how to write a leadership essay about yourself examples

• How to Structure a Leadership Essay (Samples to Consider)

Leadership is a complex concept, but it’s essential for boosting your career. That’s why a leadership essay focuses on applying the theoretical models and concepts of successful management to real-life situations. 

If you don’t know where to start writing such a paper, please read on for professional tips!

What Is Leadership Essay?

A leadership essay is a paper that analyzes leadership concepts and their application to real-life situations that may involve everyday business management, crisis situations, and other scenarios. 

Every essay on leadership is about defining a concept. Then, it’s either comparing it to similar management tools or proving that it’s useful (or not).

While some students enjoy writing such papers, other learners hate them. The below samples will come in handy, no matter which group is yours.

What Does Leadership Mean to You? (Essay Sample)

It is one of the most popular topics for a leadership essay. If you need to write a paper like that, ask yourself:

• Who is a good leader?  
• What style do they use?  
• What are the situations when they might switch styles?

You may take a more personal approach to such an essay if your professor allows you to. In the example below, you will see the academic approach to this topic. It analyzes three leadership styles to discover which one corresponds to the meaning of leadership if one thinks of it as guidance and support.

Why I Want to Participate in a Leadership Program (Essay Sample)

It’s another example of a popular topic. Such papers often have a meaning beyond the classroom since they may decide whether you plan to participate in a specific program. It’s critical to make them as effective and compelling as possible.

A personalized approach is the best when it comes to essays like this. In the example below, you will see the paper that relies on individual beliefs and a personal life story to explain why it’s so important for the specific student to participate in the chosen program.

How to Write a Leadership Essay

Like every other essay, this paper has an introduction, several body paragraphs, and a conclusion summarizing your thoughts. (1) The most important part of the introduction is the final sentence,  aka  a thesis statement. That’s where you state your claim to prove or develop in your leadership essay.

Each body paragraph should correspond to the purpose of your essay. To ensure you don’t stray from the aim you’ve established in the thesis statement, write the topic sentences for all your paragraphs in the outline . In simple words, write the first sentence of every paragraph to define its development in advance and see if you cover everything you need.

And now, to the conclusion:

Its most essential element is thesis restatement or the first sentence of that paragraph. It’s not just paraphrasing your thesis; it’s also considering the new information you’ve discovered while writing the essay.

Structure :

• Introduction (End it with a thesis statement.)
• Body paragraphs (Each one starts with a topic sentence.)
• Conclusion (Start it with a thesis restatement.)

Understand the purpose of a leadership essay

When starting to write, think about why you’re creating this paper. Before you sit down and type the words, think about the ideas you want to convey and their meaning in your life:

Can this essay teach you to take responsibility? Or maybe will it help you understand how to be a leader in crisis situations? When you’ve answered the “why” question, begin outlining.

Build a strong thesis

Always start with your thesis statement. It will help incorporate your answer to that notorious “why” question into your essay. Once done, you can plan out the rest of the paper and start working on the body paragraphs as soon as you finish the introduction.

There’s another important tip —don’t rush into writing the conclusion before you finish everything else!

It might seem like a good idea to create a thesis statement and thesis restatement right off the bat. However, you’ll find yourself with more refreshing ideas after completing all the research and thinking necessary for the introduction and each body paragraph.

Decide on a structure; format accordingly

Even if your essay about leadership seems not so formal, and you can use personal pronouns, you still need a clear structure.

The best way to write any academic paper is to keep your introduction and conclusion as short as possible. (But no shorter than three sentences and four lines of text). 

Another important tip is to try making all your body paragraphs equal in length. That way, you’ll give the same attention to all the vital points of your essay.

Ready to Write Your Essay on Leadership Now?

Hopefully, this article has helped you understand the most critical elements of a leadership essay. 

Remember the structure, grammar, and appropriate academic style to create a top-level paper. Please don’t forget to answer the “why” question and remember  why  you’re writing. Then you’ll impress everyone with your results!

References:

• https://lsa.umich.edu/onsf/news-events/all-news/directors-blog/writing-leadership-essays.html
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How to Write Leadership Essay in College

Table of contents

If there is one skill that is revered across educational institutions and organizations, it is leadership.

Being the boss or in a position of power is not enough to make you a good leader. Effective leadership comes from the impact you have on people, the respect you garner, and how you manage to walk the talk.

Owing how important the role leadership plays in our personal and professional life, it’s no surprise that students are asked to write leadership essays in college.

The purpose of this assignment is to get them to understand the concept of leadership, reflect on their own experiences, or even assess the leadership style of a prominent leader. Apart from writing skills, this assignment also puts students’ critical thinking skills to the test.

This article will tell you what goes into a good leadership outline, along with 12 practical essay writing tips.

12 Tips on How to Write a Good Leadership Essays

If you think you can go ahead and write an essay on your favorite leader, you are mistaken - grade 5 is long gone.

Leadership essay writing is a lot more layered. It requires you to demonstrate your understanding of the concept excitingly and back it up with solid examples and research.

Don’t panic. Here are 12 tips to help you write powerful and effective leadership essays.

Brainstorm interesting topic ideas

If you are fortunate, you will be given a specific leadership essay topic to write on, but most of the time, students are given the flexibility to come up with a topic of their choice.

Leadership essays need to be personal. By the end of it, the reader needs to understand your leadership abilities. Now you can throw light on that aspect of yourself by recounting your leadership experiences, relating it to the leadership style of a prominent leader, or even comparing two leaders. Regardless of your chosen topic, it’s important to connect it back to yourself.

So, start with enlisting potential topic ideas that would help you throw light on your leadership abilities. Don’t rush through this step - take your time to pick a suitable topic.

Think out-of-the-box

Surprise your audience by thinking of innovative topics and ideas for your leadership essay.

Plain and dull essays are predictable and can get boring after being overused by multiple students for their multiple essays. Your professors can also feel that you are trying to play it safe by not thinking outside the box and giving you an average grade for your essay.

Extraordinary and new ideas get the attention they deserve, and your readers are more likely to find them interesting and get hooked on your essay right at the beginning.

