How to Be a Good Leader at School

Co-authored by Ashley Pritchard, MA

Last Updated: June 24, 2024 Fact Checked

There are many ways to be a student leader: whether it’s through student government, academic teams, athletic teams, publications, the arts, or community service. If you are highly involved in school, chances are that other students look up to you.

Part 1

Part 1 of 3:

Taking on a Leadership Position

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Knowing your own strengths and what you care about will help you choose what area of leadership to focus in. Do you love helping people? Consider joining a volunteer organization for the needy. Do you have a passion for writing and enjoy working with a team? Maybe the school newspaper would be a good fit for you. If you’re a people person and you’d like to work toward the good of the school community, consider joining the student government.
Run for student council. Join a few teams, clubs, or organizations and get a feel for what is a good fit for you. Get to know the other people involved in the group right off the bat. You’re not limited to student council – sports teams, language clubs, debate teams, academic teams, the school band, performing arts groups, and publications (newspaper, yearbook) are just a few examples of organizations where there are opportunities for leadership positions.^{[1]
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Ashley Pritchard, MA
Academic & School Counselor

Expert Interview. 4 November 2019.}

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For pretty much every leadership position, you have to start at the bottom and learn the ropes. This is the way you gain knowledge about the group and how things are run. Spend enough time becoming knowledgeable, and you will start becoming a person that others in the group look up to. Eventually, you’ll be able to take a leadership position.
Begin assuming more responsibilities in your group. Set goals and do what it takes to accomplish them. Leaders are people who don’t wait to be told what to do; they come up with good ideas and turn their visions into reality. Be sure to communicate with others in the group about your ideas and encourage them to join you in accomplishing them.^{[2]
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Invite outside organizations, like those that help the environment or the homeless, to your school by organizing a fundraiser. Organize special events to raise awareness of important issues or celebrations, like Cancer or HIV awareness, Black History Month, etc. Learn about what other young people do to support causes - in their communities, nationally, or even internationally.^{[3]
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Part 2

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Being a Good Role Model

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1
Try your best. Being a leader at school doesn’t always mean you have to have perfect grades. But you should show a positive attitude toward your classes, participation, and giving out your best effort to everything.
- Teachers can usually tell if you are trying your best, and so can your classmates. Make an effort to work well in groups and get along with everyone.
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Be respectful to adults at school. A good leader is someone who knows the rules and who understands different positions of authority. You may not agree 100% with your teachers and parents at all times, but you should always maintain a respectful, pleasant attitude toward them.^{[4]
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Expert Source

Ashley Pritchard, MA
Academic & School Counselor

Expert Interview. 4 November 2019.}
- Respect for authority prepares you for becoming an adult and entering the work world where you will have different types of bosses. Showing respect for adults now also shows your teachers, parents, and peers that you are a mature and confident leader.^{[5]
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Be on time and organized. Come to school on time and get to each of your classes on time. Turn in your homework and other class projects on time.
- Be sure you have a planner or agenda book to help you keep track of project deadlines. Write down each day the upcoming due dates for projects and homework for every class.^{[6]
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Help others. If you know how to do something in class that others don’t, offer to help them. Ask in a nice way if you can help students with class work, as long as it’s okay with the teacher. If you finish with some work early, and notice someone else who may be struggling with it, raise your hand and ask if you can help them with it.^{[7]
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Expert Source

Ashley Pritchard, MA
Academic & School Counselor

Expert Interview. 4 November 2019.}
- Helpful behavior extends to the halls too. If you see someone drop their books, help to pick them up. If a new student doesn’t know where certain things or rooms are, offer to help show them around.
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Be trustworthy. Be honest, don’t talk about others behind their backs, and make sure that you treat others the way you would like to be treated.
- Being a trustworthy person is a quality of a good leader. If you say you are going to do something, do it. If you say one thing to one person but different things to someone else (known as being “two-faced”), it will be found out that you are not someone who can be trusted and, people don’t usually want a leader who they cannot trust.^{[8]
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Be fair to everyone. Even if you don't like a certain person, they should still be treated like everyone else. Being consistent in how you treat everyone is an important way to build and maintain trust. If someone breaks a rule, for example, be sure that they receive the same consequence that anyone else would get for breaking a rule.
- Don’t play favorites with your closer friends, and don’t let your personal feelings toward someone you don’t like as much get in the way of being in a group with them. Being part of a team that is trying to accomplishing a goal means that everyone must work together; it’s not just a social gathering.
- Showing fairness is something that you will notice good teachers and parents do. They try not to take sides, and make sure that the rules apply to everyone equally. Being fair and able to work with anyone also prepares you for a work environment, where you don’t usually get to choose your co-workers.
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Stay positive. Be happy and smile frequently. Don’t wear a fake smile, but being friendly and smiling frequently makes you much more approachable.^{[9]
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Expert Source

