Empowering Leadership in Children -- Ten Encouragement Techniques

Empowering leadership in children involves planned events and teachable moments that give children the opportunity to experience what leadership is like.

Leadership is not just about being in the lead of others, but also about being in lead of oneself. This can be a hard concept for adults to grasp, but children, when given a chance, naturally get it. They realize quickly, that self-control is a leadership skill. Not only that, the better a person is at self-regulation the better leader of themselves and others they will be. A controlling leader of others is often out of control with self and children see this very easily.

Therefore, there are some things that you can do to empower leadership in children by using ten encouragement techniques.

1. Encourage Positivity -- One of the hardest things for some people is to be positive in the face of difficulty or setbacks. However, by demonstrating the ability to be positive no matter what, to feel joy no matter what, you encourage positivity in children. When a child is talking about life events in a negative way, simply ask them a leading question that will lead them toward positive thoughts about their situation.
2. Encourage Introspection -- In almost every situation, when people look to themselves, rather than others, for their "why" for doing anything they can become a better person, more empathetic, and more loving. If a child can be taught the idea that think, what if that were me in this situation, or what if that were someone I care about, they can develop leadership skills that will truly wow you.
3. Encourage Connections -- All humans need to be connected to others. Yet, while we are more connected electronically than ever before, technology makes true human connection harder. Making eye contact is very important to feeling connected to the world, and other humans, as well a human touch. So unplug the technology and encourage "old-fashioned" human interactions more often. Play non-electronic board games, and do things that enable you to be face-to-face with a child.
4. Encourage Change -- Keeping everything the same is a way to self protect. Letting go of things and demonstrating to children that change is acceptable, nothing to be fearful of, and better than becoming stagnant in life. Change should be embraced as a good thing, as long as it's an empowering change.
5. Encourage Self love – Fostering self-worth is a major feature of empowering leadership in children. Children who have a highly developed sense of worth and esteem do not have same issues surrounding peer pressure and emotional problems as children who don’t. Tell children that they are very worthy, and explain to them that most things that happen to them are not personal; even good people face hardships. The best way out of difficult life circumstances is to maintain your sense of worth.
6. Encourage Choice – Allow children at a very young age to make daily choices without being told they are wrong, or worse, ridiculed. Start small with giving a young child a choice between outfits and what to eat for breakfast. Give them two good choices and praise them for the one they make. This will empower confidence in their choice making ability.
7. Encourage Goal Making -- Without goals and a plan you can't reach the finish line because you can't see it or how to get there. Mapping out goals and the necessary steps to reach them is a skill that needs to be taught to children, but the most critical skill for goal making is to take action on the plan. It's empowering to realize your goals from working a plan. Not only that, you also begin to realize that anything is possible with a well executed plan of action.
8. Encourage Thinking Then Acting -- Empowering leadership in children involves teaching them to think about consequences before they act. Also, they need to learn a few natural, yet not harmful, consequences of their choice of action. "If I don't take a coat, I will be cold" seems obvious to you, but to a child new to the world, they have no idea. A two year-old might fight you to put on a coat in the dead of winter, at three, after being cold a few times may be asking you for a coat.
9. Encourage Skill Building -- If children do not get an opportunity to learn a new skill, then practice the skill, experience the feeling and results of the skill, it won't stick. So while, the old saying “practice makes perfect” applies to many skills, it doesn’t apply to being human. Therefore, the most valuable leadership skill a child can practice is how to learn and grow from their human imperfections and adverse life circumstances.
10. Encourage Acceptance -- Finally, by encouraging children to be accepting of others who are different makes them feel better about themselves. One of the things that concern most children, especially teens, is acceptance. In fact, acceptance is a huge concern for many adults, as well. If raised in a judgmental environment, not only will children judge others harshly, but they will also judge themselves harshly and carry that into their adulthood.