership skills will enable them to be resilient and effectively work to overcome obstacles as they present themselves. Whether a college student is engaged in academic work, planning a campus event, considering a change of major, serving their community, or any of a number of other possibilities, leadership skills must be used on nearly a daily basis. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why college serves as an excellent laboratory environment to practice and perfect a number of these critical skills.