The Success in Leading by Tanaja

The Success in Leading by Tanaja - March 2015 Scholarship Essay

Leadership skills are essential for college success. I was recently told that being a good leader requires that you, of course, know how to lead and that you are able to relinquish your leadership over to someone more qualified and knowledgable than you. Most people think of leaders as someone who can take control of a situation and tell everyone exactly what to do and how to do it. While that is somewhat true, being a good leader is being able to ask for the opinions of who ever you’re working with.

I’ve been in class when the teachers said “this is a group project” and heard everyone exert a loud harmonious sigh because we all knew what that meant. There’s going to be someone in the group who doesn’t want to do anything, the other person who wants to do everything, and then there’s you in the middle who wants for a group project to actually be a group project. A good leader is the person who says okay let’s work together and put all of our strengths into this project. That is how you get an excellent grade. By bringing out the best in your peers so everyone can reach success.

Leadership can also be demonstrated in yourself. Knowing when you need help, when that calculus class is just not working for you, and getting the assistance. Sometimes people let pride get in the way of that. It would not be a bad idea to ask someone who is doing better than you in class for help or to go get tutoring. Not letting pride take over your life is you taking leadership in your own life and it’ll show in your grades.

Demonstrating leadership in college makes people who you may come in contact with in the future pay attention to you in the present. Having those skills builds confidence in your own self, which can and will land you a job. No one likes to have a boss breathing down their shoulder every second of the day. If your boss trusts you to have it all under control, he or she would be okay with leaving you to do your job and may even be the deciding factor in whether or not you get a promotion.

While leadership skills are necessary for being successful in college, college plays a very important role in molding students into having a leader mentality. Being a leader in college can pave the way for the future success you've always dreamed of.