Hook the reader

The introductory paragraph is a crucial one as it lays the foundation for the rest of the essay. Does your introduction entice the reader to know more, or does it induce yawns? It all depends on how you choose to begin your essay.

It’s essential to start with a bang and write an interesting hook from the first sentence. A good hook is written in 1 - 2 sentences and manages to get the reader interested. You can start with a funny experience, raise a startling question, or state an interesting fact - there are various ways to begin your leadership essay and capture the reader’s attention.

Use active voice

“I performed the task with great precision” vs. “The task was performed with great precision” - what is more impactful in the context of leadership essays? The former one.

Unlike an essay or any other academic paper, leadership essays are meant to be personal. They are supposed to be about you. As you share your perspective or experiences, you should use an active voice to make a more significant impact and ensure your message reaches the reader.

Follow the format

Adhere to your academic institution's standards for formatting and styling your leadership essay because, first and foremost, your professors would want to see that you have tackled how to format your essay.

Secondly, it is always good practice to format your essays for an excellent structure and a good presentation of the content in the essay. Some institutions are very strict about their formatting standards and can choose to cancel or give unsatisfactory grades to students who do not follow their specific formatting guidelines.

Avoid cliches

Generally, in leadership essays, cliches are most commonly used to describe the person in the essay at large. Avoiding these set cliches will do you and your essay good.

Cliches like “leaves no stones unturned,” “ahead of the curve,” etc., have been used so much by students that they have become weak, lost their meaning, and have minimal effect on the essays.

Your professors are looking for originality and creativity, whereas an essay full of cliches will appear lazy and uncreative.

Select good references

Leadership holds a variety of sub-topics that addresses the quality of leadership, the style and attitudes that leaders have, historical references of the lifework of distinguished leaders, or how certain leaders influenced events.

That’s why researching is key for a thorough leadership essay. With credible sources and references to take inspiration and quotes from, your leadership essay will gain authority and stature. Each method, skill, or event can be further detailed through helpful resources such as Google Scholar, JSTOR, etc.

Ask questions

Ask yourself questions while re-reading your essay to identify any missing pieces you may have overlooked.

Asking questions also address your essay's efficiency and will help you figure out what your readers could ask while reading your essay. You can then confront each of these questions and create a more precise understanding for your readers.

Share anecdotes

Another element that can really strengthen your leadership essay and take it from good to great is anecdotes.

Yes, don’t shy away from sharing anecdotes and personal experiences related to leadership. It adds credibility to your writing and justifies the points you have made. It can be humorous or life-changing, but sharing anecdotes helps keep readers invested and adds immense value to the essay.

Here’s a helpful video by Matthew Singleton on how you can use anecdotes while writing essays

Focus on key qualities

We know how effective leadership constitutes certain key traits and qualities such as empathy, collaboration, good listener, visionary, ownership, decision-making capabilities, delegation, communicator, and more.

Your essay needs to reflect some of these traits. Instead of choosing to enlist all these traits and not focussing on either of them well, it’s important to first choose which are the traits you want to explore in your essay and then work towards highlighting them while writing.

Get feedback

It is always better to have more than one pair of eyes to read and evaluate your essay. Getting feedback on your writing is crucial for the betterment of your essay, as the limitations and problems that you may not have realized while writing your essay can be identified by a fresh set of eyes or a new perspective.

These errors or misses can be rectified, resulting in a quality, no-error leadership essay.

Edit and proofread

A leadership essay requires attention to detail, a set organized structure, and a logical flow of sentences. Editing your essay and proofreading it will overcome any misses that may come your way.

As you proofread, you can double-check the leader’s name and designation, dates, sources, factual, spelling, and grammatical mistakes, punctuation errors, out-of-place references, and transition flows.

So, now you know that leadership essays are not as ‘vanilla’ as they sound. They need to be descriptive and logical while capturing your leadership abilities.

If you don’t have the time to write a compelling leadership essay or doubt your writing skills, don’t worry. We at Writers Per Hour are pleased to write an essay for you that will get you noticed.

From choosing a suitable topic to outlining and writing a thoughtful leadership essay from scratch, our writing experts promise to deliver precisely what you need - high-quality essays that meet your budget and deadlines.

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A number of national scholarships and fellowships ask applicants to write about their leadership experiences.  Here are a few prominent examples:

• Truman Scholarship - “Describe a particular example of your leadership.” 
• Marshall Scholarship - “Describe a situation in which you recognized and responded to a need for leadership.
• Udall Scholarship - “Describe a leadership experience in which you made a difference on your campus or in your community.” 

The most extensive prompt comes from the Schwarzman Scholars Program and could be used as a guide to reflection for leadership essays for many other scholarships:

• The intellectual/analytical abilities to identify and understand challenges and opportunities, and envision solutions
• The initiative to act and communicate why 
• Interpersonal skills to inspire a team effort 
• An ability to push through resistance and/or challenges to reach positive results/change for the better. 
• What was the problem or issue you identified, and why did you choose to act? 
• What was your plan of action? 
• What obstacles or challenges did you face and how did you overcome them?
• What were the outcomes and impact on the community or purpose? 
• What did you learn and/or what lessons would you pass on to others? 
• How has this experience shaped you as a leader and how does it connect with your vision for future leadership aspirations?

The following suggestions are intended to help you reflect upon and express your own leadership experiences.

Answering the Prompt

Pay careful attention to what the prompt asks you to describe.  A common pitfall to avoid is explaining your “theory” of leadership.  It may be very helpful to articulate this in your preparatory work, but the final essay should directly address the information requested in the prompt.  To get started, ask yourself: what are the subtle differences in the above prompts?

