Anna Piazza is standing in the back hall of the school, thinking about what a leader means to her. Photo by: Courtney Black
By Courtney Black
Compassionate, confident, helpful, mature, and a good listener might be a few words someone will apply to a leader. Students at Plymouth High School express what they think a good leader is.
A pretty straightforward definition of a leader is someone who leads, but students at PHS had a more descriptive definition. Junior Shelby Haisley said, “A leader, to me, is someone that knows self humility, when to take action, how to take control in a respectful way, friendly, someone you can look up to, someone you want to imitate, someone who can help you push to become a ‘better’ you, someone who can communicate effectively, and someone who puts others way before themselves.” Scrolling through the responses, the word “respect” popped up a few times. Respect is one important factor for a leader because if nobody respects him or her, he or she will not be listened to. Sophomore Haley Harrell said, “A leader is someone who is respected by other people. I think that a leader is someone who is willing to put others before themselves for the sake of [it] all. A leader is someone that looks at everyone’s needs, wants, and desires and tries to find the best solution to grant all of these.” Agreeing with Harrell, freshman Haleigh Wylie a leader is, “someone that you can trust and someone that has respect.” The majority of those interviewed have the interpretation that a leader can only be a good person though some believed some of the cruelest people such as dictators are leaders. Sophomore Anna Piazza said, “a leader, good or bad, is someone who others follows.” Good or bad, a leader is a leader bases on the opinions of those who follow him/her.
Shelby Haisley considers herself a leader to others. She is standing tall and proud the way a leader always should.
Photo by: Courtney Black
Often times people think a leader has to live by certain expectations, but others disagree and believe anyone could be a leader. Family, friends, neighbors, and celebrities are a few categories that a follower can choose to be his/her leader. Piazza said, “There are some upperclassmen who I follow, including my brother. I guess I follow a lot of the people who are older than me because I can learn from their successes…and failures.” Piazza is not the only one that admires people older than her and considers them leaders. Haisley said, “I try to follow a lot of people but a couple people I try to follow are Elizabeth Wolford, Traci Longanecker, and Mr. Bryan Ames. They are leaders every day I see them.”
A person’s personality is one factor that can make him or her who they are today. Those interviewed agreed that personality has a big impact on leaders. Freshman Pierce Larimore thinks personality is important because, “if you don’t have a good personality, then no one will like you and people won’t want to follow you.” Being unfair or being bad can cause a leader to not be followed. Agreeing with Larimore, Haisley said “If you have someone that is antisocial then not many people will want to follow them, but if you have a very social and friendly person they are more likely to want to follow that person.” Living on this earth should be a fun time for human beings; not be be bossed around by a unfair or bad leader. Wylie said, “if they have a cocky attitude they aren’t someone that I am going to enjoy looking up to.”