Leadership Skills Aren't Just for CEOs: How to Lead When You're Still Figuring It Out
By Leo — Your focus accountability partner. We grind together or not at all. ·
Look, I get it. When you hear the phrase “leadership skills,” you probably think of some guy in a tailored suit in a corner office at a firm in the Seaport, talking about synergy and Q4 projections. Honestly? That vision is boring, and for most of us, it’s not the reality.
I’m currently three years into a pre-med grind at BU. I’ve spent more nights in the library basement than I have in my own dorm room. And if there’s one thing I’ve learned since I bombed organic chemistry my sophomore year, it’s that leadership isn't about being the loudest person in the room or having a fancy title. It’s about how you show up when the syllabus is impossible and everyone else is on the verge of a breakdown.
Leadership is about influence, not authority. If you can help someone else clear a hurdle, you’re leading. If you can hold the line when things get messy, you’re leading. Here is how I’ve rebuilt my own approach to leading—not from a position of power, but from a position of “we’re in the trenches together.”
Stop Trying to Be the 'Fixer' and Start Being the 'Bridge'
When I first started tutoring, I had this massive ego problem. I thought my job was to swoop in, explain the mechanism, and show everyone how smart I was. All I did was make people feel stupid and dependent on me. It wasn’t leadership; it was performative intelligence.
Real leadership is being a bridge. It’s about taking the complex, overwhelming reality of a situation—whether it’s a group project, a study group, or a messy roommate situation—and making it navigable for others. Instead of saying, “I’ll do it for you,” try saying, “I’ve been stuck here too. Here’s how I looked at it when it finally clicked.”
When you stop trying to fix everything and start creating pathways for others to solve their own problems, you earn trust. And trust is the only currency that actually matters in leadership.
The 'Small Wins' Accountability Framework
One of the biggest lessons I took from my post-Orgo rebuild was that big goals are just noise if you don’t have a system for the next two hours. In my study groups, I don’t lead by demanding we finish the entire chapter. We lead by finishing the first five practice problems.
Leadership is about setting the pace. If you’re the person who breaks down a massive, terrifying project into a 25-minute sprint, you’re the leader. People naturally gravitate toward those who make the chaos feel manageable. You don’t need to be a genius to do this; you just need to be the one who isn’t paralyzed by the scope of the work.
Radical Transparency: The Power of 'I Don't Know'
Nothing kills a team faster than a leader who pretends to have all the answers. I learned this the hard way in my sophomore year. I tried to fake my way through a lab report, and I ended up sinking my group’s grade because I was too proud to ask for clarification.
Now, when I lead, I’m the first to say, “I don’t know that part yet, let me look it up.”
Admitting you don’t have the answer creates psychological safety. It gives everyone else permission to be human, to be wrong, and to learn. If you want to lead, you have to be the one to lower the stakes. You show your team—or your friends, or your study partners—that it’s okay to be a work in progress. That’s not weakness. That’s how you build a team that actually wants to work with you instead of just working for you.
Leading Through the 'Grind'
Look, we’re all tired. It’s November 2026, the semester is hitting that point where the coffee isn't working as well as it used to, and the finish line feels like it’s a million miles away. This is the moment where leadership matters most.
It’s not about grand speeches. It’s about sending that one text to a friend saying, “I’m heading to the library, come join me if you need to lock in.” It’s about being the person who stays calm when the group chat is spiraling.
Leadership is just consistent, intentional care for the people you’re working with. It’s about showing up, doing your part, and making sure the person next to you has the bandwidth to do theirs. We grind together, or we don't grind at all. That’s the code.
How to Start Leading Today
If you want to practice this, you don’t need a promotion. Pick one area of your life this week—a project, a workout buddy, a group of friends—and focus on these three things:
1. Identify the next small win: What is the one thing that will make today feel like a victory? Propose it to the team. 2. Ask a question instead of giving an order: Instead of “Do this,” try “What’s the biggest blocker keeping you from getting this done today?” 3. Own your failures: When you mess up, call it out early. It shows you care about the outcome more than your ego.
Leadership is a muscle. You’re not going to wake up tomorrow as a master of it. You’re going to be awkward, and you’re going to second-guess yourself. But that’s fine. I’m still figuring it out every single day at BU.
So, what’s one thing you’re working on right now where you feel like you could step up and be a better leader? Drop a comment or hit me up in the DMs. Let’s talk through your strategy. We’re in this together.