Developing Teen Leadership

Book excerpt: Not long ago, all it took to have a comfortable career was to do well in high school, get a college degree, and find a nice stable job. But the world is changing rapidly, and many of the nice stable jobs have moved to developing countries. Even a college degree is not the sure investment it once was. Good grades are not enough. But there remain endless opportunities for those with real leadership skills - regardless of career choice. Leadership skills are what you need to manage a team, to stand out as an employee, to start a business and to nail that interview. The skills required to inspire and motivate others, to communicate effectively, to take initiative, and to make and execute plans, are as important as a high grade point average (if not more so). But how do you teach these skills to teenagers? Parents, teachers, coaches, scoutmasters, youth counselors and advisors strive to do so every day - but often have limited training on how best to accomplish that goal. This book fills that gap. This is not an academic or theoretical book on youth leadership. It is a relentlessly practical guide on how to effectively guide teens to become leaders. It covers virtually every topic, issue and skill you need to know - and how to teach it. You'll even learn how to teach teen leaders to teach leadership skills to each other, thus helping them become even stronger leaders.