Definitions of Leadership

What is leadership?  While there are lots of definitions out there, they tend to emphasize two main aspects: (a) the creation of shared vision and (b) collective motivation toward the achievement of this vision.  Here are two illustrative examples:

The process of “influencing the activities of an organized group toward goal-setting and goal-achievement” (Stogdill, 1950)

“A process of social influence in which a person can enlist the the aid and support of others to achieve a common goal” (Chemers, 1997)

The common thread here is that leadership is about accomplishing through a group what we could not have accomplished as individiduals.  For each of the various examples that you might choose to write about, ask yourself: What was your vision? How did this vision come about? In what context (e.g. needs, opportunities)?  How did you communicate this vision to others?  How did you invite them to identify their own interests/values with this vision? How did you inspire them to action?  How did you marshall the common resources necessary to make this vision a reality? How did you enlist the support of others inside or outside your organization?

Leadership vs. Authority

One of the most common mistakes is to conflate “leadership experiences” with “leadership positions” - i.e. positions of authority within an organization.  Merton (1969) defines authority as “the legitimate rights of a position that require others to obey.” It is an attribute of a social position.  Leadership, on the other hand, “is an interpersonal relation in which others comply because they want to, not because they have to” (Merton, 1969).  Leadership, as defined above, can be found at every level of an organization.  So expand your list of possible experiences beyond the list of executive positions you’ve held in organizations.

Some Common Functions of Leadership

How have your leadership experiences demonstrated one or more of these common functions (selected from Merton, 1969)?

Leaders facilitate the adaptive capacity of social systems to internal and external pressures and opportunities.  

Leaders are future-oriented as well as present-oriented.  In the context of student leadership, it is particularly important to institutionalize processes in ways that will outlive a particular student generation.

Leaders enunciate the values and ideals of the group. Whether assigned the task or not, leaders represent the group to the larger community.

Leaders evaluate available resources and cope with the problem of their allocation.

Leaders express aspirations that evoke resonance among members of the group (i.e. shared vision).

Leaders mobilize, guide, coordinate, and control the efforts of group members. When effective, they deepen the motivation and enlarge the output of members beyond what would be achieved without them.

Leaders arbitrate and mediate the inevitable conflicts that emerge in social interaction in such a fashion that most group members most of the time feel that justice has been done.

Maintaining Focus

The word limit for these essays is typically very short.  As with any personal statement, the particular experience you discuss should be an illustration of your abiding character traits.  Provide the essential information about the context, but keep the focus on examples of how your traits interacted with the context to produce a leadership experience.  It might be helpful to organize your notes for the essay under three headings:

• Problem (or Opportunity) - What is the essential problem or opportunity that your group's action sought to address?
• Action - What did you (as an individual and as a group) do to address this problem or capitalize on this opportunity?
• Results - What were the tangible results of your action? How did it solve the problem or benefit others?  Can you provide numbers to demonstrate the impact of the action?  Is the solution ongoing and sustainable?

Remember you don’t have include every detail.  In many cases, the example that you discuss should be coordinated with the writer of your “leadership” letter of recommendation who can provide additional information.  Suggested Reading

Robert K. Merton,  "The Social Nature of Leadership"  (1969)

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• Winning Leadership Essay Examples and Writing Tips

What is a Good Leadership Essay?

What is effective leadership, writing essay on leadership qualities, how to write a leadership essay, leadership essay introduction, how to write the body paragraphs to leadership essay, leadership essay conclusion, 10 burning leadership essay topics, leadership essay sample, more examples of leadership essay, 1. how to write a leadership essay about yourself, 2. what is transformational leadership, 3. what is a short leadership essay.

A good leadership essay should include your own definition of leadership unlike a response essay . Also, express your views on how people become leaders. And don't forget to mention how society can benefit from its leaders. You need to outline essential leader qualities as you see them. Analyze the phenomenon from several distinctive perspectives. Feel free to use literary sources as an inspiration for your essay.

The definition of effective leadership had changed numerous times during human history. Most modern societies agree upon the most evident traits: 1. A leader knows how to preserve and increase the resources of the social group. 2. Effective leadership ensures that the common goals of the group will be reached. And the majority of the group will be satisfied with the results.  A true leader is an effective staff manager, smart businessman, and a good speaker.

You need to understand what makes a good leader before starting a leadership paper. Exploring this issue in detail may be time-consuming. That's why it will be much easier to pick some essential qualities listed below: 

• Ability to inspire
• Decision-making ability
• Positive influence
• Accountability
• Ability to delegate
• Transparency
• Communication skills
• Emotional intelligence

This case study should provide you with some traits and essential features. Let us proceed and explore top leadership essay writing requirements in detail.

If you need to write a leadership paper, but you have never done it before... Then check the comprehensive leadership essay guide below. It will help you to write a great paper.

Don’t know how to start a leadership essay? First of all, you need to come up with an intro and thesis. Good hooks for essays  and thesis statements are the two key features of any essay. Those are your primary ideas — make sure to compose them well. Both the hook and thesis statement have to be logical, convincing, and clear. The hook (up to 1-2 sentences) should grab the reader’s attention immediately. Here are some ideas:

• Tell an anecdote . Laughter motivates reading more.
• A quote : something from literature or said by well-known personas.
• Ask a question about the role of leadership. You can answer it at the end or just leave it open.
• Include an interesting fact or definition of “ leadership ”. It ought to be connected to the topic.
• There are other hook types a writer can use. Didn’t find anything positive? Feel free to contact the writing service or check out our article about the funniest homework answers. 

Another important intro part is a thesis statement . It is your #1 idea that you are going to support through the text (only one sentence). It should be strong and debatable to set the tone of your leadership paper.

Consider this guide to writing body paragraphs:

• Try including an argument and some evidence to support it in every paragraph. Use stronger words to show your personal skills as a true leader. Have you ever written an essay about yourself ? It may come in handy.
• Outline the structure of body paragraphs. It is better to put your strongest argument in the first paragraph.
• Add appropriate facts, anecdotes, and infographics examples . Writing about essential changes that true leaders make? Fetch an example of famous people’s influence on society.
• Don’t forget the references to your thesis statement in each paragraph. Your goal is to show your ideas’ importance! But leadership paper’s key points will seem vague without reference to the point.
• Include a topic outline in every paragraph of your paper. The top objective is to explain to readers what is going to be discussed in your text. Divide these traits into 3-4 paragraphs when you are describing leader qualities. Each of the topic sentences will present a new trait.
• Share your experience. Don’t hesitate to talk about your life in the leadership essay. Sometimes we don’t know how valuable our experience can be. Have you ever run a successful event? Or performed in front of a big audience? Describe it!
• Discuss only one main idea per paragraph. If there are too many ideas, the paper will be messy. This will have a negative impact on its readability in the end.
• Make sure to cite all the borrowed ideas to avoid plagiarism.
• Add transitional sentences — they make paragraphs easier to read.

