5 Leadership Lessons You Forgot You Learned in College

Are college grads forgetting the big lessons we learned in college, and can we do better in applying them now? The answer is “yes.” Consider these five leadership lessons that you probably forgot you learned in school and can start using now to thrive in the workforce.

• Negotiation is an opportunity. It’s easy to forget this once you enter the workforce. You might be grateful to have landed a job in the first place or scared that negotiating will backfire. But remember what you learned in school: A negotiation is not about winning. It’s about both parties walking away feeling good about the outcome.
• Collaboration makes the world go round. If you take on every part of a project yourself, you’ll be doing “all-nighters” again, but instead of getting a good grade this time, you’ll get burned out. You need to find smart ways to share the workload with others and that means delegating and communicating clearly with your peers.
• Always befriend the new kid. In college, you likely learned (but might have since forgotten!) that cliques will limit you. The value of your education is exponentially more positive with each person you add to it.
• Don’t bite off more than you can chew. While your financial situation or simply your ambition may have pushed or even required you to overextend yourself in school, remember that things are likely a little different now. If you have the privilege of job security, grant yourself the grace of chilling out from time to time, and be choosy around how you expend your energy.
• Practical experience eats theory for lunch. Without a doubt, you took some really “interesting” courses in college. But how are they serving you now? In your career, especially for people who are interested in becoming leaders, it’s important to find opportunities to demonstrate your tactical abilities and demonstrate your expertise.