Those Who Need Leaders by Tanajah

Those Who Need Leaders by Tanajah - March 2015 Scholarship Essay

Contrary to popular belief, an individual does not need leadership skills in order to be successful in college. Although everyone tries, not everyone is able to be a leader. There are those who lead, those who need a leader, and those who follow. In my opinion, a leader is someone who makes most of a group’s decisions, voices the decisions for the group, and the person that majority of the responsibility falls on because, as a leader, that individual represents the group. Some people are not able to handle that sort of pressure and responsibility of other individuals’ fates being in their hands. However, that does not mean that they will not be successful in college.

College is a place where individuals can grow and be the kind of person that they wish to become. This does not necessarily entail that leadership skills are necessary. To be successful in college, an individual must learn the material which he is studying, do well on all of their assignments, meet and befriend different people from various cultures, and grow and mature into a better version of themselves. That is what college is all about—growing, maturing, and learning new and different things. None of the aforementioned activities require an individual to have leadership skills. Of course, being a leader may make things a little bit easier, allowing for a more easy and efficient way of achieving one’s goals. However, lacking leadership skills does not mean that one will fail college.

It is true, one lacking in leadership skills may not have as many opportunities due to their apprehension of stepping out of their comfort zone to try new things, but the opportunities will still be there for them. Not to mention, if this individual is in a group of people, there will be a leader to help them and allow them to have the same opportunities. As I mentioned earlier, there are leaders, those who need leaders, and those who follow. In my opinion, if an individual is not a leader then he is most likely a person who needs a leader—which is very different from a follower. A follower is someone who barely makes any decisions on his or her own—they simply expect others to do all the work and they just go along with it. I would assume that there are very few followers in a college setting. An individual who needs a leader is one who does not have as many leadership skills as those who are leaders. As mentioned above, these individuals may be the ones who do not wish to have the pressure and responsibility of others’ fate in their hands. However, they are able to form their own opinions and voice them to try to help the group reach a decision.

Although they are not leaders per say, they are the individuals that frame the basis of my argument as to why leadership skills are not necessary for college success. These individuals are leaders in their own way: they simply do not want the extra pressure and responsibility that the leaders take upon themselves that truly give them the title of a leader. However, without having the title of being a “leader,” it is more than possible to succeed in college.