The Importance of Leadership Development in Schools
Leadership is a role often looked to only for the few in successful business roles, or entrepreneurs, however, it is not limited to these; it is a vital role in maintaining and improving teamwork, personal growth, and decision making.
Schools offer a unique environment for young minds to easily learn and adapt to the role of leadership: it is a safe space to allow students to explore their leadership potential, often through projects, extracurricular activities, and sometimes even in classrooms. This article explores how and why schools should prioritise leadership development, how they can foster these skills for all students, as well as how each student can personally develop and refine their leadership skills.
What Does Leadership Look Like in a School Setting?
Leadership is never limited to formal titles, and this extends to schools. titles like ‘class president’ or ‘student leader’ visibly show student leadership, but it is not the only way to develop leadership, nor is it the only way that universities will look at your leadership skills. Leadership is all about taking initiative, supporting peers, and contributing to the community. The easiest way for students to improve their leadership is to just get involved: get involved in class projects, and extracurriculars, take initiative when there is a problem or a question you have, organise events, or mentor peers. These are just a few ways you can help out. Schools can also make it easier for students to get involved by improving the ease of access to certain resources and clubs, or helping guide students through and make it appealing to join things outside of pure academics. Leadership is a skill that focuses on collaboration, empathy, and teamwork – skills important in school, work and life.
Why Every Student Should Develop Leadership Skills
Leadership fosters essential life skills such as teamwork, problem-solving, adaptability, and decision-making. These skills help set a pathway for success for the students for both current academic and future career success. By engaging in the leadership opportunities available, students gain confidence and resilience, helping them handle stressful situations and manage their tasks effectively. Developing leadership skills takes time, which allows students to learn how to manage their time more effectively, setting them further onto the path to success in the future. Furthermore, leadership can also prepare students to take on more complex roles in university and their future careers or workplaces, where teamwork and communication skills are crucial.
How Educators Can Promote Leadership in the Classroom
Leadership in the classroom can be crucial for productivity, and effectiveness of time in the short class time available. Teachers should be creating environments where every student can contribute, even when they are not naturally inclined toward leadership roles. Assigning students to tasks which require collaboration, and creativity to find solutions such as group projects or organising classroom activities can be a strong start toward bringing students together, as well as fostering an environment where teamwork is seen as a practical, and common task in the classroom. Another way to help with promoting leadership in the classroom is to allow students to make decisions, and let them learn from mistakes; the teacher acts as a mentor in the process. Providing a multifaceted way for students to fulfil tasks, such as giving opportunities for project leads, peer mentoring, or helping with events planning for the school can help to improve the leadership in all students, leading to an environment where leadership is a part of everyday activities.
Expert Advice: Leanne Holdsworth on Leadership in the Classroom
Balancing a leadership profession and 3 children, Leanne Holdsworth has helpful advice and tips for leadership focused on the younger generation. She has experience and knowledge (for instance, she is the author of two leadership books).
When asked Leanne’s view on leadership, she talks about how “it has never been more important to nurture leadership capabilities in young people.” Leanne has also stated that the most current, and prominent polycrises (Singular “polycrisis” – the coming together of multiple crises, e.g. climate change, the Covid-19 pandemic, and armed conflicts like the one between Ukraine and Russia) provide massive challenges for current young people because it is “massively impacting their future, even just climate change on its own – leadership will be crucial to manage these crises”.
When discussing the future, Leanne states “their (young people’s) ability to navigate their futures collectively requires an understanding of how to lead in complexity, which is very different from leading in a predictable world.” – the world is changing, and we need to learn how to change with it, where teamwork is key. When talking about “complexity”, Leanne is referring to the unpredictability between cause and effect of the current world, and how the world is not always predictable, especially right now.
It requires young people to learn skills that are appropriate to complex times, for instance being able to hold multiple divergent(different) perspectives (because no one perspective is sufficient in complexity), being able to listen to learn, being able to create spaces of psychological safety, experimenting, asking different questions and being curious.
When talking about schools, Leanne says, “The education system, in my opinion, is missing opportunities to deepen young people’s leadership capabilities to give them the best chance to lead well beyond polarisation, for a future that will work for them and the planet. These leadership skills required by young people are, and will continue to be more important than traditional rote learning, non-critical thinking education. We must integrate leading in complex times significantly into the evolving curriculum for our young people.
Preparing Future Leaders through School-Based Leadership Development
So, to recap: leadership development is crucial for students’ growth and success, both in school, and beyond. Schools should be actively prioritising leadership opportunities, to develop students’ leadership skills. Finally, by investing in leadership development, schools prepare students to be confident, adaptable, and ready for the challenges of the future. Students can be more active in looking for opportunities to develop their leadership skills and learn from mistakes.
