Don't just plan your titles. Plan your leadership activities.
When students think about high school activities, we often start with what we want to join: student government, DECA, performing arts, service, sports. Eventually, another question often enters the picture: What leadership positions might I have?
There's nothing wrong with thinking about that. But lately I've been wondering about a different question: What do I want to learn how to do before I graduate?
I didn't plan my own experience this way
Looking backward, I can see this in one of my own activities. My school holds an annual event called Pumpkin Fest. As a freshman, I volunteered and helped carve pumpkins that elementary students had designed. As a sophomore, I became the marketing lead and helped promote the festival. As a junior, I became one of two co-leads responsible for the event as a whole.
Each year, I got to see more of how the event worked and take responsibility for more of it. We ended up using that progression as an example in our research report.
I didn't map that progression out as a freshman. Looking back at it, though, made me wonder whether students could think a little more intentionally about the experiences they're building.
Start with what you want to learn how to do
In my last post, I identified eight kinds of activities students might practice through leadership: running meetings, leading projects and events, coordinating a team, managing money and resources, representing others, setting goals and priorities, working through problems and disagreements, and developing other students.
I don't think anyone needs to collect all eight. They do, however, give us different questions to ask about an activity. Will I have a chance to organize something or lead a project? Could I be responsible for work other people are depending on? Could I represent other students? Will I have to make decisions when there isn't an obvious answer?
Those questions tell me something an officer list doesn't.
You don't always need the title
You also don't necessarily have to wait for a major position. You might organize one event, chair a committee, recruit volunteers, mentor a younger member, or take responsibility for one part of a larger project. Sometimes the useful question may simply be whether there's something you could take responsibility for.
The responsibility can grow too. Maybe the first time you help with an event. The next time you lead one part of it. Eventually, you might be ready to coordinate the whole thing.
It probably won't happen in a perfectly planned sequence. Opportunities appear unexpectedly, interests change, and sometimes you get a responsibility before you feel completely ready for it.
Notice what's missing
Over time, though, it might be useful to occasionally ask what you've had the chance to do, what you're getting better at, what you haven't tried yet, and where you could take on more responsibility.
Maybe you've planned several events but never managed money. Maybe you're comfortable leading meetings but haven't had to follow up with a peer who didn't do something. Maybe you've coordinated other students but have never represented their views to adults making a decision.
You don't need to fill every box. Paying attention to what you're actually learning to do can help you notice an experience you might want to try next.
This article is part of a series exploring what students actually get to practice through leadership—and how schools and advisors can create stronger leadership experiences. The series grew out of our 2026 research with 271 student leaders and 37 advisors.