WE all want our children to be leaders. To me, leadership skill is skills are much more important than any other, skills, including technical and academic capabilities. A person who’s a leader will never stay in their comfort zone. These people will always strive to achieve the next level. When they’re not happy with their academic performance, they’ll find ways to improve it. They may not be the best student, but they certainly maximise their potential.
Such is the power of leadership. What drives them to achieve the next level? What makes them motivated to work hard? What keeps them going when others have long given up? This is the one thing that unites all leaders – their vision.
According to Pat Williams, bestselling author of The Paradox of Power, every leader, young or old, must have a vision. A vision defines what success looks like. The leader and the entire team compete for, struggle for, and sacrifice for a vision. We must learn how to challenge and inspire young people to become young visionaries.
All great leaders are known for their great vision. It’s the ability to think beyond their time and create actionable steps to take them there. A visionary person is someone who can think creatively while balancing it with logic and common sense. They have strong strategic thinking skills. They’re aware of the needs of today and tomorrow. They’re highly in touch with their external environment as well as their inner self. They can see how success looks and tastes like. And most importantly, they can see the steps needed to take them there.
OF ASPIRATIONS AND VISION
Parents must help their children to create their visions as early as possible. Begin by talking to them about the importance of having leadership skills. Tell them stories of great leaders, about their visions and what made them outstanding. Share your decision-making process and get them involved in the process too.
A good start can be when you want to organise their birthday parties. Get them to envision what a successful party looks like. Then, let them decide on the theme, colour, dress code and so on. Empower the birthday boy or girl to be the project manager. For the other siblings, let them own something and be the leader in that area. Get them to identify several small but important responsibilities such as drawing up the menu, coming up with the guest list and deciding what games to play. Assigning them these tasks is training them to be a leader.
Another fun way to get them to envision their future is to give them positive “titles” of their future self. For example, when my eldest said that he’d like to run his own company, I gave him the title “a CEO in the making.” He loves it. When he shows signs of giving up, or just being antisocial, I’d ask him, “Is this how a CEO behaves?” Usually, that would get him going again. I also called my art-loving child a “future superstar.”
All these and more are little ways to plant the vision into their minds. Once they’re firmly in, we can just guide them along. For as long as the vision remains clear and exciting, nothing will stop them on their way to achieving the next level.