Lead a Group

Learning leadership is like developing a superpower. When you can lead a group or team, you grow stronger and wiser on many dimensions.

Leadership is when you guide a group toward a common purpose. That means taking responsibility for others, learning how to work with different kinds of people, finding ways to keep your eyes on the goal while guiding others to work together productively and happily. It’s not easy. But it is incredibly powerful to realize that you can play this role.

Sometimes people think that it takes a certain kind of personality to be a leader – this is not true. Anyone can develop the ability to lead.

Can you imagine how good it would feel if you could successfully hold responsibility for a team, whether that’s being editor of the yearbook, the shift manager for a local shop, the organizer of a student team working on a project, or something else? If you felt that you could manage a group, moderate disagreements, and help solve problems, all so that a shared goal can be reached? It’s an incredible boost to your confidence and skills to discover your leadership ability. Here’s how to start.

Getting Started: First, check in with yourself: do you have a certain image in mind about who a leader is or what they look like? There are a lot of misconceptions here. Leaders are not always the loud, confident person you see in these roles in movies — the classic “Type A” person. That would be an extremely limiting definition. That kind of person can be a leader, but so too can the quiet, observant person; or the person with a powerful passion for something to be done well, even if they don’t yet know how to do it. Or some mix of all of the above.

Once you’ve reminded yourself that regardless of who you are or what personality you have, you can be a leader, it’s time to find opportunities to practice. People are not born knowing how to lead. They learn through practice. Consider this list and see if one or two options seem more interesting to you:

On a school group project, take more responsibility than you have to.
Take on a role to counsel a group of younger students, for example as a camp counselor.
Look for a leadership role at school, perhaps in student government if one exists, or to help out with school projects or administration.
When you’re able to, get a job in a local business, and look for ways to take on leadership roles over time, like training the next new employee.
Join a sports team and look for opportunities to play a leadership role for others.
Join a competitive academic team, like a debate or math team, and look for leadership roles there.
Join a student club or association and build up toward a leadership role, for example helping to make the yearbook or run a student newspaper.
Start a small business.
Get involved in local politics.
Form a group to take on an injustice you see in your community, or to make a positive change, like an initiative to plant more trees.