Encouraging Leadership Development Across the Life Span

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Encouraging Leadership Development Across the
Life Span
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Who are potential leaders?

• Everyone is capable of being a leader at some
  time and place in her life.

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Why look for and encourage potential leaders?

• Communities, advocacy efforts, and grass roots
  and community-based organizations need leaders.
  They make positive growth and change possible,
  and improve the quality of life for everyone

4
Childhood opportunities for leadership
development

• Sports and games
• School, camp, and other institutional situations
• agenda for a meeting.

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Adolescents

• They're idealistic.
• They're tireless
• They're enthusiastic
• They don't have enough experience to assume they
  can't do something
• They work cheap

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College students and other young adults

• Entrepreneurship
• Politics
• Service learning
• Employment
• Government-sponsored service programs
• Non-profit and non-governmental organizations

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Elder statespersons

• Employment
• Organizations and associations
• Volunteering and community service
• Local politics

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Retired persons and seniors

• Community service
• Advocacy
• Local politics
• Volunteering

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Guidelines for encouraging leadership development
across the life span

• Ask them
• Start where people are
• Provide real-world opportunities
• Challenge people with reachable goals
• Provide training

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Guidelines for encouraging leadership development
across the life span, cont.

• Build on success
• Provide peer support
• Provide an institutional structure for leadership
  development opportunities
• Provide models of effective leadership