By Pranav Mehta

Leadership doesn’t start with grand speeches or strategic visions, but with being the first to create a WhatsApp group. In the world of SIPA, WhatsApp group chats come in two distinct flavors. First, there are the public group chats. Here, debates about Fed interest rate hikes take a backseat to more pressing issues, like who’s selling a used TV. SIPA Free Food Alerts offers a lot of alerts and very little free food. 1 in 10 members of SIPA Arts, Food, and Cultural Excursions actually like Hamilton. Word on SIPA Housing Group is that students are paying triple rent for a “charming” Brooklyn closet—perfect if you don’t mind sleeping upright. These group chats are useful, sure, but mostly chaotic.

Then, there are the class project group chats—the real nerve centers of collegiate life. When I saved up for an elite education at SIPA, I forgot to budget for the industrial-grade GPU needed to process the thousands of WhatsApp notifications before a deadline. But, every once in a while, a group chat emerges that works. The leaders of these groups understand how to separate themselves from the pack. Here’s a guide to becoming the WhatsApp leader your group never knew they needed, but probably deserves.

1. Set the Name, Set the Tone

First impressions matter. Don’t let someone else name the group Class Project. That’s amateur hour. You’re setting the tone for how this project is going to run, so the name needs to convey both urgency and authority. Let’s face it, your future kids would much rather hear the legendary tales of The EmanSIPAtors than anything that happened in the Macroeconomics Problem Set.

2. Delegate with Precision

A great WhatsApp leader knows how to delegate. Ask for volunteers, but make the "right" choice so obvious that people naturally step up. What you don’t want to do is assign yourself the easiest task and then ghost the group for a week (we see you, bibliographers). People respect a leader who’s in the trenches with them, even if your trench is just handling the intro slide for the presentation.

3. Handle the Scandal

Every WhatsApp group chat risks becoming a chaotic echo chamber of conflicting ideas, GIFs, and long-winded explanations of simple tasks. A good leader keeps this in check by creating a structure, and gently nudging the group toward clear, actionable steps. This might look like summarizing long-winded discussions into bullet points or breaking down big tasks. This keeps the conversation moving and prevents the group from spiraling into a pointless debate over whether to use Times New Roman or Arial (it’s always Arial, 12 pt, don’t argue).

4. Meme Well, Mean Well

A great WhatsApp leader knows that memes are the ultimate power move. Drop a perfectly timed Wojak, and suddenly the vibe shifts—tension eases, people actually get stuff done, and the group chat feels alive again. But go overboard, and you’ll become the person whose memes get left on read. Memes should be like your Spotify Wrapped—carefully curated and only released when it’ll make an impact.

5. Keep Things Spicy

The key to a happy WhatsApp group is morale. Sure, a well-timed, “Great work, everyone!” can do wonders—especially when the project is held together by duct tape and desperation. But when someone’s been mysteriously absent from the chat for days, a little spice makes everything nice. A simple, “Thanks for finally sharing your part, Sarah! We thought you’d joined a monastery!” is far more likely to get the group chat fired up than the seventeenth, “You’re all amazing!”

6. Panic! In the Group Chat

The best WhatsApp leaders know that group project panic is inevitable. It arrives like clockwork, usually 24 hours before the deadline, when half the group realizes they’ve done nothing and the other half starts to question their life choices. This is where the true leader shines—not by solving the problem, but by calmly whispering sweet reassurances like, “No need to panic, we’ve still got a whole night!” Who needs action when you have soothing words to lull the group into a false sense of security?

7. Finish Strong

More often than not, leadership is about dragging the project across the finish line, kicking and screaming if necessary. As things wind down, make sure all the loose ends are tied and everyone knows their final tasks (especially the one person who still thinks the deadline is next week). Being the one who pulls the group through earns you respect—and, if you play it right, a guilt-free pass on the next group project.

Being an effective WhatsApp leader is about keeping things moving. In the words of a great group chat governor, “Speak softly, and carry a big GIF collection.”

Pranav Mehta, CFA (MIA '26) is an International Finance and Economic Policy student. He holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from New York University Abu Dhabi.