My Leadership Philosophy

Leadership is a characteristic defined simply as the ability to lead, but in my life leadership has taken a much more profound meaning. Leadership to me is more than doing a few more administrative responsibilities for the sake of holding a title, or a simple trait that somebody is born with. Leadership, instead, is a unique blend of qualities and characteristics that allow one to be a talented leader and therefore exhibit leadership, a blend that I believe I have embodied. While my application does detail a multitude of leadership positions that I have attained over my high school career, it lacks a metric to assess how one truly performed in their position as a leader, so I feel as if my application would feel incomplete without detailing

In sports, I do not hold the title of team captain for simply being on the cross country team for four years. I hold the title because I am able to inspire the team with the effort I put into our daily practices, the fortitude I exhibit during difficult of races, and my ability to communicate with our coaches on sensitive issues. In academics, I do not lead a myriad of clubs just because others shy away from extra responsibilities. I lead because I am able to plan meetings that take into account everybody's interests, because I am skilled at maintaining order even in large groups, and because I am able to balance the responsibilities of leadership with the burden of the most difficult course load possible. Lastly, in scouting, I do not hold the title of Senior Patrol Leader solely because I am the oldest in our troop. I hold this position because I am one of the few who can handle leading a group as large as twenty on outings that can last an entire week, mediating conflicts between scouts when adults are not present, and delegating responsibilities to others when I am unable to manage a task myself. These roles I take on are not merely busy work that I take on to fill a resume. My leadership talent and the leadership roles I have taken on have allowed me to help my cross country team succeed, academic clubs to grow, and scouts in my troop learn new