Many young people are hesitant to suggest to others that they want to take on a leadership role. They may lack confidence as a leader. They may fear rejection. They may not want to be the center of attention. They may not want to commit the time to the leadership effort. Do you of these apply to you? If so the strategy outlined below may be useful.

1. Accept the fact that leadership experience is something you need to do. It’s often surprising how well you do when you perceive something as a requirement rather than as an option. Leadership experience really is a requirement if you want to get a good job when you graduate.
2. Find The Leadership Opportunity That Is Right For You (See the topic on this subject for more details)
3. When the organization has elections, suggest to those who make up the officer slate that you would like to be considered. This is the hard part. You may feel that you are being pushy. Probably the opposite is true – the organization is struggling to find people to run for offices. You will probably start at a lower office position.
4. Do something distinctive in your initial leadership role. This will get a lot of attention. The next time there is an officer election, others will probably come to you to take on a more important role.

Here’s an analogy you might think about in putting yourself forward. Think about taking that first move to go into a swimming pool. You’re not sure how the water will be. But you go in with some hesitance. It’s not long before you become very comfortable in the water. That’s the same thing you will experience in putting yourself forward for a leadership position.