Youth Leadership: 6 Ways That Youth Leadership Clubs Can Help Students Develop Leadership Skills

Student leadership training should include involving teens in youth leadership clubs.

Do your teens have plenty of leadership potential, but not an avenue in which to develop it? Youth leadership clubs provide high school students with a structure in which they can practice and nurture their high school leadership skills.

Untapped Potential

    Sarah is your typical teenager. She goes to school, is on the volleyball team, and is considering running for an office in student government. Recently, her student leadership teacher suggested that she join a youth leadership club.

    "You have a lot of leadership potential, and I would like to see you develop it with other students," she said. As a result, Sarah decided to sign up for the school's leadership club, and see what it was about.

School Leadership Clubs

Youth leadership clubs provide a forum for students to discuss ideas and practice and develop their leadership skills. They are a great opportunity for teens to get together and become better leaders through teamwork. They can do this in a variety of ways:

1. Offices - clubs have different offices that the student leaders can be chosen for, including president, vice-president, treasurer, secretary, etc. Holding these offices helps to develop the leadership abilities of students, and teaches them a higher level of responsibility.

2. Rules of order - many clubs have rules of order through which they handle meetings. Rules of order give the youth a structure with which to work, and builds their leadership skills in dealing with public forums.

3. Problems - clubs give student leaders the opportunity to discuss issues in their lives with the other students in the club. It can be problems at school, home, or outside that they discuss Together, they can brainstorm for solutions and learn from each other.

4. Projects - one of the great things about youth leadership clubs is that they provide students the opportunity to participate in community service projects. Student leaders can plan and organize projects to help at school or in the community.

5. Speakers - clubs often have speakers that talk to them about different topics that are important in the community or at school. Speakers can be business leaders, professionals, or even parents.

6. Field trips - teens in youth leadership clubs often have the chance to take field trips with their fellow students. They can be to educational places, such as museums and exhibits, or to places where leadership is evident, such as government institutions or businesses.

Sarah's Success

    After joining the youth leadership club, Sarah discovered that it was a great place to share her ideas and participate in projects and field trips that built her leadership skills. She was able to translate these skills into becoming a captain on her volleyball team, and getting voted in as class vice-president.

Youth leadership clubs are wonderful student leadership development opportunities because they get teens involved in practicing their leadership skills with other high school youth. By joining youth leadership clubs, teens are can build on their potential and practice becoming better leaders.


Article Source: Dan Meyerson