How to Become an Excellent Leader in University
Maybe you are already a student leader and probably you discover in your leadership style that you need to improve on certain things and you are looking at how you can get better as a leader, or probably you are a student on campus who is looking at becoming a leader, probably of an association or starting something while you are on campus and you want to look at how you can be the best leader that you can. You must remember that even though some people may seem to have natural leadership abilities leadership is more about learning. This article discusses some tips on being an excellent leader in University.
No one is born a perfect leader. If you see an excellent leader then the person has learnt over time through experience, exposure and training. The question then is, as a student, how can you be an effective leader? How can you be a good leader? What are the qualities that you need to have? What things do you need to focus on or have to put in place to be a good leader? You should also understand that as a leader people expect more from you than just from an ordinary person so there’s more expectation from you.
1. Appreciate the privilege
Firstly, you must appreciate the fact that leadership is a privilege, it is an opportunity to serve. It is not a platform for you to force your own opinions on others unnecessarily or to make others look like they are nobodies, rather it is a platform for you to make people feel important, to attend to the needs of the people and to make a difference that will impact other people’s lives positively. You should avoid taking leadership as a selfish venture, if you are a selfish leader then you will be a bad leader, therefore, appreciate the fact that it is an opportunity to serve others and not an opportunity to please yourself or make yourself the center of everything unnecessarily.
2. Be a goal setter
As a leader you must be a visionary leader, be a kind of person that has a vision. You must know where you are taking the followers to, because leadership involves taking people from where they are, to where they ought to be, leading people from the present state in which they find themselves to a better place. Therefore if a leader is not able to make the followers have a better experience than they had before, then he or she has failed as a leader, so you must have a vision of how you want to impact people’s lives and the change you want to make – the things you want to accomplish. Be a goal setter and a go-getter don’t be a leader without goals, make sure you have goals that are set for whatever thing you are handling or whatever you are leading.
3. Listen and listen
As a leader, learn to listen to people; people might come to you to bear their minds out to you, probably on things they are confused about or things they might be going through you must be a leader with a listening ear. Don’t just be a person who’s just all about do this, do that, without being there to listen to people when they crave it. You must develop the ability to listen to people sincerely and with good attention. When people see that you truly care about them, then they will be more ready to follow you, but if they discover that you don’t care about them, then they may not care how much you know or do. Therefore, be there to listen and be ready to help them in the best way you can when they are having problems.
Part of the listening is also not to be too domineering as a leader, you must be able to listen to other people’s opinions before making a decision or concluding on a matter. Don’t just come up with your own opinion and make it the conclusion. Listen to others and then try to think along their line of reasoning before drawing a conclusion.
4. Delegate
A good leader must also learn the art of delegation you must be able to give tasks and activities to others to carry out when you know they are capable of carrying out such activities or tasks, or when you are not available. You should not be the kind of leader that wants to do everything as though no other person is good enough to do anything. You should form the habit of trusting others with tasks and delegate things to them. By that you are providing them a platform to also build their talents and skills and to improve. That is what a good leader will do.
5. Communicate well
Being a good leader also includes being able to communicate and express yourself clearly and in a friendly manner to your followers. People demand to understand things that are going on in the association or in whatever group you are leading, you should not keep necessary details that your followers need to know away from them. Of course, this does not mean that you should not know how to classify information, you should know what information you are to give a category of people and what other details you can be able to dish out to probably an inner circle. This is very important in leadership, not every information is for everyone.
6. Take initiative
As a student leader you must be able to take initiative, there are times you will need to look for ways of handling problems or situations and you need to be able to find ways around circumstances, this is very important. Consistently try to develop new ways of dealing with situations or handling things, don’t just be hooked on the conventional ways or status quo, you should be innovative and should be able to take initiative on finding new ways of doing things.
7. Be hard working
If you want people to take you seriously as a leader then you must ensure that they see it in, you that you are committed to the common goal of the association or group. They must be able to see that you are not taking it for granted that you are their leader, therefore demonstrate diligence, be hardworking and be focused on the goals. Don’t get distracted unnecessarily with things are distractions, when your followers see that you are committed to the vision of the association, then they will be able to trust you more, believing that you are serious minded, and you are goal oriented. Also being diligent as a leader will give you the ground to able to challenge and motivate others to be diligent in their respective offices or assigned tasks.
8. Maintain integrity
Ensure that you are as honest as possible. Maintain your integrity as a leader this is what will build the trust of your followers in you. If they discover that you lack integrity, that you are not honest and not transparent in your dealings, then it will reduce their trust in you and that will affect your image, therefore ensure that you maintain integrity and honesty as a leader. Regardless of whatever opportunities you might have to probably be greedy, fraudulent or to falsify things, ensure that you don’t fall for it, for the sake of your conscience, your reputation, and the people you are leading.