Not Leadership Material? Good. The World Needs Followers.
In 1934, a young woman named Sara Pollard applied to Vassar College. In those days, parents were asked to fill out a questionnaire, and Saras father described her, truthfully, as more a follower type than a leader.
The school accepted Sara, explaining that it had enough leaders.
Its hard to imagine this happening today. No father in his right mind (if the admissions office happened to ask him!) would admit that his child was a natural follower; few colleges would welcome one with open arms. Today we prize leadership skills above all, and nowhere more than in college admissions. As Penny Bach Evins, the head of St. Pauls School for Girls, an independent school in Maryland, told me, It seems as if higher ed is looking for alphas, but the doers and thinkers in our schools are not always in front leading.
Harvards application informs students that its mission is to educate our students to be citizens and citizen-leaders for society. Yales website advises applicants that it seeks the leaders of their generation; on Princetons site, leadership activities are first among equals on a list of characteristics for would-be students to showcase. Even Wesleyan, known for its artistic culture, was found by one study to evaluate applicants based on leadership potential.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/24/opinion/sunday/not-leadership-material-good-the-world-needs-followers.html