Defining “Leader”

When asked, people most often define a good leader as someone who is honest, inspiring, competent and caring. Good leaders have integrity, vision and are hardworking. They share their vision with others, promote a common purpose and enable others to act. Ultimately, a good leader encourages and provides opportunities for others to lead.

Everyone knows someone whose leadership is admired and respected. It may be someone who has great ideas to share, or who gets things done, or who makes others excited about getting involved in something new. Leaders are people who have influence. They affect the lives of others.

Leadership may be defined in many different ways. Some experts view it as a set of innate characteristics ("the born leader"), while others see it as a combination of management and communication skills that can be learned through training.

This concept of leadership can accommodate a variety of individual styles, from the enthusiastic go-getter who organizes events and people, to the quiet supporter and facilitator who make others feel worthwhile. Leadership is a combination of both personal characteristics and learned skills. It applies to individuals and to groups of people working together.

Young people of all ages and abilities can increase their leadership skills through experience and deliberate practice.

Beliefs about Leadership Development

• Leadership skills can be learned.

• Youth of all ages can develop individual and team leadership abilities through participation in leadership groups that perform worthwhile functions in their schools and communities.

• Youth develop leadership ability at varying rates of speed. It is not the rate of development that is important, but that development takes place.

• As young leaders become more skilled and confident, they can take increasing responsibility, both for planning and managing their activities, and for training less experienced youth in leadership skills.

• Leadership development is enhanced when the leadership facilitator helps youth to understand leadership concepts, practice leadership skills, and develop appropriate attitudes toward responsibility in leadership roles.

• Leadership development is enhanced when youth leaders have frequent opportunities to practice leadership in real-life situations.

• Leadership development is enhanced when adult facilitators give youth leaders ownership and control over their activities, allowing them to make decisions and learn from their successes and failures.

• Youth leadership groups vary in their purposes, activities, organizational structures, and levels of experience and skill. There is no one "best" sequence of activities or organizational structure for all leadership groups.

• Leadership development curricula should be designed to suit the needs, interests and ability levels of youth leaders.

Beliefs about Inclusive Participation

• All youth can choose to participate, regardless of their gender, size, shape, ability or race.

• Common barriers to activities should be identified and adaptations made where necessary to the physical environment, equipment or organization of activities in order to include all participants.

• An inclusive program promotes opportunities for success for all participants.

• Accept diversity. Encourage uniqueness. Enable equality.

The P.O.U.R. Formula

Leadership development can be characterized through four fundamental concepts:

• Practice

• Ownership

• Understanding

• Responsibility

Practice

Youth leaders learn best through practice in real situations. The practice can be guided by the facilitator, but the planning, acting and evaluating must be done by the youth leaders. As a facilitator, you should:

• Provide time for practice of leadership skills

• Assist youth leaders to evaluate their progress

• Suggest ways to improve leadership practice

Ownership

Youth leaders will become more effective if they believe they can have an intentional positive influence on the lives and behaviours of others. To do so, they need the freedom and power to make important decisions and to take responsibility for the consequences. They must feel that the activities and events are their own, and not the responsibility of the facilitator or another authority figure. As a facilitator, you should:

• Allow youth leaders to run their own meetings

• Encourage youth leaders to make important decisions about all aspects of their program

• Allow youth leaders to discuss ideas and solve problems rather than giving them your ideas and solutions

• Help youth leaders learn from their successes and mistakes through analysis and self-evaluation

• Encourage others to respect the youth leader’s autonomy

Understanding

Youth leaders must understand how their behaviour affects others, and what skills they need to practice in order to become influential. As a facilitator, you should:

• Identify the concepts and skills of leadership

• And discuss their importance

• Model and provide examples of skills in action

Responsibility

Youth leaders must be prepared to make decisions, take action and assume responsibility for the consequences of their actions. As a facilitator, you should:

• Help youth leaders collect information for good decision making

• Guide the decision making process without making the decisions
  

When adult facilitators put these beliefs and concepts into practice, the leadership continuum moves naturally “from adults leading the way” to youth leaders “taking the lead”.

There is nothing more powerful than empowering our future.

Excerpts from CAHPERD’s Youth Leadership Resource to be piloted in Ontario later this spring and available through www.excelway.ca