Leader on Paper or in Practice?

Leadership is one of the buzzwords of the decade - if not the millenium - in schools and in business. It gets thrown around a lot, and it’s also become a veritable requirement for admission to elite colleges. These days, there are many organizations offering “leadership training” to kids, often at a steep price. And although there may be a kernel of value in some of them, the consensus is that if you’ve paid for it, it probably doesn’t carry much weight in college admissions.

So what can you do to help your kid develop leadership qualities if you don’t want - or can’t afford - to send your kid to one of those leadership institutes? How about starting in your own community? Wherever you live, chances are there are issues that you and your neighbors face every day that need creative solutions that are neither expensive nor complex. How about engaging your child in identifying, researching, brainstorming and then implementing a solution to a local problem? 

Here’s a really impressive example: I recently saw a news story about a 12-year old in Maryland that petitioned the state legislature to incorporate a unit on consent into the sex ed curriculum. There have been a lot of prominent sexual assault stories in the news lately, and “Me Too” was one of the most covered movements of the year. Even middle schoolers are noticing, and wondering why consent isn’t being taught in schools. There’s news footage of the girl making her pitch to the legislature. Ultimately, the bill didn’t pass, but several counties in the state voluntarily incorporated teaching on consent into their curricula. It’s a great lesson and learning experience on so many levels. This is an issue that’s relevant to young people. It demonstrated to the girl that even on the state level kids can have a voice. It also taught a painful lesson about the realities of hard work in the real world. Sometimes, things don’t work out the way you want.

There are hundreds of examples of other highly achievable, teen-led projects that can be adapted to virtually any community. Impact projects aren’t just vehicles for personal growth. They are also powerfully important assets in the ultra-competitive college admissions world. These days, every college wants to know how you’ve affected your home community, and what you will bring to theirs. Traditional community service is good, but authentic, youth-led community engagement is great. Imagine organizing a community-based mural competition to enhance a large wall in your neighborhood. Or convening a youth town hall to bring together teens with community leaders. Or enlisting a group of peers and community members to conduct a year-long microplastics survey in a local water body. These types of initiatives demonstrate real leadership in a kid, and give that student something concrete, impressive and unique to talk about in his college essays. In all likelihood, they also bring a teen into contact with adult mentors and other community members that can speak directly to these qualities in recommendation letters.

Admission to elite colleges is very competitive, and you really can’t afford to look like everyone else on paper. How many soccer captains do you think apply to Penn each year? Or student body presidents to Colgate? Even with top grades and board scores, you’re not going to stand out unless you have something more and different that actually demonstrates your ability to lead. The good news is that there are endless permutations of locally-based impact projects that teens can launch in their communities. Executing one of these requires real life initiative and leadership. And there’s no better way to show colleges that you’re a leader in practice, not just on paper.