Leadership in Student Organization: Leader Mentality Starts From Our Mind

Taken from: http://www.yourtrainingedge.com

By: E. Ova Siti Sofwatul Ummah

Leading or to be lead is sure thing in our life. When we choose to be leader it is means, we are ready to give orders, directs, and even to be criticized. In another hand, when we choose tobe a follower, it means we can accept orders, directs, and deliver our opinion to the leader and public. In this writting, I would like to describe about the leadership in student organization as the miniature of the social life that teach students to have leader mentality start from their mind.

Leadership since ancient times has been discussed by scholars. They express some definitions and theories about leadership. However they did not find an agreemnt on leadership. Leadership is a process of leader to create a vision and interaction each other, influencing followers to realize the vision (Wirawan, 2014: 6).

Leader will not be called as leader if no group to be led, beside it, the leader must have ability to persuade, have a vision and mission, have a good communication ethic, and willingnes to realize vision (Wirawan, 2014: 9). Leadership is a science and arts. As a science, leadership is knowledge that has objects, methods, theories and scientific researches. Leadership knowledge has a million scientific theories that form body of leadership knowledge. As an arts, leadership is applied in social system. Person that has leadersip knowledge not be a good leader yet, although that person has a large knowledge about leadership but can not apply in a reality, it is none. One of the advantages of leadership knowledge is to analyze environment, followers, and tactics to persuade followers (Wirawan, 2014: 9).

Student is a person that is process study in each step of education (Oxford, 2003: 429). The duty of student is studying. Studying about everything, not only subjects in a college or university but also subjects school of life that could build their intelectuall, leadership, responsibility, discipline, and so on. Student can not get all of  subjects in their college or university, therefore they must learn those are out of formal education process.

Formal education process is to build student knowledge that has arranged in curriculum, but the character building is not processed in formal education. Character buiding is process in students social life, like leadership character, it can be process in extra of formal education, but it can not be given value or exam.

Leadership character is nature character that is owned by someone, that person must be has some characters that support them to be leader, such as understand their selves, intelligence, emotional inteligence, spiritual intelligence, social intelligence, and has creativity and inovation (Wirawan). Those are some natural characters that support leadership character.

Being a leader is not always lead an organization or institution, the real leader is lead our selves first, If we can lead our selves, it can not be dobteb that we can lead oter person. Leader mentality is needed To be a good leader, it could be start from our mind first, how can we lead a group without have an initiative and tell opinion, even solve a problem. So, by lead our self first is the point to lead other person or a group of organization and also practice to stimulate our mind to have an intiative or brilliant idea.

Leadership in student organization is just a way to practice and to train our personality in order to have leadership mentality start from youth. The reason why we have to train our personality leading our selves or other person, because as young generation, we are demanded have a good personality to change our environment and be an agent of social change, beside it leadership in student organization is an image of social life miniature of our future, so there is no useless for someone who train lead their selves to have an ability and good discipline.

There are many advantages for someone who lead a student organization, it sure that they accostumed to face a complicated situation in their organization activity that have to be solved, start from little problem untill big problem. The leader of its student organization must have leadership mentality, otherwise they can not solve problem of organization (Maxwell, 2009: 108). Accoording to my analysis about leadership in student organization it has some advantages, the advantages of leadership mentality are more confidence, accostumed to face problem even it is compicated, has a good initiative, has some plans to do something, active brain that always think about change, and has vision and mission.

As a miniature of social life, student organization is also take an important part of youth period of our life. It can be shadow of our next future and mostly, when someone be a leader or join a student organization they have an idealism in mind and someone do not to intervene the idea and spirit of platform of its student organization, even whoever that has different spirit and idea whit them, they are enemy. They take it act because to show up their existence and hold they idealism as youth.

Actually, many ways to show their existence in youth, because in this part of life, everyone wants to show up and be known as a familiar people, has a power in student organization. It is like hegemony theory (Gramscy, 1960) “whoever has a power, they can rule the world.” Therefore student organization just a miniature of the real social life, the leader who lead the organization is reputed has a power, so they can persuade people to follow their idealism. It is not strange if someone as follwer will defend their idealism and reject others idealism just for show their existence.

Defending their idealism is a character of youth as the leader of student organization because at that time they do not intervene by a politic party or by a political ocnum. Leadership in student organization is just for get an leadership experience, not for look salary, even power to rule that organization and also to train our critical when facing a problem. Beside that, with facing some problems or to critic policy of government it will train our intellectual and build bravery in speaking in front of public and sound the right.  

If in future day the student as a leader of organization be a politics or join politic party, it is just a choice of life, and it is not an obligation for someone who has be a leader of organization to join a politic party.

As a youth, we must have spirit, rich with experience and willingness. The great organization student is which has a great youth and the great youth is has a brilliant idea, big dream, and has leadership mentality start from in their mind. Why as a youth we must has leadership mentality and big dream? Because The willingness or it can say a dream actually is the key to be great youth, for it be a motivation for us, than, how can we have a big dream if we do not have an intention to be a great youth with brilliant idea. The main point is a serious intention to have an experience in leadrship.

So far, we never know how motivate we are for other person arround us. People have a special value for who has good mentality and spirit in leadership, because that leader is reputed has good management for them selves, more over for other person.

Idealism, attention and good management are hoped can be keep untill the we has passed youth period. In future, if they join a politic world, those are characters would give them good value because those have had by them as leader in youth, so the application of those character is in the future, when we are be a real leader in social life, not in a student organization any more. But, unfortunately sometimes those best characters of youth leader could be bought by material when the leader has a self interest and the situation is support to take profit. Finally, as youth we must have ability in leadership as experience and apply it in future.

Bibliography

A Williams, Gwyn. (1960). The Concept of ‘Egemonia’ in the Thought of Antonio Gramsci.          Journal of the History of Idea, vol. 21, no. 4

Maxwell, John C. (2009). The 21 Indispensable Qualities of A Leader, (Thomas Nelson      Nashile 2009).

Oxford Learner’s Pocket Dictionary New Edition, (Oxford University Press New York    2003).

Wirawan. (2014). Kepemimpinan: Teori Psikologi, Perilaku Organisasi, Aplikasi dan Penelitian, (Raja Grafindo Jakarta 2014).