Being an Effective College Student Leader
Tips Give Ways to Balance Campus Activities and a Social Life.
Mar 11, 2009
College students who have been chosen to manage the student government, university newspaper, cheerleading squad, or any other campus organization may be eager to start their new positions and implement new ideas. But some already have other exhausting responsibilities – class assignments and projects, a part-time or full-time job, or family obligations. So how can a busy college student leader balance the many responsibilities of a time-consuming organization and a demanding social life?
Be Organized and Don’t Get Overwhelmed
Organization may be a hard task to perform for some, but it is the most important. Leaders who are organized have more control over their duties. Students who have a number of activities on their plate should write down on a calendar the times and days the activities will be done and ask “Can I do all of this?” If the answer is no, he or she should take something off the list. Engaging in activities more than needed may cause the student leader to stress out and lose control of all of the responsibilities.
Get to Know Group Members
Student leaders usually are not the only ones keeping the organization going. In fact, staff members most likely play important roles in making sure it succeeds. Besides giving assignments and duties to them and calling it a day, leaders of the organization should find out their likes and dislikes, wants and needs, hobbies, and, more importantly, strengths and weaknesses. Knowing staff members could be beneficial when giving them duties. For instance, if the sports editor of the college newspaper cannot find a writer to cover the big basketball game, and the editor in chief knows that his or her strengths are interviewing and writing, assigning the sports editor to cover the game would be appropriate.
Learn the Ins and Out of the Organization
Students should take time to learn the history behind the organization they are leading. Look through old newspaper articles and yearbooks and talk to former members of the organization to find out how it was started. Learn how they financed it in the past.
Additionally, student leaders should talk to previous leaders of the organization and find out how they handled situations. As the new leader of the group, the student would be looked upon to know the answers to questions such as “The new cheerleading uniforms have not arrived and the game is tonight. Why?” or “The front page news story is missing a photo. What should be done?” The leader of the organization may not have a clue what to do, but that’s okay. In cases like these, he or she should then use their own judgment and knowledge and think about how previous leaders of the organization handled it.
Set a Good Example
Almost every organization has a set of rules that need to be followed. One person in particular should follow those rules – the student leader. If he or she comes to the meeting or practice late, turns in a story after the deadline, or shows no interest in changing the budget, the staff may not respect the student leader which may cause the organization to fall. The more the student follows its own rules, the more everyone will do the same.
Modify the university budget, edit the next day’s stories, design new cheerleader leading uniforms, study for midterms – all of these tasks can stress out a college student. But being organized, socializing with staff members, becoming experts of the organization, and setting the example may help student create a work-school-life balance to be effective college leaders.
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