By: Sabrina Y.
I have learned many tips through my high school
leadership experience that I would like to share with you today. It’s not easy
being the president of a volunteer club, the head of my school’s literary/arts
magazine, an editor for our school’s newspaper, and an active Girl Scout all at
once, but I’ve managed to become the best leader I can possibly be by following
these rules:
Be brave sometimes - Be courageous always
I always thought bravery
and courage were synonyms for one another, but then as I really thought about
it, for me bravery is temporary and courage is the stuff that lasts forever.
Bravery is auditioning for the school musical freshman year and courage is auditioning
for the next five shows the school will put on. Bravery is raising your hand to
answer a question in class, while courage is raising your hand during every
class discussion. Bravery is singing during an optional school music recital,
while courage is singing in front of 300 people at a summer camp. Bravery
is the initial push that helps you put aside your fears for just a moment in
order to do something you’ve never done before. Courage is the everlasting
result of being brave. Don’t miss out on an opportunity. Get outside of
your comfort zone.
Plan in advance
In the summer, if you know
that you promised to give a presentation sometime early in the school year on
How to Conduct a Good Interview to your school newspaper staff writers, then
create that power point over the summer. Working ahead of time when you know
you have time, is always the best and most efficient use of time.
Also, create calendars!
Plan out club meeting dates or club events in advance. As a result, more can
get accomplished and everyone in your club can be on the same page. In
addition, create goals for your club/event/organization ahead of time. Detailed
and meaningful goals fuel the fire that will keep you going, even when times
get a little more stressful and tough.
Collaborate
Everyone has a different
story, a different perspective, and a different strength, talent, or passion
than you. Use these pieces of knowledge to your advantage and work together
with others! This is especially useful when it comes to planning events or
fundraisers with clubs. Even though you are officially the leader,
you need to hear the voices of all your club members!
Create the environment that you want
I believe respect is such
an important and necessary virtue. This is why I build any of the clubs or groups
I’m in charge of around respect. I’ve learned that everyone will not like
everyone in the group and everyone will have really bad days, once in awhile.
However, I like to tell everyone that whatever negative feelings you have for
someone or whatever negative feelings you had that day, you leave at the door
because it is the only way to have a productive, enjoyable, and peaceful
meeting. Create the environment that you want for your fellow peers, and make
sure they know about it.
Ask for help
Understand that no matter
how hard you try, it is impossible to do everything on your own. You are not
perfect. Also, it doesn’t benefit anyone if you take on all the work by
yourself because it will ultimately make you tired and stressed and no one else
is able to learn from the group’s accomplishments.
Ask for help! If you are
stressed, go to a teacher, your advisor, your parents, or any other trusted
adult. To prevent this stress in the first place, ask friends, peers, or club
members to help you with club projects. This will not make you seem weak. In fact,
it’ll make you a stronger leader. You’d be surprised how willing people are to
help you.
Be modest
You achieve many goals.
Good for you! Be proud of these accomplishments. Celebrate these
accomplishments. However, don’t use these accomplishments as a weapon by
bragging about them all the time. Don’t use your accomplishments to put down
someone else’s accomplishments. Be kind, be grateful, be modest.
Commit – Commit - Commit
If you volunteer to do
something, do it. Don’t make excuses for why you can’t, try your best to get it
done. Remember, you volunteered to do this. I know it’s hard and frustrating
and stressful sometimes. I know that we all have bad days, and don’t feel like
doing the task we volunteered to do. I know that this is perhaps one of the
hardest tips to follow, especially if you have several other commitments to
complete around the same time. If you
fail to commit, you will not only let yourself down but you will let others
down as well. Commit, commit, commit!
Learn from your mistakes.
It may seem hypocritical
to be writing tips that sometimes are hard for me to follow. But I want you to
know that that everybody makes mistakes. You may feel disappointed or guilty,
but know that failures can easily be turned into lessons.
It takes a true leader to
own up to their mistakes. Grow from them and don’t be ashamed. All leaders in
today’s world have all been in the same position at one point in their lives. Admit
when you’ve made a mistake, don’t blame your mistakes on anyone else.
I hope these tips helped!
Be active, be involved, and lead with confidence. I wish you all luck with your
leadership endeavors.
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