(re)Defining Leadership
Ten years ago, when I had first started my position coaching staff in Guatemala, my boss expressed his frustration at how little the staff would share about what they did. When I asked staff why they didn’t share more, their analysis was that they had little to talk about because the teachers they supported were not practicing many elements of the literacy program. In fact, after a follow up in a first grade classroom where I was tasked with demonstrating the use of a KWL chart (What we Know, Want to know and, Learned), my coworker informed me that I had not completed the lesson. I am sure I had squinted my eyes in disbelief since I had a quizzical look staff often looked for when judging my opinion.
“Why would you say that?” I had asked.
“You didn’t make the chart. You didn’t write all the words down.”
“But we generated questions and looked for the answers in the non-fiction book guided by the questions. I achieved the lesson’s objective,” I had responded.
Then, it was his turn to give me a pensive look followed by the shake of a head. To him, my actions weren’t yet clear, much less the definition of the literacy concepts. What was clear to me was that frequency or quality was not our program’s current obstacle. However, a common language around what we were doing, most certainly was impeding our progress.
I can fast forward this type of conversation and insert it into a number of professional moments, with adults and youth. I am currently facilitating focus groups around topics of youth success, engagement and voice. This means that how to create a common vocabulary with agreed upon definitions, this time around leadership skills and development, is again the question. It is both difficult for youth to express leadership characteristics they possess. For example, “I am a good leader. I like telling people what to do.” As well as describing real life examples of opportunities where youth are partners and/or lead instead of playing a token or informant role only.
Youth are not alone in their Youth-Adult Partnership language learning. In these contexts, adults also struggle to separate the progression of leadership development benchmarks. This means that setting specific goals and selecting support strategies is unlikely to be present. It is as a fellow educator once told me, “my kids can’t read words, they don’t know.” So, in order to succeed, we have to learn new vocabulary and apply it simultaneously. No small task, but a series of small tasks like the ones below that can get you started.
- Instead of providing a list of notable leaders who always make the list (i.e. Abraham Lincoln), ask youth to create a list, without outside critique. Then, provide resources for youth to research individuals on their list and decide why those personalities are leaders. This should provide both descriptors of leadership characteristics and an opportunity for youth to identify with the list.
- If you are working with youth in leadership positions, ask them to write down all the reasons why they wanted to hold the position. Then, compare the list with an actual position description. Most organizations have such position descriptions, if not, you can google a generic description to start with. Co-authoring a position description is a perfect next step to this exercise. Even if a position description exists, it may be lacking in specifics.
- Use the Y-AP leadership roles in a graffiti activity (i.e. training and outreach, communication and media, research and evaluation, organizing and activism, service and philanthropy, governance and policymaking). Write each role on a large piece of chart paper. Provide youth time to explore and discuss what each role looks like and if they believe youth are given opportunities to develop the necessary skills. You can even provide a list of progressive skills (i.e. self-leadership, leadership with peers, leadership with adults, leadership in the community) so that youth can identify their current strengths and weaknesses. Supportive adults can too! If you are unfamiliar, or your organization does not have curriculum with these skills listed, you can google the above terms.
Without definitions of leadership, goals for improvement and personalized support, I am quickly returned to that roadside table eating fried plantains and beans while listening to disappointment described in sentences about what “they don’t” and “they can’t” or “they didn’t want to”. The resources provided below provide opportunities to talk with youth, adults and organizations in order to describe what you see happening around you. How you define, Leadership, is the next step, and it’s up to you.
RESOURCES
While not about leadership, this article entitled, “Teaching Kindness Isn’t Enough” is an illustration of how what we say, think we say, do, and think we do can all be defined differently. As a result, each results in very different outcomes. The article also alludes to the importance of Policy, System and Environment work, or the work around the individual so that the individual is more likely to succeed. This is another tenant of the leadership definition, because it isn’t only a language shared between youth, but between youth and adults and the community as a whole. https://www.tolerance.org/magazine/fall-2019/teaching-kindness-isnt-enough?utm_source=Teaching+Tolerance&utm_campaign=5096a15cb6-Newsletter+12-17-2019&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_a8cea027c3-5096a15cb6-101092357
Many of the books I read about relationship building or organizational change were text heavy. A 4-H volunteer recommended Opening Doors to Teamwork and Collaboration: 4 Keys That Change Everything by Judith H. Katz and Frederick A. Miller. Since purchasing this text, several colleagues confirmed the usefulness of the format, especially accessible for youth, and the content. My recommendations specifically are the chapters about Allies and Intensity. I plan to use both to build a common vocabulary with youth leaders I am coaching to lessen frustration we have experienced around understanding each other’s expectations and actions.
This website https://www.sheknows.com/special-series/hatch/ is another great resource for youth to be able to define leadership characteristics for and within themselves. The website consists of youth created videos on a variety of community topics.
Youth PQA- David P. Weikert Center for Youth Program Quality provides a language for large scale program development and improvement. The website includes publications, research assessments for those who want to dig deep into their youth program components. You can read more here http://www.cypq.org/about/approach. I recently used the assessment rubric to provide youth with some vocabulary for survey questions they were writing to interview fellow program participants about their experience.
If you are looking for practical application of Positive Youth Development, specifically Youth-Adult Partnership, 4-H offers many curriculum options that focus on youth leadership skills and supportive adult relationships. I found that if I search online for youth leadership, I am more successful when I include “4-H”. You can also visit other Extension websites around the country for their resources. Essential Elements Curriculum and Training Guide is one example and can be found here
https://fyi.extension.wisc.edu/wi4hstem/files/2015/02/full-training-curriculum-and-appendices.pdf
