Monday 29 September 2014

How You Can Help Adolescents Develop Leadership Skills

By Janice Yu


Usually, teens are immersed not just in high school but in pop culture also. For that reason, a big portion of their time is spent in school work, hobbies, sports activities, extracurricular activities, and anything and everything that's happening in the entertainment industry. Though all these pursuits are well and good, the teen years are also formative ones, which makes those years the right time in which to look into honing leadership skills in teens. In just a few years, teens will make their entrance to the job market, so it actually pays to start honing their leadership skills. Here are some tips that parents can use to encourage their teens to be a leader.

A good way to get your teen to develop leadership abilities is to have him or her interested in school or local community activities. Encourage your teen to seek positions in these things that require him or her to take on a number of responsibilities. These activities are great for giving your teen increasing responsibilities. As your teen hones his or her leadership skills, he or she will be having a good time along the way. On a side note: the fun aspect shouldn't be overlooked. You don't ever want to shove teenagers into leadership roles or tasks with a good deal of responsibility if they are not ready or they lack interest. If you force your teenager, it would only have the opposite effect -- rather than seeking to assume leadership roles later on, he or she will come to resent doing so.

One of the best ways to hone leadership abilities in teenagers is to start working. You can actually encourage your child to get a part-time job after school. This will help your child gain real life work experience which he or she will find extremely advantageous when he or she finishes college. A part-time job will also give your child the chance to talk with managers and supervisors. Your teenager can actually learn something about leadership just by his or her interactions at the workplace.

Check if there are any organizations or groups in your community that offer leadership courses, seminars, training programs, or seminars. Your teen might benefit from going to one or a few of these events. Worried that your teenager will become bored? You shouldn't be. Generally, these events are interactive and fun.

You can also try giving your child materials pertaining to leadership. This could include excellent publications, MP3s, and DVDs on the topic. And if you believe your teenager might benefit from being in a leadership program online, then sign him or her up.

Encouraging teens to continually try to challenge themselves is a wise idea. Getting too stuck in a comfort zone is hardly a good idea when the aim is to develop leadership skills. Taking a difficult or challenging task can help a teen learn several lessons about developing talents which contribute to good leadership skill.

Essentially, developing leadership skills in adolescents calls for a few committed activities, but none of them really are all that difficult to take part in.




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