Thursday, May 5, 2011
Developing Teen Leadership
In a recent book, Dan Appleman discusses strategies for developing teen leadership. While there are broad leadership principles that must be employed in order to develop leaders at all age levels, there are some principles which can help when specifically working with teens. Michael McKinney discusses 5 of the key concepts Appleman uses in his book, Developing Teen Leadership. The first concept is, “explore options, but leave the decision to them.” It is good to help teens discover the options that they might be missing, but it is important for teens to continue to be challenged to make their own decisions. Secondly, we have to listen. If teens feel as if they’re not being heard, they often will stop talking. The third step is “Don’t be the boss.” Similarly to the last point, if teens think that we’re taking over control, and that they don’t have a say, they’ll quickly check out and lose interest. The fourth is “Limits.” As an adult leading teens, we must give them freedom to make mistakes and learn hard lessons on their own. We simply cannot micro-manage. However, there needs to be firm limits set in place, so that teens are held accountable if they are step over firm boundary lines that have been set. The fifth step is “find ways to say yes.” Teens hear the word “no” all the time, and it is important, particularly when they’re passionate about something, to work with them toward achieving their goals.
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I appreciated the uniqueness of the article in its relationship to teenagers. There is not a lot of resources out there when it comes to the specific area of developing teen leaders. It seems that our culture sees teens as only a group of people to be led. Our culture tends to look at teenagers as an age group that is only good for correction. The five points of this article clearly go against this philosophy and instead see teenagers who are people who can lead and make good and wise decisions. I like how this article presents the idea that it is better to support and guide teens but allow them the freedom to make their own decisions and discover the world on their own. I think at times our culture shows too little faith in teenagers and we only seem them for the potential they possess and not the gifts they have now. Teenagers could have a valuable impact upon our culture if we would just show faith and trust in them now. I appreciated the fourth point of allowing teenagers the ability to make mistakes. I believe that this is something we need to apply to all age-groups and not only teenagers.
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