Content

• To step
• Part 1 of 3: Taking a leadership position
• Part 2 of 3: Be a good role model
• Part 3 of 3: Showing characteristics of good leadership

There are many ways to be a leader in school or college: be it through student union, academic teams, athletic teams, publications, the arts, or through community service. If you are very involved with your school, chances are other students will look up to you.

To step

Part 1 of 3: Taking a leadership position

1. Know your strengths. Knowing your own strengths and what is important to you will help you choose which area of ​​leadership to focus on. Do you like to help people? Then consider joining a charity volunteer organization. Do you have a passion for writing and do you enjoy working in a team? Maybe the school newspaper would be a suitable one for you. If you are a social person and would like to work on improving your school, you may want to consider joining the student council.
2. Get involved. Try to join the student council. Join a few teams, clubs and organizations and get a feel for what's right for you. Get to know the other people involved in the groups from the start. You're not limited to the student council - sports teams, language clubs, debate clubs, academic teams, the school band, performing arts groups, and publications (school newspaper, yearbook) are just a few examples of organizations where there are opportunities for leadership positions.
3. Gain experience. For almost any leadership position, you have to start at the bottom and learn the tricks of the trade. This is the way you learn about the group and how things are done. Spend enough time learning, and you will begin to become a person that others in your group dread. Ultimately, you will be able to take a leadership position.
4. Take action. Start taking on more responsibilities in your group. Set goals and do whatever it takes to achieve them. Leaders are people who don't wait to be told what to do; they come up with good ideas and turn their vision into reality. Be sure to share your ideas with the others in the group to encourage them to help you achieve them.
5. Try to make a difference. Invite outside organizations to your school, such as those dealing with the environment or homeless people, by organizing a fundraiser. Organize special events to raise awareness of important issues (such as cancer or HIV awareness), or celebrations (such as Black History Month, etc.). Learn about what other young people are doing to support charities - in their community, nationally or even internationally.

Part 2 of 3: Be a good role model

1. Do your best. Being a leader in school doesn't mean you always have to have perfect grades. But you have to show a positive attitude towards the lessons, participate and do your best at everything.
   • Teachers usually know if you are doing your best, and so do your classmates. Do your best to work well with others and get along with everyone.
2. Be respectful to adults. A good leader is someone who knows the rules and who understands the different positions of authority. You don't always have to agree 100% with your teachers and parents, but you should always approach them with a respectful, pleasant attitude.
   • Respect for authority prepares you for adulthood and entering the corporate world where you will have different types of bosses. By showing respect to adults now, you will show teachers, parents, and colleagues that you are a mature and confident leader.
3. Make sure you are on time and have everything in order. Get to school on time and be there for class. Submit your homework and other class projects on time.
   • Have a planner or calendar so you can keep track of project deadlines. Every day, write down the due dates for projects and homework for each subject.
4. Help others. If you know how to do something in a particular subject in class and others don't, offer them to help. Kindly ask the other students if you can help them with the homework, as long as the teacher agrees. If you finish your work early and you notice that someone else is having trouble with it, raise your hand and ask if you can help them.
   • Helpful behavior extends to the hallway as well. If you see someone dropping their books, help that person pick them up. If a new student doesn't know where certain things or rooms are, give that person a tour.
5. Be trustworthy. Be honest, don't gossip about others, and make sure you treat others the way you would like to be treated yourself.
   • Being a reliable person is a quality of a good leader. If you say you're going to do something, do it. If you say one thing to one person, but another thing to another (known as "two faces"), it will turn out that you are not someone to be trusted, and people usually don't want a leader they cannot trust.
6. Be honest with everyone. Even if you don't like a particular person, you should still treat them like anyone else. Be consistent in how you treat everyone because that's an important way to build and maintain trust. If someone breaks a rule, for example, it is important that they suffer the same consequences as anyone else if they break the rule.
   • Do not favor close friends or let your personal feelings toward someone you don't like get in the way when you are part of a group. Being part of a team trying to achieve a goal means that everyone has to work together; it is not just a social affair.
   • Showing honesty is a quality that you recognize in good teachers and parents. They try not to take sides and make sure that the rules apply to everyone. Being fair and able to work with everyone also prepares you for a work environment where you usually cannot choose your colleagues.
7. Stay positive. Be happy and smile a lot. Smile sincerely; being friendly and laughing a lot makes you more open.
   • If your group is under a lot of pressure, for example because your team has just lost an important game, don't get negative. Say things like, "Next time we're going to win" and "Everyone did a great job, but the other team did just that little bit better". This will let your teammates know that you believe in them and that they should keep trying hard.
8. Don't get involved in harassment and gossip. If there is one quality that adults usually notice in student leaders, it is their ability to make all students feel welcome and respected in school.
   • If you notice that a particular student is being bullied, stand up for them. Don't be afraid to say, "Just leave him alone," or something like that. It will show the bullies that you don't think their actions are cool.
   • Do your best to hire students who seem to have few friends. Invite them to participate in activities with you and some others. Greet them from time to time and ask how their day is. They may hesitate at first, especially if they are used to having children not being nice to them, but keep trying.

