Being a leader is not about focusing on making people happy; it is about effective and calculated administration. A good leader has to leave his feelings at home because they will only impair his decision-making. I learned this lesson the hard way.

Last year, my school was invited to send participants to a creative writing event hosted by a school in India. In light of my literary expertise and publication track record, I was selected as a representative. As this was a team event, other capable freshmen and sophomores were also selected as my teammates. The team needed a leader, and being the most experienced, the group selected me. I was also given full responsibility for deciding who participated and who served as a substitute. This felt like I had too much power entrusted to me; a strange mixture of excitement, honor, and self-doubt enveloped me as the helm of our ship was placed in my trembling hands. 

This was a three-day event, and each individual from our team was given a task to study Indian culture and mythology and relate it to the ongoing Global crisis. The creativity of this challenge was further amplified by the addition of requirements such as the inclusion of a poem, a Twitter post, and a monologue. It was a truly challenging event which demanded a 100% effort from all the participating members. To my dismay, I found that some of my fellow sophomores weren’t even giving half of what was required. They were slacking off as there was no senior to keep them in line. Being a virtual competition, some of them didn’t listen to the Zoom meetings nor did they give heed to any of the instructions. Instead, they chose to watch unrelated YouTube videos, and one even started watching Netflix! 

The worst thing was that due to being upperclassmen, they were more experienced than the freshmen, and it was almost a guarantee that most of them would be on the team. If they were substitutes, maybe I could afford to not even bat an eye, but their indifference was contagious and could spread like wildfire. I knew I had to take drastic action, but they were my classmates, my friends, how could I do that to them?

However, the toughest decisions are oftentimes the most important ones. With a heavy heart, I removed the slackers from the team and replaced them with some freshmen. Although they lacked experience, they made up for it with hard work and diligence. I was criticized by my fellows and even my juniors, who saw this as an act of betrayal. However, I realized that criticism is sometimes the cost of effective leadership. 

In the end, through intensive research and exemplary teamwork, our team was awarded the Judge’s Choice Award among hundreds of other participants.

One key takeaway I learned was that the outcome of an event often determines the reaction of the audience. The same people who criticized my decision came to congratulate me and unironically told me what I did was very brave and that they believed in me all this time.

Leadership is a more complex topic than people give it credit for. I still have a lot to learn about it, but the most important thing I have learned is the truth of this old saying: “If you want to make everyone happy, don’t be a leader, sell ice cream.