How to Write a Leadership Essay?

Whether you are a college student, a job applicant, or just a curious individual looking to enhance your knowledge and skills in writing a leadership essay – this guide will be your ultimate source of information. In a single publication, we have gathered the key theoretical and practical guidelines, plenty of examples, and answers to the frequently asked leadership essay questions. 

So, grab a healthy snack and a cup of your favorite tea or coffee, find a comfortable spot, and let’s get down to the leadership writing business!    

What is Leadership Essay

An essay about leadership is a unique and fascinating type of paper. It has gained increased popularity in recent years due to the growing importance of leadership as a vital aspect of social relationships across a wide range of environments and organizations: from academia to businesses, from interpersonal relationships to top governmental institutions.

In schools and colleges, students are often asked to write an essay on leadership as part of their humanities and social studies. An academic paper on leadership can encompass a wide range of themes, ranging from psychology and peculiarities of human behavior to management practices and modern tools available for leaders. 

Here are some examples of leadership essay topics examples:

• The most sought-after leadership skills and talents;
• Leadership and corporate values;
• Why personal integrity is important in good leadership;
• Stress management – a vital part of leadership practices;
• Emotional intelligence – the key leadership quality;
• What does empathy have to do with good leadership?
• The role of conflict resolution in effective employee management;
• Why do some leaders possess visionary abilities, and why others don’t?
• Delegation of responsibilities – empower or control employees?
• The top 5 management practices in the next 10 years;

In addition to academic applications, companies may introduce essays on leadership as part of their job application processes. By asking applicants to write an essay on leadership, recruiters and top managers are probing their potential employees’ leadership abilities. In business-oriented essays on leadership, it is important to show sound problem-solving skills, creativity, and willingness to achieve good results.    

In contrast, leadership essays for college are more academic types of papers, requiring closer attention to observing formatting and stylistic requirements. Nevertheless, they too have to be highly creative, and the one writing them is expected to show a deep knowledge of the topic as well as demonstrate several leadership qualities. 

How to Write a Good Leadership Paper

To write a good paper on leadership, you must constantly stay on your toes when it comes to leadership skills and practices. The reason is – leadership is not a static topic; its knowledge base and skill sets are constantly evolving and evolving in response to current challenges in the social and corporate fabric. 

For instance, some 40-50 years ago strong leadership was closely associated with good management practices, favoring leaders who could supervise and control their subordinates well. However, in recent decades, leadership has become more about the delegation of responsibilities and inspiration of subordinates. More and more often leadership gurus teach us about employee engagement and empowerment as the most effective leadership skills.

When writing an essay on leadership, it’s important to be aware of the latest news and trends in this field.

Title for Leadership Essay

A good essay on leadership starts with a title. The title has to reflect the topic well but be much more concise than, for example, a thesis statement. No abbreviations or contractions are allowed in titles, and all words must start with a capital letter (except articles and conjunctions).

To make this guide as practical as possible, we have picked up an interesting topic on leadership – “Leadership in the Time of Rapid Changes.” All examples and recommendations from now on will be related to this topic so that you’ll hopefully get a healthy mix of theory and practice as the key takeaways from this guide.

Leadership Essay Introduction

In the introduction, the author must provide some background information about the topic to make the reader informed and intrigued to find out more and to continue reading. 

In academic writing, we often hear about the importance of starting with a “hook” – a captivating intro, which can be an eye-opening fact about the topic, a provocative question, or a detail that resonates directly with the readers’ interests and passions. 

The final introductory sentence must be devoted to a thesis statement – a condensed purpose of the essay, and a roadmap of what will be analyzed and discussed.

For example:

In the 20th century, the average lifespan of a successful company was around 80 years. Today, it is closer to 12 years, emphasizing the need for innovative leadership in a time of rapid changes. Recent history knows many examples of how once-successful businesses have quickly degraded and vanished due to the inability of their leaders to embrace the change, e.g., Kodak, Blockbuster, Nokia, Blueberry, to name a few. In this essay, I will address a billion-dollar-worth topic of the necessary leadership qualities for the rapidly changing business landscape of the 2-nd half of the 2020s and beyond.      

Leadership Essay Main Body

The main body makes up around 2/3 of the entire essay’s text. An average-length college essay of 300-500 words, comprises several paragraphs. In longer essays, students usually add chapter titles and subtitles for enhanced readability. 

Each paragraph of the main body has to start with a topic sentence and be devoted to a particular argument to support a thesis statement. For instance, in our essay on “Leadership in the Time of Rapid Changes”, the opening main body paragraph can be devoted to one of the key leadership qualities, necessary for businesses to stay competitive in the rapidly changing environment:

Leadership of the late 2020s must master adaptability to the rapidly changing environments. Already today, those businesses whose leaders acknowledge the need for flexible management practices prevail over the less agile competitors. The disruptive technological breakthroughs dictate the need to eliminate the traditional management approaches and instead favor the ones where leaders encourage their subordinates to experiment and show initiative. The leaders themselves must become the drivers of change by incorporating innovative business practices, people-centric values, and the learning-by-doing philosophy in the workplace.      

The main body should then continue addressing the principal leadership qualities in 2-3 paragraphs that will follow, however, at least one of those paragraphs should be devoted to a counterargument or an important concern about the leadership of the near future.

Leadership Essay Conclusion

In the conclusive paragraph, one must summarize the main findings, and highlight their importance. At times, it is appropriate to reiterate the main thesis, or connect to a broader perspective and encourage readers to think about future challenges and perspectives.

For example:

In this essay, we have discussed how to stay vital and competitive during times of rapid changes, leaders must embrace adaptability, resilience, innovative management approaches, and agility while maintaining technology proficiency and adopting continuous learning as a new corporate philosophy. In managing subordinates, good leaders must practice effective communication and empathy to keep employee engagement and work productivity on a high level.    

Complete Leadership Essay Example

Here is a complete example of an essay on leadership that patches all the exemplary pieces from the previous chapters together, plus several additional main body paragraphs: 

The Bottom Line

Writing an essay on leadership involves a comprehensive understanding of the topic, a well-organized and engaging introduction, a substantial main body, and a thoughtful conclusion that emphasizes the importance of the discussed topic. 

In particular, leadership in a time of rapid changes demands adaptability, innovative management, and agility, as these qualities will be the “bread and butter” for progressive leaders in the rest of 2020s and beyond. 

So, whether you are writing for academics or business, by promoting these leadership qualities, you will guarantee yourself a high academic score.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is leadership important essay?

An essay on leadership teaches the understanding of the important leadership qualities and the ability to apply them in real life. The knowledge and skills of writing such an essay will become handy in academia and in building one’s career.

What makes a good leader essay?

A good essay on leadership has to address one of the key leadership topics, be well-structured, rely on academic language, and incorporate proper formatting and referencing. The one writing such an essay must strive for a balanced approach to presenting arguments for and against the main thesis statement. 

What makes an effective leader?

An effective leader must possess excellent strategic thinking and people management skills, including empowering people, delegation of responsibilities, and adaptability. Some of the best leaders are the ones who embrace continuous learning, show outstanding change management skills, and are not afraid to innovate and set ambitious goals. 

How to start a leadership essay?

An essay on leadership must start with a captivating introduction, including the key background information about the topic and highlighting the need to investigate & find solutions to the key leadership challenges. The intro must include a clear thesis statement – a particular aspect of the topic that the author will zoom into.