At some point in our life, we would end up in the role of a leader. From the common school leadership positions to leading by initiative, the art of taking the lead is one that will be useful for us through life.

Taking responsibility for anything in itself is a lofty task that requires people to be ready for major adjustments.

This is probably why people distance themselves from positional responsibilities.

What is Leadership?

Maybe that’s not the question we should ask ourselves because leadership entails taking charge of people or situations.

The proper question should be, “What is effective leadership?”

Leadership is considered effective when the person is taking responsibility for other people or events and is able to influence them positively.

The influence they provide should be sufficient to make individual leaders out of those who follow them.

It should also enable them to collectively achieve goals and objectives that positively impact their lives.

The acquisition of leadership skills isn’t an immediate process. It is one that requires time and willingness to learn.

In default, true leading is actually a form of service.

When you don’t see yourself better than the people that you are responsible for, when every move you make is for their benefit, and when you think about them first before yourself – these are the starting points for finessing the qualities of an effective leader.

Living and Leading

The art of influencing can easily become a way of living for anyone. This is true especially for students who had to hold an educational leader role or two during their study years. I was one of those, and here is how it worked for me.

Knowing full well I exerted a lot of influence even before I attained these positions, it made me conscious of my interactions and choices.

I knew I had younger freshmen looking at me. Whatever I did could easily influence them to follow suit, even if it was wrong.

I usually conferred with my fellow mates in higher positions, and we all shared these concerns.

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Looking back at those days, the following tips and tricks are what helped me to maintain a faultless tenure of influence:

1. Be Orderly

As a person, you have to maintain a certain level of decorum and organization. It is one of the timeless leadership principles out there.

I noticed that I always had better results when I was organized in addressing people or even solving people-related problems.

2. Be Humble

The junior-freshman you see today might be the one to vote you out tomorrow just because of a one-time arrogance show. Humility is a priceless virtue for any leader.

Always remember you are there to serve, not to be served.

3. Have a Plan

You are not there to waste people’s time. This is an opportunity for you to have a positive impact, and you need a plan to make that possible.

If you are confused where can you best serve them, talk to each person individually.

Find out their strengths and weaknesses. Get to know these people for the values they stand to gain from you.

Knowing people individually helps you know how you can influence them best, and improve their lives.

4. Be Fair

This often comes up as one of the crucial leadership matters – you get to a high position, and favor only your close friends. That’s not the attribute of an effective influencer.

Instead, you have to give everyone the same fair chance, be it to work with you or access certain things.

Everyone deserves a fair chance at everything, and as a leader, you must see to it that everyone is treated fairly.

What Leadership Tips Can You Learn From Students?


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Susan Wallace
Susan Wallace loves to write about topics that tend to change people’s perspectives on general life issues. She has worked as a senior content editor at Custom Writing for years, writing articles that reach millions of people daily.