On leadership
I was coaching a middle-school student through the new application process for our local magnet school last month when we encountered the “leadership” question. Naturally, the student was at a loss as to how to answer. Few of us have the presence of mind to navigate that question even later, at more mature ages.
If you find yourself in a similar situation, here is what you can do.
First, create an answer
Take some time to reflect on the great leaders of the world you admire and what qualities they possess. Write them down and create a generic answer around them.
For instance, you may consider kindness, responsibility, and competence to be a great leader’s essential qualities. Then, write down an answer that begins with a generic transition, includes those qualities, and ends in a way that can apply to many questions. Here is an example.
“I believe a great leader should possess kindness, be competent, and always act with responsibility for people who rely on him or her. I aspire to develop those qualities in myself and to demonstrate them as best as I can in a position of leadership.”
Next, fit the answer
What is left now is to practice your delivery. Then, you will have a starting point when someone asks anything related to leadership. You may have to tweak it a bit here and there to fit different questions in different situations but the gist of it will remain.
If you think preparing such an answer in advance sounds awkward, think of it from this perspective. Having a general answer to the leadership question allows you to have control over the conversation. You determine the terms and the direction of the discussion. In the process, you also demonstrate to your listeners or readers your confidence, your thoughtfulness, and ability to lead.
Some day you will become the leader that you aspire to be. And it will probably be different from what you currently imagine it. You do not need to wait until that day, however, to speak boldly and passionately about your convictions.