Why You Should Be a Student Leader
There are a good number of reasons why you should try to be a student leader while on campus. There so many benefits attached to it. While you may think that you are not necessarily a leader in a sense but you should understand that everyone has a leader in him/her because basically you have to even lead yourself and then at one point or the other you may have to lead others too, so having the experience of leading people while you are still in school can go a long way to really be helpful to you. Some points discussed in this article are some of the reasons why you should be a student leader in your university.
There are different ways in which you can be a student leader while you are on campus, it doesn’t necessarily have to be something basically academic, it might be in extra-curricular things, talking of academics, some might happen to be class representatives, in other areas too, there are those who may be presidents of associations or even fellowships. All these are leadership positions that you can occupy and not everyone will be a president or vice, you might just be an executive or you might just be leading one thing or the other, just ensure that you find a platform you know try to learn and grow in leadership skills.
Better self-knowledge and improvement
By being a leader while you are on campus, it will afford you the opportunity to be more self-aware. You will know yourself better and you’ll be able to understand your probable leadership style such that if it needs some correction or some adjustments, you can easily begin to do that and to improve on yourself already, and then you will know your strengths your weaknesses, you will know things you can do very well at and things that you have to delegate to other capable hands. Having this experience early enough helps you in further or subsequent leadership opportunities and positions. You will be able to do better and have a better ride.
Getting better at leadership skills
Of course, when you are in a leadership position, you will likely learn how to handle conflicts, how to motivate people, how to bring people together, make them do things and make things happen. All of that will give you an opportunity to build your leadership skills in such a way that you can become a better leader. The truth is that the more you do a thing, and the more you’re involved in a particular thing, then the better you are at it. So being a leader while on campus, you will have to keep trying to improve if you really want to be more effective, and you will discover that you keep getting better at it, but if you don’t expose yourself to a leadership opportunity even when you’re given one or when one presents itself then there will be no way for you to really grow. Regardless of how many books you read on leadership, it is when you really get into the act of leading that you can practice those things and improve.
Good connections
When you are a student leader in your campus or in a particular association on campus, you will likely get to have connections that are meaningful, useful and promising. You might have to carry out some projects that will demand that you meet some people or have to get to some people to get some permissions. You will be opportune to meet people and connect, either they are your colleagues or probably people in high positions. Therefore, leadership can serve as a good way of connecting and building lasting real good connections that can be very helpful to you either immediately or later in future.
Growth in responsibility
Being a leader will give you some sense of responsibility and accountability, you will not want to disappoint those who are looking up to you, as a student leader you will likely want to be as good as you can be academically, also in character and competence. Allowing yourself to be part of leadership experience when you have the opportunity or you create one, is a good way to set yourself up for building and improving your character and even helping you to grow in responsibility and in accountability towards others around you.
Improved team spirit
Also, your team working capacity will likely be developed. Of course, you will not be the only one doing everything, there will be people, subordinates or other leaders that you might have to work with, sometimes it might be in a committee probably to work on a project or something, you will be able to learn that together every one achieves more. That kind of experience can go a long way to help you later when you actually need to lead a team for one reason or the other.
Better self-esteem
As a leader your level of confidence will be boosted and your self-esteem will likely be raised, you know, when you begin to learn to communicate better and to express yourself in a more comprehensive and coherent manner and then when you are able to plan projects and execute them, probably when you handle conflicts properly and effectively, all of this will go a long way to help your self-confidence, to build your self-esteem and you will be a better leader for that and you begin to believe more in yourself. Imagine if you have considered yourself not so efficient or competent when it comes to leading people or doing some things but then probably it becomes necessary for you to do as a leader and you your brace up to the challenge, if you’re able to get those things done, then you begin to have a higher self-esteem and believe that nothing is impossible.
Better impact level
Also the level of impact you are going to have as a student leader is going to be very different from the impact you may have as just a normal nominal student, being a leader gives you a platform to be able to easily make more impact, to do things and to leave a legacy that students behind you can see and people can refer to later, leadership is an opportunity. Making impact, leaving a legacy is so important and commendable because even when you are not there even after you must have left the campus, people can still be referring to things that you did or accomplished while you were there and yourself can be able to point at some of the achievements that you had, especially if you took the leadership position very seriously.
Resumé boost
Having leadership positions that you’ve occupied while in school on your resumé, may help to boost it and probably create good impression about you on the minds of the employers, probably may perceive you as someone who is motivated, able to lead or even be able to do well in it team work, so it can really help in boosting your resumé.
When you have the opportunity, do not shy away from leadership; take up the challenge and do your best.