Ashley Pritchard, MA
Academic & School Counselor

Expert Interview. 4 November 2019.}
- If your group is under lots of pressure, for instance your team just lost a big game, don’t become negative. Say things like, “we’ll get it next time” and “everyone did a great job, the other team just did a little better.” This will help your teammates know you believe in them and that they should keep trying hard.^{[10]
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Don’t participate in bullying or gossip. If there is one quality that adults notice most about student leaders, it is their ability to make all students feel welcome and respected at school.
- If you notice a certain student getting picked on, stand up for them. Don’t be afraid to say, “Just leave them alone,” or something like that. It will show the students doing the bullying that you don’t think their actions are cool.
- Go out of your way to include students who don’t seem to have many friends. Invite them to participate in an activity with you and some others. Say hello to them occasionally and ask how their day is. They may hesitate at first especially if they are used to kids being not nice to them, but keep trying.

Part 3

Part 3 of 3:

Practicing Good Leadership Qualites

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1
Be a good communicator. Learn public speaking skills and writing skills. You should be able to express yourself in a clear way, during meetings, speeches, practices, and/or games so that people are more likely to want to listen to you.
- If you are in a position where you need to do public speaking, practice at home in front of a mirror. Notice your mannerisms and facial expressions while speaking. Also ask if others at home can listen to you practice your speeches and offer suggestions. Speaking to groups well takes a lot of practice – don’t get discouraged if you feel nervous or mess up the first few times. Just keep at it!
- Being a good communicator also means listening well. Take time to learn what people want and care about in your group. Be sure that everyone’s voice gets to be heard, and that you consider all opinions in the group when making decisions.^{[11]
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Distribute the workload. Have others help with the work, and distribute jobs evenly among everybody so that one person will not have to shoulder all of the work.
- For instance, a team captain may give certain clean-up or uniform duties to teammates, or a newspaper editor gives out different article assignments for the staff to write. It’s important to rotate jobs around so that everyone gets equal responsibilities.
- Delegating responsibilities will be up to you and the rest of the group to decide. Make sure everyone feels confident about the job they’ve been given. If a person lacks confidence about a job, you and others in the group may need to work toward encouraging them and offering help and guidance.
- It is part of your job to encourage others to participate. If it feels like someone isn’t pulling their share of the work load, privately discuss this with them, and let them know you’re hoping you can count on them to contribute a little more.^{[12]
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Be resourceful. A good leader knows about the resources that are available to the group. If you don’t know the answer to something, or notice that something needs done but you’re not sure how to do it yourselves, you’re the one who should ask questions of your teachers, coaches, etc.
- It’s your job to create access to information and to supplies that you need for various projects and activities. You are essentially the liaison between the group and the adult who oversees the entire group. Not sure where to get certain props for the musical? Discuss it with the teacher director. Suspect that your team would benefit from one extra practice per week? Bring it up to the coach. ^{[13]
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Be open-minded and flexible. A good leader will be willing to listen to the group when deciding if a certain rule or policy needs to be changed. Sometimes the way things have been done are outdated or could be done in a better way. Being open to change is always good.
- This step goes back to being a good listener. A leader sometimes needs to step back and just listen – to the complaints or the satisfactions of the group. What is working well? What needs to be changed? Just by listening you can learn a lot that can be brought up at future decision-making meetings.
- There may be uncomfortable or unexpected moments during your role as a leader. Someone may quit the group, want to make dramatic changes, or challenge your actions as the leader. How do you handle these moments? If you’re able to adapt and do your best to work it out, then you have part of what it takes to be a great leader!^{[14]
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How can I be a good leader if not everyone likes me?

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Not everyone is going to like you, and that's OK. Trying to get everyone to like you is a game you won't win. Just follow the tips in the article, and even those who don't like you may at least learn to respect you.

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I have been elected as the class representative of my class. I have to maintain discipline in the class and control them when the teachers are not there. But students make too much noise and I become unable to make them quiet. Does anyone have suggestions?

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Sometimes it's difficult to maintain discipline.There are some students who might be troublemakers . Ask the teacher to change their seats, or report them. Write in their names in a notebook and give them to the teacher in charge and let the teacher handle the discipline.

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What if I try to join a team but do really poorly?

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Don't give up or get disappointed. Keep trying, and a have a positive attitude. It is not necessary that you do well on your first try. Keep trying, and you will succeed.

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