The definition of youth leadership

The definition of youth leadership

Submitted by Administrator on Wed, 15/07/2009 - 10:12

Leadership means different things to different people, and we know that's the case for young people too.

There has been a huge amount of research into what leadership is, what makes good leadership and what is meant by youth leadership.

Over the lifetime of The Youth of Today programme we will share our thoughts on good leadership with you. We will welcome your views on what leadership means to you, and your examples of youth leadership in action. We believe that our understanding of youth leadership will evolve over time and that you can help by having your say!

As our programme starts, we understand youth leadership to be: young people empowered to act and inspire others to act in order to make a positive change.

Let us know what you think of this working definition?  Can you do better? Comment below.

Comments

Submitted by Simone on Thu, 16/07/2009 - 14:36.

Leadership in general, to me means putting people before yourself for the success of the whole. By looking at all the great leaders you can see this is evident, because the selfish ones where seen as bad leaders and the ones that really care about the people turned out to be memorable leaders for positive reasons. Applying this to youth leadership means being a shepard, a good shepard looks after himself whilst caring for their sheep. If one sheep gets lost or goes missing a good shepard will go out to look for that one sheep and bring it back to the flock. So a good youth leadership means young people being able to take control of a situation and advice and encourage others to make a difference by any means posible.

It is important for young people to recongnise that it will be difficult to encourage others because they will not have the same vision but a good leader will always pass on the sprit, so even if others don't have it they will be able to grasp from them. Also youth leadership means to include everyone and not to just focus and one set or one group and to acknowledge that everyone one matters.

To come to a conclusion, to me youth leadership means to:

  • To be a shepard and lead others into making a positive difference by being and well structured role model and by being encouraging and to never get disheartened even when the challenage gets harder
Submitted by Simone on Fri, 17/07/2009 - 12:09.

Youth Leadership

 
The definition of youth leadership according to me
 
Youth leadership, to me, means putting the needs of the team before their own: aiming to benefit the team not just the individual. Therefore, I believe, youth leadership is bringing out peoples talents, and skills by working to encourage others. At times, I understand it will be hard to remain positive, which is why a good young leader will always have the eye on what will come from the team not the hardships they will go through. Always look to achieve and to have knowledge that youth leadership will never fail. When an athlete runs a race they will never look at how hard it will be, they will just look to the reward and what they will achieve at the end. That, to me, is what separates successful from unsuccessful youth leaders.
 
Youth leadership means to encourage and push people to do the very best despite the trials and tribulations that may come. Good youth leadership skills means that at times patience will be essential as not everyone will have the same vision and want to move at the same speed, but it is important to remember that everyone has potential and it is up to the leader to bring it out of others. If someone is not responding to one approach a good young leader will find something that will be able to engage the ones that are not responding. After all, youth leadership has to benefit the whole not just the majority, but everyone.  
 
To conclude, it is important to recognise that at times it will get difficult but it is important to never get disheartened because the reward will be worth the fight. Not everyone will be in the same spirit, so it is down to the young leader to pass down the spirit resulting in the individuals coming together as one. Not everyone will respond to the same techniques but youth leadership means acknowledging this and find a way to overcome the obstacle.   
 
Simone McFarlane, 18 is an intern at the Citizenship Foundation for The Youth of Today. To find out more about the internship scheme see http://www.theyouthoftoday.org/volunteer-internships
Submitted by Adill on Wed, 22/07/2009 - 11:34.

This definition is acceptable however, we must consider whether leaders are born on made?

The definition assumes young people can be empowered hence leaders are made? Leaders are like entrepreneurs. Certain skills and certain traits are needed to be a good leader. However are these skills learnable or are you born with them?

Adill

Submitted by Jaheeda on Fri, 24/07/2009 - 15:16.

I think a 'youth leader' or 'youth leadership' denotes that a person or a group of people take on the role of advocate for a group of young people or for their community.  This youth leader will represent the views of their peers and stand up for those who are unable to speak for themselves or are too intimidated to do so themselves. 

To me a youth leader will always strive to get the best possible outcome for their peers by challenging negative stereotypes and influencing change. 

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