KidLead

What is KidLead’s philosophy of leadership?

 Our working definition is: Leadership is the process that allows us to achieve together, what we could not as individuals. Leaders are people who help make sure leadership happens. We believe in the value of the servant leader, whereby the leader’s primary role is to serve others by establishing direction, organizing people to leverage their strengths, and assisting the group in removing barriers for its success.

Can all kids learn how to lead?
We use a more narrow definition of leadership as we just mentioned.  This pertains more to organizational leading.  Personal leading has to do with responsibility, taking a stand when needed, serving as a model to others, and influencing with your life in general.  We believe everyone can become a leader in terms of personal leading.  Managerial leading is a smaller category than personal leading.  It has to do with learning skills that help a person lead a small group of people, whether it be a family, a class, small business, or an office or community group.  But organizational leading is an even smaller category.  This pertains to those individuals who are able to cast vision, to effectively create change, and who organize larger groups of people, helping them use their gifts and skills for a common goal.  KidLead training curriculum is effective with students who exhibit organizational leadership aptitude, so it is not for everyone.  (Click here for a 1-page brief titled: "Elitism Vs. Uniqueness".)

How did you come up with the sixteen leader qualities that make up the curriculum?

The 16 qualities reflect a summary of numerous best-practice projects from a review of leadership research and literature, as well as organizations such as the Center for Creative Leadership, Harvard, and other graduate schools and consultants. Half reflect character qualities (values and attitudes), and the other half are competency oriented (people and decision making skills). As you look over the list, chances are that you’ll think, “Wow, I’d like to follow a leader like that.”                                                           

Why do kids have to apply to be part of KidLead?

KidLead programs are not exclusive as much as they are inclusive. We want to find students who are most apt to benefit from our training. While we cannot predict who will eventually emerge as a leader later in life, we do have a good indication of those who demonstrate the observable aptitude for learning leadership now. We focus on the approximately 20% of kids who tend to emerge as leaders, who possess organizational leadership aptitude. Just as everyone is not gifted to play in the NBA, or be an artist, or get straight A’s in school, we look for those who exhibit observable behaviors. Every child has unique gifts. We believe a person can be a success in life and not be a leader. Like a club sports team or Gifted and Talented selection in school, KidLead is most effective with those who demonstrate a certain aptitude for influencing others to follow them organizationally.

Kids are already busy, why do they need one more thing?

 It’s challenging to find a balance between developing our kids’ talents, while still maintaining unstructured playtime and relaxation. Activity for activity’s sake isn’t necessarily healthy, but investing in programs that really benefit kids long term are valuable. KidLead is uniquely designed for parents who want to assist their children in developing their leadership aptitude. Most leaders don’t have the chance to do this until after college, between the ages of 25-35. Imagine the head start you can give your child with 10-20 years of experience by the time most are just starting their formal leadership training. KidLead also includes parent training, so that you as a parent or guardian can develop your child’s leadership ability informally, in daily interactions. Plus, research indicates that our moral compass is pretty much set by age 14, which means that if we’re going to teach ethics in the context of leadership, we’d better do it earlier than later.

My kids are already in sports, music, and dance lessons. Why should I consider leadership training?

 If you’re like most parents, you want to provide for your child’s social development and success in life. Let’s be honest though, most of the extracurricular activities we provide for do not significantly equip them for the future. For example, hundreds of thousands of kids play organized baseball. However, 97% of youth won’t play baseball beyond high school. For example, only 4% of high school basketball players will go on to play college ball.  Only 1% of them will receive a Division I scholarship, but of those, only 1% will ever play in the NBA.  Are the thousands of dollars paid for fees, equipment, and lessons wasted? Probably not. But doesn’t it make sense to invest in training that will last a lifetime and can pay off with improved work opportunities and organizational roles? Top universities are looking for leadership experience in their applicants, in addition to strong GPA and SAT/ACT scores. Whatever we invest our time and money in comes down to priorities. KidLead’s vision is to raise next generation leaders who are effective and ethical. That may mean giving up a dance or sports program here and there, to make room for the long term benefits of leadership training.

Can kids really learn how to lead?

Those who are motivated and have the right aptitude really can. The amazing thing is that many of them, mostly those with natural leadership talent, are already leading. You can often detect leadership aptitude in early socializing, at preschool and even before. Teachers tell you that a few kids tend to have significantly more influence than others in their classrooms. This can be a benefit or a pain, depending if the influence is positive or negative. What we’re finding at KidLead is that we tend to significantly under-estimate a child’s ability to both learn leadership and to lead, because for the most part we haven’t developed it. Throughout history and in most cultures, adulthood begins around the ages 13 and 14. In American culture, where adulthood is often prolonged until the end of high school and even college, we often overlook the capacity of young adults. The Pygmalion concept teaches us that people become as they are treated. When you respond to a preteen with leadership abilities as if he or she is a leader, some pretty amazing things can happen.

You state that the KidLead curriculum uses accelerated learning.  What is this?

Preteens (8-12 year olds) tend to be concrete in their thinking. Conceptual thinking usually doesn’t kick in until the teen years. Therefore, it is important to learn concepts at this stage of development through actual experiences. The KidLead curriculum has 2-4 activities every lesson that are designed to do that. It provides multi-sensory experiences that include macro-motor skills, micro-motor skills, and engaging intellectual challenge—plus a media component. Kids enjoy this type of learning, and research says that we learn more when we’re enjoying ourselves. We emphasize attendance, because active learning—where learning takes place with others in an experiential setting—makes make-up work for missed lessons difficult. If a participant is going to maximize his or her benefit from the program, it’s important that they attend each lesson. Active learning isn’t just for kids. Some research shows that people retain up to 10% of what they hear, and approximately 90% of what they experience. Therefore, quality, active learning experiences are an effective means of teaching concepts to leaders of all ages, which is why it is included in adult leadership training programs such as the world renowned, Center for Creative Leadership (www.ccl.org).

What is the vision of KidLead?

KidLead’s vision is to develop ethical, effective leaders when they are most pliable, in hopes of improving society by influencing the influencers. Our goal is to certify hundreds and thousands of qualified trainers to use the KidLead curriculum, in order to ultimately develop tens of thousands of young leaders around the world.

How can I become a KidLead certified trainer?

The three pillars of KidLead are the curriculum, participants and the trainers. People interested in becoming certified trainers should have three qualities:

1.      Integrity in character

2.      Passion for preteens and/or teens