5 things every aspiring teen leader must know
Remember the first time you decided to stand up to a bully, for yourself or a friend or even for a stranger? Do you remember how it felt to stand up for what you believed in? That, dear reader, may have been your first leadership moment. “Leadership involves 7 things: leader, influence, follower, intention, shared purpose, change, and personal responsibility.”. Developing the qualities of a good leader involves understanding the dynamics of leadership and management.Embrace your leadership skills and leadership qualities. Remember your first stand for what’s right? Explore how leaders influence with purpose and change. So where do you begin? Here are a few pointers to start you off on your leadership journey.
- Discover Your Passion
Find the thing that makes your soul sing. Whether you’re passionate about sports, art, or activism, put that same energy into everything you do. A passionate leader exudes charisma and is unstoppable.
- Charm with Communication
Great leaders are often excellent communicators. Develop your listening and speaking abilities. Communicate your ideas, but equally important, listen to others as well. Listening helps you understand the other person’s view and wins you trust. Attentive listening is an important part of communication.
- Collaboration is Key
As Helen Keller says, “Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much”. Recognize, appreciate, and work together on each other’s advantages. When you collaborate, not only will you get more done, but the output will also be richer from multiple inputs and refinement. You will grow too by learning to see issues from multiple perspectives.
- Find a mentor
Anyone who is more experienced than you in your field can be a mentor. Finding mentors and learning from their successes, mistakes, and obstacles can be highly rewarding, and also save your time and resources.
- Stay hungry for learning
Putting in the hard work for continual learning so that you are always up-to-date in your field will help your team and you stay ahead. Knowledge is power.
We believe working these steps into your day-to-day life will help awaken the leader in you. Value the age you are in and know that you are unique, beautiful, and powerful.