Do your own research! Find more hints on writing a leadership essay. You can also consider contacting a writing service to get some help. In any case, there are more useful hints you need to check out. So just read further!

Here we have gathered several tips on how to end a leadership essay . Find hints on leadership paper conclusion below.

• Include a brief overview of the entire essay. For instance, you are stating the importance of time management for a leader. Review key ideas and state why managing time matters.
• Restate your key idea, i.e., thesis statement. But don't repeat them using the same words every time. Use synonyms as much as possible without losing the general sense.
• Don’t present any new information in conclusion. All the terms must be defined in the intro or the body paragraphs.
• Return to theme from the introduction. If you asked a provocative question there, you could answer it here.  
• Give your audience a broader picture of leadership. Show how it can be interpreted on many levels.
• Make your conclusion relatively short. A good ending should be neither too long nor too short: between 5-7 sentences. It’s best to finish with a nice outline than to bore your reader with long talks.

A conclusion is the part of the essay where you sum up all of your statements. It has to be less emotive and more logical. Keep those rules in mind when you write a conclusion. 

Many leadership paper topics can be challenging to discuss. Yet, students will never lack a variety of excellent topics. The issue of leadership can be researched in different contexts - business, studies, sports. Or you can just define what leadership means to you (otherwise, just contact writing service). 

Leadership essay topics all college students could use are:

• Key challenges of a leader in a new team.
• Top 10 do’s and don’ts to effectively guide by example.
• Why is leadership good for college?
• Leadership skills - can they be acquired, or one has to be born with them?
• My favorite female leader in world history.
• Top 3 reasons why I want to participate in a leadership program.
• Essay writing skills – are they important for a future leader?
• Why do people prefer to follow a leader?
• Which leadership values are most relevant for society today?
• The role of self-development in leadership.

A good leadership essay example will help you to get a better view on the structure and style. Pay attention to the details and means of expression. Think if you agree with the author and develop your own point for this issue. Check out our essay sample in the text document below.

Can powerful leadership skills be actually acquired? It is a crucial problem for everyone who is interested in mastering them. Let us define the leader notion and try to understand. A perfect leader is supposed to be influential, persuasive, trustworthy, and honest towards followers. Any of these qualities seems to be inherent for many. However, it is easy to see that not everybody can really become a leader.  Looking back at the history of our civilization, we can see numerous leaders: Caesar, Genghis-Khan, Tokugawa, Napoleon. It is often said that most of such persons were born leaders. However, a closer analysis of a historical figure’s well-documented biography – such as Caesar’s – displays a long path of struggle, sometimes followed by failures. Thus, history teaches us that even if some qualities are natural for a true leader, it is hardly possible to achieve significant results without a lot of effort. What is definitely crucial for a leader are abilities to plan and reach personal goals. You should be able to lead yourself in order to provide a fine example for others. Self-analysis, planning, and self-management are attainable for every grown-up human being. Therefore, the first step towards leadership can surely be taken by a properly motivated person. So, the dilemma whether true leader skills can be acquired is complicated. Of course, if you are born with proper abilities, this will make it easier for you. On the other hand, one can reach nearly anything with proper development and motivation. 

An essay on leadership for students is one of the many ways to create a thorough research paper, raise your voice in a group, or obtain students’ personal goals. In case of any difficulties with topics, just use this guide! Or pick a writing service and ask for help — our experienced authors can help you finish your leadership essay as well. Our top-notch writing platform is always at your service!

Wishing for a magic writing solution? – We’ve got one for you Get a price quote & proceed with your order!

To write a leadership essay about yourself, you need to narrow the topic down. For instance, “Why I want to become a leader”. You can also tell about the place of leadership in your life, etc.

Transformational leadership is aimed at the development of group members. A transformational leader unravels and actualizes the potential of the group members.

A short essay on leadership is a classwork assignment designed for 25-45 minutes. The short essay is about 500 words long. It has a classic 3-part structure just like the regular one. A short essay still has to feature multiple facts and points to prove your idea.

“Today, I would like to introduce several facts about myself you did not know. For instance, I had never told before that I used to volunteer my first salary to the organization that helps mentally sick children? I am a great painter. Out of all memories, I will share the most vivid episodes of my l...

Feb 15, 2023

Essays on Leadership for Students | 200 - 500 Word Essays

Are you writing an essay about leadership? Check out these examples!

Leadership is often defined as "the action of inspiring others to act in concert to achieve a particular goal." It signifies the harmony in actions that lead to a common objective. A genuine leader not only exudes confidence but also paves the way for their followers towards triumph. Over the years, various leadership styles have been identified and discussed by psychologists.

 Qualities such as intelligence, adaptability, extroversion, innate self-awareness, and social competence often emerge as the hallmarks of impactful leaders. There's a consensus that these traits mold an individual into an effective leader. Interestingly, some theories suggest that extraordinary situations can thrust an ordinary individual into the spotlight, bestowing upon them the mantle of leadership. It's also believed that leadership isn't a static trait but an evolving journey. It underscores the belief that with dedication and the right resources, anyone can hone their leadership abilities.

 True leadership goes beyond merely advocating for a cause. It involves taking responsibility, igniting motivation in others, and differentiating oneself from just being a 'boss'. A leader's essence lies in their ability to inspire and propel people towards grand visions, whereas a manager typically focuses on oversight and operational aspects.

What Is a Leadership Essay?

A leadership essay falls under the category of student application essays and serves to provide student admissions officers with insight into your past leadership experiences. Despite appearing to be very specific, this type of essay acknowledges that the nature and perception of leadership can vary significantly depending on the individual and the context.

