Welcome to Gaia! ::

I'm a freshman and I've played French Horn for about a year. Recently we had auditions in band to decide whether we would end up in the lower, Symphonic Band, next semester or if we would admitted into Wind Ensemble, the higher band, the main difference between the two being that Symphonic Band consists of more people while Wind Ensemble is for people who feel comfortable playing more soloistically.

I practiced INSANELY and got all my material down pretty well before my audition and had a pretty good one when my turn came. Everyone said I would get into Wind Ensemble, but I really didn't think so because, well, a freshman in Wind Ensemble had happened on a grand total of three occasions, so I figured I'd just be first chair in Symphonic band. But when the results were finally posted, I burst into ecstatic hysteria to find I'd not only MADE it into Wind Ensemble, but I was FIRST horn, beating the senior section leader who was PHENOMENAL, another junior of the same status, and a sophomore who most considered I was pretty evenly matched with.

And here's where we encounter the problem. I am far less experienced than all these players, both in musicianship and on the instrument, but I'm expected to play the first parts in music AND musically lead them?! Not only that, but the previous section leader is NOT happy to be dethroned her senior year, MUCH LESS by a FRESHMAN! I don't know how I'm going to be a good section leader, or play the music, or anything! I feel like the most incapable person for this job. I don't know how to lead ANYONE, I was ALWAYS the BABY of the group! I don't want to come off as abrasive or bossy or look stupid, but at the same time, I KNOW I can't stay meek or timid. On top of all this, my senior is trying to ever so sweetly and subtly steal the position and music away from me. ("Here, let me help you with that." "I can play your solo with you if you want." "Can you please tell Justin to listen to me?")

WHAT DO I DO?!?! crying

I could not of said it any better myself.
I was going to say the same thing but didnt know how to word it, but yeah she said

One year we had to fill out resumes to be section leaders lol

Personally (and this is personally) I think a good section leader should be all the options.

You should be cut to the chase, but at the same time understanding. You should be willing to work with your section rather than dictate them (that totally backfires), but you shouldn't take any less than you know they can do.

like... here's my logic and how I used to run sectionals with our flutes.

We worked out where we had 2 section leaders. Me and my friend robert. Robert is more get it done now, works better ensemble wise. So he would run our actual sectionals. I, on the other hand, prefer and work/teach better one on one. So if someone was having problems I took them aside so it wouldn't slow down the rest of sectionals.
We made a goal as a section that we want to work on technique and sightreading most of all. Those were the important things to us, so robert and I made a pack of various short pieces to sight read and work on technique through.
As far as how to be towards them, he's the more blunt one and Im the more reasonable one but it works. So you need both. Neither of us let anyone be lazy, that wasn't our section; if they were, we would call them out. Also though, we would have section playing tests where whoever played something "flawlessly", or really that you could tell they worked on it, we'd buy them a snack lol, motivation through food always works ^^

But yeah, basically from experience work on knowing when to be laid back and when to be strict. If you struggle, find your opposite in the section and try to work with them more.