How to teach leadership skills to your students

 The students are generally what we would refer to as “natural-born leaders.” But does this ability make them good leaders? Does being a natural leader mean that anyone who isn’t as charismatic or persuasive can’t be a leader? What other traits and skills are needed in order for a person to become a good, effective leader?

How to teach those leadership skills in the classroom?

One of the best all-encompassing ways to teach these skills is through group projects. You can either assign one leader to each group for the duration of that project (making sure to change leaders for each new project) or assign a different leader for each element of it.

For example, one student could be the research leader, another the report leader, someone else the visual presentation leader, and so on. Each leader would be responsible for guiding the rest of the group in establishing a concrete goal and delegating certain responsibilities. They would need to:    

• Work hard

• Listen to the others

• Communicate their desires

• Make the final decisions

• Encourage the others in their tasks

• Maintain a positive attitude; and

• Take responsibility for the outcome of the project.

They would also need to serve the group in taking care of whatever work was left unfinished and act with honesty and integrity throughout

Fortunately for the world, leadership is something that can be taught. The six characteristics of a student leadership development program are:

Making Goals:

At the beginning of the year, you can guide the class in establishing classroom and individual goals. Post common goals somewhere in the classroom, and do periodic check-ins to see how the class is doing in terms of meeting those goals.

Honesty:

Literature and history are great places to talk about honesty. Select a particularly notable character or historical figure, and explore their life and the decisions they made.  Discuss which of this person’s actions were honest and which (if any) weren’t. What were the outcomes of those actions? And more importantly, what can we learn from that person’s experience as a leader?

Hard work and perseverance:

Don’t make things too easy for your students — set realistic goals, and encourage them when they get tired or fail. Athletic activities and competitive learning games present great opportunities for practicing the skill of perseverance

Service:

The first element of serving is seeing — students need to learn to see problems before they can be of service in solving those problems. You could, for example, discuss problems in the classroom, school, and community and bring these to your students’ attention. Then, you could encourage the class to brainstorm ideas for addressing those issues.

Decision-making:

Provide opportunities for the students to have choices and make decisions (but make sure you pre-select and pre-approve any pitches). These choices can include setting classroom rules, deciding on lesson activities, setting free time activities, etc. Most importantly, be sure to guide your students in evaluating the costs and benefits of each option before they make their decisions.

Taking responsibility:

Model responsibility in your class. When you make a mistake, own up to it. Discuss the personal empowerment of taking responsibility instead of passing the blame onto someone else — it allows you to focus more on what you have control over instead of feeling like a victim who has no control.

Good, effective leadership is a skill that can be learned, practiced, and improved upon. And while The Big Red Group tends to notice the more obvious charismatic leaders with loud and bold personalities, the fact is that anybody, even the quiet kid in the back who hardly speaks a word in class, can be a leader. Our world needs good, effective leaders. And with a bit of training in the student leadership development program and encouragement, our students have the potential to meet — and even surpass — that need.