 If you find yourself in need of further insights or a unique angle for your leadership essay, consider exploring an expert essay-writing tool designed to assist students in crafting compelling narratives by analyzing vast data and generating fresh ideas within minutes. In this article, we'll also delve into various leadership essay examples to offer a clearer understanding of the genre and inspire your writing journey.

4 Examples of Leadership Essays

Qualities of a good leader, introduction.

Confidence is the most important attribute first of all. One of the most important qualities in a leader is confidence in one's own abilities. A lack of self-assurance is fatal to a person's leadership potential. If you want others to follow you, you need to exude self-assurance. It's imperative for a leader to have faith in his own judgment and actions. How can people want to follow him if he doesn't even know what he's doing?

Every effective leader knows that they need to be an inspiration to their followers. A leader needs to set an example for his team. In addition, he ought to inspire them whenever feasible. A leader must also maintain optimism in trying times.

What qualities a good leader must have?

Leadership is the ability to influence and guide individuals or groups toward a common goal. A leader must possess several qualities to be effective, including:

Communication skills: A leader must be able to communicate their vision and goals clearly and effectively, both verbally and in writing. This requires excellent listening skills, empathy, and the ability to adapt to different communication styles.

Emotional intelligence: A leader must be able to understand and manage their own emotions, as well as those of their team members. This includes being able to understand and respond to the emotions of others, and handling conflicts in a constructive manner.

Visionary: A leader must have a clear and inspiring vision of the future, and be able to articulate this vision in a way that motivates others to work towards it.

Strategic thinking: A leader must be able to think critically and creatively to identify and solve problems, make decisions, and develop plans and strategies to achieve their goals.

Flexibility: A leader must be able to adapt to changing circumstances and be open to new ideas and perspectives. This requires the ability to embrace change, be innovative, and continuously learn and grow.

Integrity: A leader must have strong ethics and values, and be willing to make difficult decisions that are consistent with their beliefs. This requires honesty, transparency, and accountability.

Decisiveness: A leader must be able to make tough decisions quickly, without undue hesitation or procrastination. This requires courage and the ability to take calculated risks.

Empowerment: A leader must be able to delegate responsibilities, give team members the resources they need to succeed, and foster a sense of ownership and accountability among their team.

Conclusion 

These qualities are essential for effective leadership, and when combined with hard work, determination, and a commitment to excellence, can help leaders to achieve great things.

How one can be a Great Leader?

Leadership is the act of performing the duties of a leader. In the business world, for instance, it is essential to have someone in charge of a team to ensure everything runs well. Effective leadership is essential for any group that wants to maximize its prospects of success.

Leadership Comes from Experience

As we've shown, leadership can be innate in some cases but is more often learned through practice and exposure. Sometimes the best traits of a leader must be learned over a lengthy period of time, so that one can become a notable one, proving that leadership is not always about a person's innate qualities. Leaders should continuously be on the lookout for opportunities to grow their leadership skills.

Nobody can disagree that experience is a key component of leadership. Numerous examples exist to back up this claim, such as:

Instance 1:

Our school's head boy or girl has traditionally been an older student who has been around for a while and thus has a better grasp of the ins and outs of school politics.

Instance 2:

When there is a vacancy for a team leader, it is common practice for the employee who has consistently put in the most effort and attention to the office job to receive a higher number of votes than their coworkers. 

“The best teacher for a leader is evaluated experience.” - John C. Maxwell

How one can be a Great Leader/Skills to be a Great Leader?

Effective leadership is a skill that develops through time. Developing into a leader with all the qualities that are needed takes a lot of hard work and potential. Being a prominent leader calls for a wide variety of traits. Some of these characteristics are addressed in further detail below:

One should be a Good Communicator

To be an effective leader, one must be able to convey his thoughts clearly to his/her/its subordinates.

Should have Confidence

The individual should have faith in what he says and does.

Give Credit to other Team Members too

A leader not only needs to impose his viewpoints and opinions instead he must also hear to the suggestions of other members of the team and offer them credit if their concept is appropriate.

Good Bond with the Team

A leader's ability to command respect from his team members depends on his ability to develop and maintain positive relationships with them.

Leads with Responsibility

A leader needs to be completely committed to his position. It's important that he takes on responsibility so that he can effectively deal with the various challenges he will inevitably face.

Any group or organization needs a leader above all else. Leadership development takes time and effort. One needs to have lived through a lot to be an effective leader. It's not enough to simply have years of experience in the field; one must also have the traits that make one an effective leader. You can't be a great leader unless you possess certain traits.

What makes a Good Leader?

Trying one's hand as a leader appears easy when viewed through this lens. Is that so tough? Of course not; leading is difficult, and not everyone aspires to be a leader. The vast majority of us have settled into well-established careers where we report to superiors and make a living. Still, not everyone is content to go along with the crowd. They become leaders in whatever field they pursue. A leader is an example to followers and will prioritize the needs of those around them.

Some Unique Qualities of a Leader

Many individuals resort to their leaders to vent their frustrations, therefore it's important for them to be good listeners.

A leader ought to be completely forthright; they can't play favorites or give anyone preferential treatment. One of the most essential qualities of a strong leader is the ability to make decisions with integrity.

They need to be aware of the bigger picture and understand what makes an individual stand out or become a leader. It's their expertise in addition to other distinguishing traits. Their awareness of current events and the results of recent studies is essential. In many ways, this is helpful, and it's the leader's responsibility to stay current.

Since some might not understand them, they should utilize straightforward, easily comprehended language. Leaders need to be able to communicate effectively at all times. In reality, what sets them apart is their exceptional communication skills. Adolf Hitler was such a gifted orator that his followers believed every word he said.

No matter how you're feeling or what's going on in the world, if you listen to a leader, they may make you feel energized. Since leaders are in charge of inspiring confidence in their followers, they can't afford to be wary or unsure of themselves. People tend to blindly follow their leaders.

