The Honeymoon For Our Student Leaders Has Ended – Now What?
The energy of a student leadership group at the start of a school year is palpable. They’re arriving fifteen minutes early to everything, pitching a never‑ending list of ideas to “build culture,” and throwing around lines like “We’re going to be the best senior cohort ever” faster than the Tuckshop specials leave the hot racks on a Friday lunchtime.
That early‑year buzz usually spills into the first community event, the first assemblies, cocurricular commitments, and any student‑led initiative they can get their hands on. And honestly, it’s fantastic to watch. The thrill of leading is still a novelty for our student leaders and the energy often transfers onto the adults too.
But now, as we edge toward the halfway point to Easter, it’s no surprise that the shine begins to dull. Academic pressure ramps up. The “little extras” have lost their appeal. The behind‑the‑scenes work required to lead with authenticity and purpose suddenly feels less glamorous.
And then another pattern creeps in. The students who looked great on paper, were well‑liked, but just had that little asterisk next to their name on your books. The ones you wondered to yourself, "When the rubber hits the road, are they going to actually be in it for the right reasons?" This is the time of year when those questions start to answer themselves. Those students are more than happy to show up when the camera is on or when the accolades are flowing. The ones you had doubts about from the beginning may now be acting as an anchor, slowing the group’s momentum and breeding resentment among the more committed leaders. If left unaddressed, words like “toxic leader” or “applause chaser leader” or “highlight reel leader” can creep into the narrative of your leadership group.
For those who’ve mentored student leaders for years, none of this is surprising. It’s part of the journey. These students are rookies in their leadership journey. It is still in their first few weeks of real leadership. The novelty has worn off though, that's the truth. And now the responsibility moves to us: the adults walking alongside them. Our job is to help them reconnect to their true north and keep moving forward, even when leadership stops feeling new and exciting.
Here are some practical ways to keep your student leadership group progressing:
1. Keep returning to the ‘why’ and the vision
Most student leadership groups create a vision for the year they want to build. Don’t let that document gather dust. Reference it in every meeting. But more importantly, translate it into one practical, achievable task or goal each of them can complete before the next check‑in. Then follow up. Measure impact. Celebrate progress. Vision only matters when it becomes behaviour.
2. Keep project goals achievable
Every portfolio or sub‑group usually has one key event or initiative they’re responsible for. Ensure the scope is realistic. When goals feel achievable, student leaders feel capable, and capability fuels motivation. Over‑scoping, on the other hand, is the fastest way to lose them.
3. Reframe impact and capacity
Create a culture where student leaders can safely say, “I need to adjust what I can take on right now.” This must be taught to them though, not done for them. Giving them the toolkit on how they can enact this adjustment teachers your leaders how to manage capacity, communicate early, and take ownership of their commitments. Guide them through the thinking, don’t do the thinking for them.
4. Re‑establish roles and responsibilities (without the drama)
Sometimes the mid‑term slump is simply a clarity issue. Revisit each leader’s role, the expectations attached to it, and the behaviours that demonstrate success. Often we know that a student ideas and dreams that they have for their senior year looks great on paper, but hard to enact when push comes to shove. Now they have experienced the realities – a simple redirection will likely be better received at this point of the year.
5. Spotlight the quiet achievers
Every leadership group has students who do the work without needing the spotlight. Mid‑term is the perfect time to elevate them. Acknowledging their consistency not only boosts their motivation but also sends a clear message to the group about what leadership actually looks like. Again though – this must be authentic and done in the right way. You know your leaders best – apply to your context appropriately.
6. Build in micro‑wins
Momentum is built on small, frequent successes. Give your leaders opportunities to experience quick wins. A short‑term project, a simple initiative, a visible improvement. Micro‑wins rebuild belief, and belief rebuilds energy. One time when I was working with a leadership group who were in a slump, we ran a social experiment where we bought enough lollies for the entire school to have one break, but just left the whole lot out in the yard (and we filmed it unfold). You probably can guess how that went – it built the energy levels up immensely within the leadership group and gave them a script and narrative on ‘community’ to use for the next 5 weeks (finance weren’t too happy though when the invoice came in!)
When your student leaders hit this mid‑term motivation wall, it’s not a sign they or you have failed, in fact the opposite – they finally realise to themselves they are human and this leadership gig is actually not a walk in the park. It is often in this moment for our student leaders where leadership moves beyond the shiny badge they get to wear and starts becoming a behaviour. And with the right structures, conversations, and nudges from us, they learn the part of leadership that matters most: showing up when it’s no longer exciting.
If we can guide them through this dip with clarity, compassion, and high expectations, we can build within them resilience, self‑awareness, and a deeper understanding of what it means to lead others. That’s the real win. Not the perfect event, not the polished assembly, but the growth that happens in the messy middle. Continue to enjoy the journey – warts and all.