[May 1, 2016] When my three friends and I joined the U.S. Army, our first experience at Boot Camp involved a giant of a man wearing a Drill Sergeant hat who spent his day screaming at us. The profanity was endless, as were the exasperatingly long hours. What we lacked then and what many young folks lack today is what I will be addressing in this three-part series on what to improve in teenager leadership.
“Some are young people who don’t know who they are, what they can be or even want to be. They are afraid, but they don’t know of what. They are angry, but they don’t know at whom. They are rejected and they don’t know why. All they want is to be somebody. ” – Thomas S. Monson, Pathways to Perfection
Today, at least in most societies, there is no formal training or consistently good preparation for teenagers to learn about leadership skills they will need as adults. Our future leaders are now teenagers and it is not just a moral duty for us to prepare them for a complex world but it is crucial they be given opportunities to learn what most of us never had the chance to.
Teenagers have challenges that are time consuming and difficult. As they transition to adulthood, very few of them are thinking about how their lives could be improved with only a little preparation toward their understanding of leadership. This is the time that is best for gaining experience to add leader skills to build relationships, take the initiative, plan and execute, and improved communication.
In the military we often speak about how little prepared the young are to enter military service. The same is said about most entry-level jobs and vocations. Most commonly complained about is that teenagers’ lack of academic preparation, have poor physical fitness, or have a troubled past with the law. That is certainly a problem but I propose that this is not the real issue. Their lack of leadership skills from an early age is a genuine problem and yet little is being done to address it.
One of the most important lessons for any teenager is learning how to get acquainted with others, especially with difficult people. Any training in the foundations of leadership begins here. The techniques of good leaders can be studied and applied to any teenager, not just adults. Another basic skill is learning how to be successful as a writer and public speaker. Nothing can be done without proper communication and teenagers are experts at obtuseness; so learning about clarity and precise speech is necessary.
The next two parts of this series covers specific leadership lessons for teenagers.
[Don’t forget to “Like” the Leader Maker at our Facebook Page.]