Whether you're a leader or a doctor, you should devote yourself completely to your chosen field. Everything we do is for the benefit of others; engineers, for example, spend much of their time designing and constructing buildings for other people. So, take pride in what you do, and if you possess the aforementioned traits, you are also a leader who doesn't have to rely on others to succeed. No matter what you do, aspiring to leadership positions will always benefit others.

What is Leadership in Management and what are the weaknesses and strengths of a Leader?

Simply said, leadership is acting as a supervisor or manager of a group. Different mental pictures pop up when we hear the word "leadership" used in conversation. One might think of a political leader, team leader, corporate leader, school leader, etc. Leaders facilitate order and efficiency in the workplace. Teamwork and success are fundamental to effective leadership. Leaders utilize their managerial abilities to establish courses and guide their teams to success.

Strengths and Weaknesses of Leadership

Able to express oneself more clearly

Growth of character.

Self-awareness.

Possession of teamwork skills.

Gain assurance in yourself.

Weaknesses:

Acting favorably toward one's teammates.

Having no faith in the leader.

Thinks they're better than everyone else, but act hypocritically.

Not living up to the promised standard.

Insufficient morals.

Leadership and Management

Management and leadership are inextricably linked to one another. Leadership and management are both vital to the efficient operation of an organization; but, they accomplish very different things in the process. Leadership is a necessary skill for anyone aspiring to be an effective manager. The terms management and leadership are synonymous with one another. In this manner, we are able to draw the conclusion that a manager who demonstrates the traits of a successful leader is, in fact, a manager who is effective.

Leadership in School

Leadership is essential in nearly every group, as we've seen above. That group includes one's educational institution. Every school needs an outstanding figure to serve as its head of school. Class monitor, assembly captain, cultural leader, etc. are all examples of leadership roles that can be taken on at school, but this raises the question of what makes a person a successful school leader.

Any student hoping to be chosen as a student body leader will need to demonstrate a wide range of competencies. He or she needs to be a consistent student who pays attention in class and does well in extracurricular activities. For the simple reason that no intelligent and hardworking kid would ever be considered for leadership. Student leaders are most often selected from among those who participate fully in all activities.

Leadership in Organization

Leadership in an organization, also known as organizational leadership, is the process of establishing long-term objectives that further the company's mission and help it reach its ultimate destination. This is a classic illustration of how Bill Gates often works with his team: they agree on a strategy, and Gates implements it. To the same extent, it is the responsibility of the leader in each given organization to determine what it is that the group is trying to accomplish.

Leadership in Politics

Leadership in politics, also known as political leadership, is the process of becoming actively involved in a political party in the role of a party leader. Knowledge of political processes, their outcomes, and the political agenda is central to the idea of political leadership.

An effective leader can be developed in anyone who has the determination and drives to do so. Both the strengths and the areas for improvement should be nurtured. Whether in the classroom, the workplace, or the political arena, leadership is always necessary. Therefore, one can exercise leadership anywhere they like inside their own organization.

What are the types of Leadership?

The ability to lead is a rare trait that not everyone possesses. The ability to do so is a gift, so count your blessings if you possess it. It's recommended that you hone it even more so that you can propel your career forward and serve as an example to people around you. However, it is crucial to grasp the various leadership styles before you go ahead and polish your skills.

Types of Leadership Styles

Democratic Leadership

In this style of management, subordinates are given a voice in decision-making. Although the subordinates' efforts are highlighted, the leader is ultimately held responsible for the group's actions. Many people find this type of leadership to be effective.

Transformational Leadership

Transformational leaders motivate and inspire others to adopt new behaviors and ways of thinking in order to improve their own performance and that of their teams and organizations. A transformational leader is someone who encourages their team to strive for greater things and works to boost morale and output.

Team Leadership

A good leader fully incorporates his team into the task at hand. Members of the team are motivated to reach their goals and advance in their careers thanks to the leadership of the group.

Strategic Leadership

It requires a chief executive who doesn't restrict himself to brainstorming sessions with his superiors. He contributes on every level of the team. He is well-liked for his ability to unite the need for fresh ideas with the necessity of grounding them in reality.

Autocratic Leadership

The leader in a command and control structure is the center of attention. The chief executive has absolute power in this setting. He decides things on his own, without polling his staff. He relays this information to his staff and stresses the importance of swift action. The buck stops with him, and he alone must answer for his actions. Not much room for negotiation exists. It's no secret that this method of leading has its detractors.

Visionary Leadership

This kind of leader appreciates the abilities and requirements of his team members. He describes his ideal outcome and the teamwork that will be necessary to attain it.

Coaching Leadership

Leaders who coach their teams do so regularly in an effort to raise output. He inspires his employees to do better and works to keep them motivated. This approach to leadership has been much praised.

Facilitative Leadership

With occasional guidance, a facilitative leader ensures that the process runs smoothly for his team. As a precaution in case his team is ineffective. If the team is highly effective, the leader will take a hands-off approach.

Cross-Cultural Leadership

The leadership of this type is necessary when interacting with people from various cultural backgrounds. Because of the wide variety of cultures represented in the workforce across the United States, many managers and executives hold cross-cultural positions.

Laissez-Faire Leadership

The members of the team are given responsibility in this style of management. They are free to choose how they spend their time at work, with minimal oversight from the boss. It's not a good way to lead, according to experts.

Transactional Leadership

An interactive approach is integral to this kind of leadership. When team members successfully implement their leader's ideas and choices, they are rewarded with immediate, material benefits.

Charismatic Leadership

In order to bring out the best in his followers, this kind of leader makes the effort to change their attitudes, values, and actions.

This article should dispel the notion that leadership qualities can't be further subdivided. It should also assist you in pinpointing your own personal brand of leadership so you can perfect it over time.

Final Words

In conclusion, leadership is a complex and multifaceted concept that involves various qualities and skills. Effective leaders possess traits such as integrity, vision, empathy, decisiveness, and the ability to inspire and motivate others. They are able to navigate challenges, make difficult decisions, and lead their team toward success. Leadership also involves continuous learning and self-improvement, as leaders must adapt to changing circumstances and remain relevant. Effective leadership can have a positive impact on both individuals and organizations, fostering growth and creating a culture of success.

