Leadership is a powerful skill that all people should possess to progress in their career, and even life in general. Stephen Varanko III mentions that the foundation of such skills should be developed in school itself, to prepare the students for future challenges and help them to succeed in diverse spheres of life. Stephen himself had been a noteworthy student achiever in his high school years at the Randolph Macon Academy, having ranked 12th in class standings. He had also held leadership positions in a myriad of extracurricular activities in his high schools.
A person would have to go through several stages in life where they might need good leadership skills. Stephen Varanko III points out that in the contemporary environment, a lot of students face employment problems and career challenges, as well as conflicts between idealism and growth. They would subsequently need leadership skills to face their challenges head-on, solve problems, and identify the perfect direction to take in life. Moreover, leadership roles can significantly boost the college application of a student, and help them to explore better prospects.
As a person who has been in several leadership roles during his high school years, Stephen Varanko III understand how this experience can help a student in a positive manner. Here are some of the key advantages of encouraging leadership skills among school students underlined by him:
- Team building: Most of the time, students are told what they have to do and they carry out their task independently as per its accordance. But when they are put into a leadership position, they not only have to take care of their own job, but also manage the strengths and weaknesses of each team member. A leader should proactively collaborate with all the team members, and try to formulate strategies that would benefit each one of them. Leadership roles can significantly help people to work well with others as a team.
- Confidence building: Being in a leadership position is one of the best confidence boosts a student can get during their high school years. No matter whether they are leading the student government, starting a new club, team rallies, or putting together various social activities for the peers, leading any campus initiative will provide students with better confidence in their abilities.
- Sharpen problem-solving skills: Life is full of challenges and pitfalls. Having experience in any leadership role would put people in a better position to navigate these challenges smoothly, and reach their end goal. All leaders tend to slowly become experienced in solving diverse varieties of problems, which subsequently helps them to overcome any challenge or difficulty they might face in the future.
While being in a leadership position can be quite advantageous for students, being a leader is not always easy. It requires hard work, dedication, recognition and self-image awareness, as well as the consistent effort to hone their discerning skills.