How You Can Demonstrate Leadership in your MBA Applications

When I bring up how to demonstrate ‘leadership experience’ in an MBA application, applicants often respond, ‘but I’m not in a management position”. Truly, that’s OK. Most entering classes average 26-28 years old. So don’t be surprised if you haven’t yet managed a team. The truth is that many, if not most, applicants to top business schools have never managed anyone.

However, almost all admitted students demonstrate two things:
1) their inherent leadership qualities; and
2) their inherent leadership potential.

In the May issue of the Harvard Business Review, an intriguing article explores four leadership qualities that the highest-performing CEOs share during a 10-year study. (On a side note, HBR is a GREAT publication if you’re interested in business school – I highly recommend that you subscribe or at least peruse the articles online from time to time).

The four things that HBR cited could be great thought starters for you as you consider how you’ll describe your leadership aptitude in your upcoming application essays. You can probably point to these qualities as areas where you currently excel or want to excel (eg. why you are applying to business school):

1. Decisiveness
2. Ability to Engage Others (eg. Motivate)
3. Ability to Adapt Well to Change
4. Reliability (in Producing Results)

Even if you’ve only been working for a few years, you can probably give examples of how you’ve exhibited some of these leadership qualities. For example, if you work on a team, you should be able to point to a time when you engaged others. Last year, I worked with a private equity associate who had to convince the leadership of one of his portfolio companies to renegotiate with their largest customer (even though even though this was culturally not the norm). I also worked with a consultant who had to convince his team that on-the-ground research (literally door-to-door) was the way to go. Both examples succeeded. But the real success for the adcom was that these people motivated those around them.

Similarly, stories about adapting to change let you describe your problem-solving skills. Perhaps your company was blindsided by Brexit and your company suddenly needed to reanalyze your business unit’s sales strategy or the data that you use. Or maybe you worked in a company that another company acquired. For example, I worked with a woman this past year who had amazing stories of how she worked with an acquiring company’s management team to ensure a smooth integration as they took over her firm. It showcased not only her ability to change but also her ability to jump in and help solve the issues that inevitably pop up in any merger (even though this was far from her day job).

Many people cite their extracurriculars for leadership qualities and potential too. Maybe you’ve tutored for an organization for several years and realized that the student drop-out rate was pretty high. And perhaps you proactively considered what the issues might be and submitted a proposal to the executive director; even though this fell far outside your volunteer scope. Being a reliable contributor who goes above and beyond when situations arise demonstrates a great quality on your applications.

Remember, the key is showing that you are inherently a leader, not inherently an “order-taker”.

Many top programs have started releasing their essay topics for this year. Start now if you haven’t already. Give yourself enough time to write winning essays that showcase all your inherent leadership abilities and potential!