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You can use Jenni.ai to quickly compose an essay on leadership, or any other topic, of your choosing. It's a fantastic choice that promises convenience and relief. Create an essay on any topic in a matter of minutes with the help of our AI-powered program. Sign up on Jenni.ai and get a free trial.

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How to Write the UC Essay on Leadership Experience

This article was written based on the information and opinions presented by Vinay Bhaskara in a CollegeVine Livestream. You can watch the full Livestream for more info.

What’s Covered:

What exactly is leadership, consider different types of leadership, mistakes to avoid.

The first of the University of California’s essay prompts states: 

Describe an example of your leadership experience in which you have positively influenced others, helped resolve disputes, or contributed to group efforts over time.

This prompt is all about conveying your leadership experience. However, keep in mind that your essay does not need to be limited to an example of school-based leadership. Many of the better versions of this essay convey leadership in ways that are about neither academic leadership nor direct or positional extracurricular leadership.

It’s really easy to get lost in a definition of what leadership means with this prompt. Remember that leadership has a very expansive definition. What leadership looks like to each student will vary drastically, but, in other words, the prompt is asking you to describe how you have utilized your personal experience for the betterment of yourself and others. 

This prompt focuses on concrete actions that create tangible benefits for members of an organization, or even for an individual within the organization. Many students focus on how they have inspired their classmates or helped to resolve a conflict. While these are good examples of being a leader, try not to limit yourself to formal leadership positions and actions when brainstorming your response.

Leadership can range from formal leadership positions, such as being president of a club, to informal positions, such as mentoring a younger peer. Some examples of more formal leadership would be leadership positions in extracurricular activities including athletics , academics, and even work with non-profit organizations. Informal leadership, on the other hand, is leading in any capacity that is out of the ordinary, specifically when you do not have an official title.These are events or instances that you may not think of as leadership, but discussing such examples may actually help your essay stand out even more. 

A really powerful example of this could be a student helping peers deal with and overcome mental health struggles. Another example could be a student taking on more responsibility within their family by helping a sibling with their homework. The most compelling essays tend to be about informal examples of leadership, which are then supplemented by the formal leadership positions on your resume . 

Though there is no right or wrong answer for this essay prompt, here are a few things that you should avoid in your response.

Cliche Responses

A cliche essay response is any topic that reviewers may see repeatedly, and therefore is something you want to try and avoid in order to stand out among the applicant pool. Cliche responses for this essay prompt generally include examples about a club, such as a sports team, orchestra, or group, failing at something initially, and then the student helping the group succeed. It is possible to tackle such topics if you are an incredible writer, but if you aren’t then it may be hard for your essay to really make a lasting impact.

Restating Your Resume

Always avoid using the leadership experience prompt to restate your resume! It often seems that the most direct way to complete this essay is to speak about the leadership that can be found in your Activities section. Remember, however, that colleges already can see what’s on your resume. Therefore if you’re only expanding on the information in your application and using your essay to further list the clubs you led or your accomplishments, you’re not conveying anything new. You are missing an opportunity to add additional context to your application by doing this.

What the schools are really looking for are the qualities of leadership demonstrated through your experience – not the accomplishments or awards that you’ve accumulated from leadership positions. Instead of focusing on a title, focus on the impact of your leadership on others or on the approach used to build personal dynamics and relationships in leadership. Remember you want your essay to show which of your concrete actions have driven tangible benefits for others.

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Home — Essay Samples — Life — Life Changing Experience — My Leadership Experience and the Lessons I Learned

My Leadership Experience and The Lessons I Learned

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Your chance of acceptance, your chancing factors, extracurriculars, leadership college essay examples.

Hey there! I'm a junior in high school, and I'm starting to think about my college essays. I want to write about my leadership experiences but I need some inspiration. Does anyone have any examples of successful college essays that talk about leadership and can give me ideas on how to structure mine?

Hi! It's awesome that you're starting to think about your college essays early, and writing about leadership experiences can be a great topic. You can indeed find an example of a leadership essay, written in response to one of the UC system's Personal Insight Questions, on CollegeVine's blog: https://blog.collegevine.com/university-of-california-essay-examples. The post also contains analysis of what the writer did well, and any aspects that could have been made even better.

I can also give you some general examples of topics that can anchor a strong leadership essay. Remember, overall the key is to pick an experience that stands out and genuinely reflects who you are.

1. Leading a community project: You could write about a time when you took the initiative to create or lead a community project, such as organizing a neighborhood cleanup or starting a tutoring program for underprivileged kids. Focus on your motivation for starting the project, the challenges you faced along the way, and how you addressed those challenges. End by reflecting on the impact the project had on both you and the community.

2. Being a mentor or role model: Think about a time when you stepped up to mentor or support someone in need, whether a younger sibling, a teammate, or a neighborhood kid. Describe the relationship and why you decided to take on that responsibility. Explain the qualities that you demonstrated in your mentorship and how you helped the person grow or overcome challenges.

3. Overcoming adversity in a leadership role: If you've been in a situation where you faced a significant challenge as a leader (such as dealing with conflict within a club or managing a complicated project), you could share that experience. Detail the situation, the steps you took to address the problem, and the outcome. Reflect on the lessons you learned from grappling with that adversity and how the experience has shaped your approach to leadership.

4. An unconventional form of leadership: Don't limit yourself to structured roles or titles. Sometimes, leadership can be demonstrated in unexpected ways, such as by guiding your friends out of the woods after getting lost on a hike. Describe an example where you took charge or influenced others, even if you didn't have an official title, and how that experience has shaped your understanding of leadership.

Remember to keep the essay focused on a specific experience rather than covering multiple instances of leadership. Add personal reflections and insights to make your essay genuinely unique. It's essential to showcase your personality, beliefs, and growth as a leader.

