What if I don't WANT to be a leader? Am I doomed for failure?

<p>I'm not a leader in any clubs, nor do I want to be.
I have been offered a leadership position a couple of times, and I was miserable after I accepted.
I don't know if it's the added responsibility, if I just haven't found something I'm passionate enough about, or if I just don't have what it takes.
All I know is I am not a leader. I'm much happier devoting myself to an activity just because. </p>

<p>Does this lack of ambition mean I'm going to end up at a community college or working for minimum wage at some random job for the rest of my life?
My top choices are Carleton and Rice (no worries, the rest of my list is much more reasonable). But I assume both schools are looking for a leader that will make the world a better place? So do I just not fit the bill? Is there any hope whatsoever? I'm a hard worker and my grades and scores are pretty good. I just don't have the passion, the ambition, of a true leader.</p>

<p>Maybe I need a therapist or something. Perhaps my anti-leadership position is psychological :P</p>

<p>No, leading high school clubs is way overrated here on CC. Feel free to excel in something all on your own.</p>

<p>One of my passions is poetry, something in which leadership is not really necessary… I’ve won awards and gone to workshops. the closest to “leadership” that has given me is reading at poetry gatherings. It is an EC that adds personality and ambition, yet leadership isn’t necessary (although I am an editor of my school’s literary magazine). You can do many things that don’t involve “leadership,” and colleges will be just fine with that as long as you show passion or ability in something else.</p>

<p>Leadership isn’t what it’s cut out to be. Student government - more often than not, the purported “leaders” are constricted by a supervising teacher’s iron will. Clubs give you a bit more freedom, but I’d think that the colleges care more about taking initiative, as that can show more leadership than routine tasks assigned to the “president” will.</p>

<p>No.
I was an officer in one club when I applied - president, but of one of my school’s smallest organizations. And that’s definitely not what got me accepted.
There is room for the introverted academic at those schools. At any school. You may have to work a little harder to showcase your talents, but you’re by no means out of luck.</p>

<p>While I haven’t necessarily found a passion, I’ve found quite a few activities I enjoy. Still, I’m more likely to become passionate about something than to become a leader.
Thanks for soothing my troubled little mind. Especially that comment about having space for the introverted academic - that one made me smile :)</p>

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<p>Okay, deep breaths. There are plenty of non-world-savers out there. Not all of them are doomed to CC (and going to a CC isn’t the end of the world, I point out) or lifetime poverty. Neither are you–and no, not wanting to be a leader doesn’t mean you have psychological issues, either. I don’t even know what to say to that.</p>

<p>btw, there are a lot of ways to make the world a better place.</p>

<p>On a practical note, I point out plenty of people on these boards with little to no leadership/ECs who are going to great schools (me included), so quit worrying. Really.</p>

<p>You don’t have to lead if you’re talented.</p>

<p>Addendum: My impression is that Carleton is one of those schools whose mission skews more towards “nerdy academic” than “future president.”</p>

<p>If you’re doing well academically, a college would probably view that as more important than leading groups. After all, there aren’t enough leadership opportunities for everybody to be a leader.</p>

<p>In order to have great leaders, you need great followers.</p>

<p>

I’m taking a lunch break, sitting in a cube farm surrounded by non-leaders who a) get paid very well, b) love their jobs, and c) almost exclusively graduated from 4-year college. My son was accepted to Rice and the closest thing he has to leadership is tutoring in the tutoring center (not mentoring).</p>

<p>You don’t have to be president or go to a famous college to be successful, nor do you have to be club president to go to college. Also, ditto on posts 10 and 11. Also, “passion” is in fashion with college admissions these days.</p>

<p>

This is where all the college admission hype really hurts kids thinking about college. There are about 100 colleges in the US that are super-selective and pay a lot of attention to ECs. The great majority of the rest, around 3,000, admit primarily on GPA and test scores. So you have plenty of options, plenty of good options. And even if you are thinking about one of the elite colleges, strong ECs can be in areas other than leadership. Talent in the arts, in science, or other areas also counts.</p>

<p>I suggest you read thru a book about college admissions. One I like is “Admission Matters”; you can even read their chapter about why college admissions has become so competitive for free at the book website [Admission</a> Matters](<a href=“http://www.admissionmatters.com/]Admission”>http://www.admissionmatters.com/) – click on the “sample chapter” link.</p>

<p>Wow, you just read my mind. Down to Rice! (#1 choice) :]
That’s something that really worries me too. Especially since some of my friends are leaders of every club that exists. ._.
It’s definitely not psychological. I think we are just the type of people that enjoy going along for the ride and contributing subtly. ;]
I think the most important part is the let your personality shine through. I mean what good is a leader that’s grouchy, mean and dull? :P</p>

<p>Thank you guys for replying. Just to be clear, I didn’t mean to come across as snobby when I mentioned community college or minimum wage - I was just trying to exaggerate for emphasis.
And I like the notion of a great follower. It sounds more like my sort of thing. I once heard (or read) something along the lines of, “A village can’t consist of ten chiefs and no villagers.” Well, the idea stuck with me, if not the exact saying.</p>

<p>@teanuh - Nice to meet someone like-minded. And I know what you mean about friends - most of mine are either the ultimate-successes-in-everything-they-do type or the don’t-think-about-college-or-the-future-until-necessary type. They usually just scoff at me when I voice thoughts like these.</p>

<p>Oh, and whole psychological thing was my feeble attempt at a joke.</p>

<p>My D had no leadership positions in hs and was admitted early to decision to WashU. She actually addressed the issue in her essay by using the viola (the instrument she plays) as a metaphor for the hard-working, committed student who adds depth and richness to a student body, but doesn’t “perform the melody” like the violins. She argued that a college, like an orchestra, needs different kinds of people to carry on its activities and to create a diverse, multi-textured student body. A college composed of all leaders and no worker bees can’t function. I guess they must have liked it.</p>