Part 3 of 3: Showing characteristics of good leadership

1. Be a good communicator. Learn to speak in public and work on your writing skills. You need to be able to express yourself clearly, during meetings, speeches, training and / or games, so that people are more likely to listen to you.
   • If you are in a position where you need to speak in public, practice in front of a mirror at home. Notice your mannerisms and facial expressions while speaking. In addition, ask others at home if they would like to listen while you practice your talks and if they have any suggestions. Learning to speak well in front of groups takes a lot of practice - don't get discouraged if you're nervous or screw it up the first few times. Keep going!
   • A good communicator also means that you can listen well. Take the time to find out what people want and consider important in your group. Make sure everyone's voice is heard and that you take into account all advice in the group when making decisions.
2. Divide the workload. Let others help with the work and distribute the tasks evenly between everyone so that all the work does not end up on one person's shoulders.
   • For example, the captain of a team can assign certain cleaning tasks (for uniforms, etc.) to teammates, or a newspaper editor assigns articles to the staff for writing. It is important to rotate tasks so that everyone has equal responsibilities.
   • The delegation of responsibilities is up to you and the rest of the group to decide. Make sure everyone has enough confidence in the work they have been given. If a person is not confident enough about a given task, you and others in the group should encourage and offer help and guidance.
   • It is part of your job to encourage others. If you feel like someone is not doing their share of the workload, discuss it with them and let them know that you hope to be able to count on the person to contribute a little more.
3. Be resourceful. A good leader knows the resources available to the group. If you do not know the answer to something or notice that something needs to be done, but you are not sure how you can do this yourself, then you are the one asking the questions to teachers, trainers, etc.
   • Your job is to provide access to information and supplies that you need for various projects and activities. You are essentially the linchpin between the group and the adult who oversees the entire group. Not sure where to find certain props for a musical? Discuss this with the teacher responsible for this. Do you suspect that your team can benefit from an extra training session per week? Discuss it with the coach.
4. Be open and flexible. A good leader is willing to listen to the group when a decision needs to be made about a particular rule or when policies need to be changed. Sometimes the way things are done is outdated, or could be done in a better way. It is always good to be open to change.
   • This step returns to being a good listener. Sometimes a leader has to take a step back and just listen - to the complaints or those things that the group is satisfied with. What works well? What needs to be changed? Just by listening alone, you can learn much about what can be brought forward in future meetings about decisions to be made.
   • Uncomfortable or unexpected moments may arise during your role as a leader. Someone may leave the group, make dramatic changes, or question your leadership. How do you deal with these moments of crisis? If you are able to adapt and do your best to solve it, then you have one of the qualities of an excellent leader!