Make Your Leadership Case for B-School Admission

More than ever, business schools want applicants with leadership skills. Here's how to mine your past for compelling examples

By Francesca Di Meglio

Leadership is a word thrown around a lot at many a top business school. In fact, leadership is considered the key to getting your foot in the door of top MBA programs. But what does leadership mean and how do you demonstrate to admissions committees in your application that you're a leader worthy of admission?

To determine if you are leader material, most admissions committees will be scanning your application to find certain characteristics—charisma, relating well to others, communicating well, handling difficult situations with grace, strategizing and having a vision, taking action, persuading others, willingness to take risks, committing to something for the long term, working well in teams, and being a great role model. "It's about leaving a footprint on whatever situation you're in and doing more than a good job," says Stacy Blackman, president of Stacy Blackman Consulting. "Leadership is not a solo effort. You're inspiring others and bringing out the best in them."

Promotions and raises at work and titles held in extracurricular organizations are common ways applicants indicate their leadership potential in their applications. They may bring up these accomplishments when they list extracurricular activities, in essays or interviews, or through their supervisors who write letters of recommendation. Although you don't want to sound like a braggart, you still have to prove to an admissions committee that you belong. "Take credit for what you've done," says Isser Gallogly, executive director of MBA admissions at New York University's Stern School of Business (Stern MBA Profile). "You're just telling the facts, helping admissions committees understand what you will bring to their class."

While obvious examples of leadership—from being the editor of your college newspaper to supervising three junior staffers at your office—are great, there are other, more subtle, examples that could help you show off your leadership potential, too. "Leadership is not the big hairy example of your greatest achievement ever," says Blackman. "It can be really simple things." Here are six ways you might not have realized were valid to demonstrate your leadership potential in a business school application:

1. RECRUIT AT YOUR UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAM

Sometimes, people have a hard time snagging leadership opportunities on the job, where top-tier supervisors often get all the cool tasks. Most employers, however, turn to their employees to find new talent for hiring. Many have programs where alumni from different undergraduate programs help recruit for the company. The admissions committees at Stern and the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School (Wharton MBA Profile) say this is a way to take initiative at work, help shape the talent at your office, and take action even if you can't lead a project or manage anyone. The bonuses of recruiting at your alma mater are that you will probably improve your own network, become a mentor, and stay in the loop on the hiring front.

2. TAKE CHARGE AT HOME

"Think broadly about leadership," says Mae Jennifer Shores, assistant dean of MBA admissions and financial aid at UCLA Anderson School of Management (Anderson MBA Profile). Admissions experts, in fact, want you to scour your memory bank for all sorts of examples that prove your leadership skills and potential. Gallogly says even examples of how you led your family can be effective. He mentions examples of candidates who led a family business, handled the finances, or organized the care of a sick family member.

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