Finally, if you want to be sure your leadership skills are being presented clearly, consider taking advantage of CollegeVine's Free Peer Essay Review Tool, or submitting your essay for a paid review by an expert college admissions advisor on CollegeVine's marketplace. Sometimes, a more objective look at your essay from someone who doesn't already know you can give you the best sense of how well you're communicating your points.

Good luck with your essay writing!

About CollegeVine’s Expert FAQ

CollegeVine’s Q&A seeks to offer informed perspectives on commonly asked admissions questions. Every answer is refined and validated by our team of admissions experts to ensure it resonates with trusted knowledge in the field.

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A Simple Way to Introduce Yourself

• Andrea Wojnicki

Think: present, past, future.

Many of us dread the self-introduction, be it in an online meeting or at the boardroom table. Here is a practical framework you can leverage to introduce yourself with confidence in any context, online or in-person: Present, past, and future. You can customize this framework both for yourself as an individual and for the specific context. Perhaps most importantly, when you use this framework, you will be able to focus on others’ introductions, instead of stewing about what you should say about yourself.

You know the scenario. It could be in an online meeting, or perhaps you are seated around a boardroom table. The meeting leader asks everyone to briefly introduce themselves. Suddenly, your brain goes into hyperdrive. What should I say about myself?

• Andrea Wojnicki , MBA, DBA, is an executive communication coach and founder of Talk About Talk, a multi-media learning resource to help executives improve their communication skills.

Partner Center

How Mercer’s CEO planned her own retirement–and succession

Martine Ferland has spent more than 40 years on the front lines of retirement. This week, the CEO of Mercer and vice chair of Marsh McLennan is stepping down to start her own. Over the past five years, she has led the consulting giant to its best growth since 2008. In recent months, she’s also focused on facilitating a smooth transition for her successor, Pat Tomlinson. That includes traveling with him on a grand tour of Mercer’s global locations, holding weekly two-hour meetings on a wide range of topics, and letting Tomlinson own all the long-term decisions so they’re aligned with his vision.

She also gave him a book–a slim volume published last year by McKinsey called The Four Seasons of a CEO . Although it was not for sale (“a complete black market,”  Ferland jokes), she did secure an extra copy that she presented to Tomlinson a few weeks ago at her retirement party in London. (This collection of articles might give you a taste of McKinsey’s leadership advice.)

Leaders like to impart wisdom through gifting books–or writing them. George David gave Louis Chenevert half a dozen history books to read when handing over the reins as CEO at United Technologies Corp. in 2008. (While writing a story on David, he sent me the same collection; Lenin’s Tomb stood out.) Ferland often gives books to colleagues, with a current favorite being The Heart of Business by former Best Buy CEO Hubert Joly in 2021.

Tomlinson says he plans to read Four Seasons . “I have it right here!” he said on a Zoom call, reaching above his desk. While the first chapter on becoming a high-potential CEO candidate didn’t captivate him, he says the second “would be good to read over the next few weeks as it’s about your first six to twelve months.”

More important was joining Ferland on global visits, especially as Tomlinson has built his career in the U.S. Along with helping him build key relationships, he says, Ferland shows “how you get good economic growth and outcomes and doing it with empathy.”

When asked which books have influenced him, Tomlinson reaches for two: The 2004 classic Blue Ocean Strategy and What Got You Here Won’t Get You There by executive coach Marshall Goldsmith in 2007. The latter came at a time in his career when he had to transition from building to influencing others as a leader. “Someone said, ‘Look, if you keep running things like this, you won’t have time for anything else.’ I gave that advice to somebody two days ago.”

Even for an HR consultancy, this CEO succession was unusually well-planned. “I wish I’d had an introduction similar to this one,” says Ferland, who recalls that her onboarding was rather short and sweet. Having helped her successor, her next best practice? Get out of the way.

Diane Brady [email protected]

Commuting is back–sort of

An analysis of travel patterns in 10 major global cities has shown that commuting has recovered since lockdowns brought in-office work to a sharp halt. But not as we knew it. In New York, for example, Amtrak’s passenger ridership has surpassed pre-pandemic levels. Yet employees are popping into the office for shorter periods, (or, “coffee badging” ) instead of commuting into the city for the whole working day. Financial Times

The rise and fall of Stability AI’s CEO

Emad Mostaque, the founder and CEO of Stability AI, resigned from the $1 billion startup he founded on Saturday, following a wave of key departures. Fortune ’s Jessica Mathews and Allie Garfinkle interviewed 20 Stability investors, former Stability and Coatue (one of Stability’s largest backers) employees, and Coatue-backed founders to uncover Mostaque’s stunning fall from grace. Fortune

Heat action plans

Hot off the heels of last year’s record-high temperatures, two of the world’s biggest aid agencies are set to host an inaugural global summit on extreme heat–and they’re urging business leaders, as well as governments, schools, and hospitals to prepare for the “silent killer” and develop “heat action plans.” In the U.S., extreme heat is already deadlier than all other climate impacts put together, including hurricanes and floods. Guardian

AROUND THE WATERCOOLER

It’s a ‘nepo’ housing market. More than a third of Gen Zers and millennials expect their parents to help with a down payment, survey finds by Alena Botros

Birkin bags can double in value in 5 years. An Hermès expert explains why it’s a better investment than gold by Jasmine Li

Exclusive: Many senior Amazon employees won’t get cash raises this year by Jason Del Rey

You’re more likely to make more money if you’re an older sibling—and now researchers think they know why by Irina Ivanova

Women outearn men in just a handful of U.S. cities, report finds—and not by a lot by Jane Thier

Diddy’s estimated $1 billion fortune is at risk after 5 lawsuits with explosive allegations. Here’s how the entertainment mogul made his money by Sydney Lake

Inside the cockpit at Boeing: Here are the top 5 candidates for CEO as Dave Calhoun exits (Commentary) by Jeffrey Sonnenfeld and Steven Tian

T his edition of CEO Daily was curated by Orianna Rosa Royle. 

This is the web version of CEO Daily, a newsletter of must-read insights from Fortune CEO Alan Murray. Sign up to get it delivered free to your inbox.

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