FEATURED ARTICLE

Are You Effectively Developing Future Leaders of Generation Y?

Over the last two weeks, I had a wonderful opportunity to serve as a guest speaker for a two day leadership retreat in Indiana and a one day leadership training in Boston, Massachusetts. Unlike my usual keynote presentations on leadership, these two specific speaking engagements were a little different because they consisted of longer presentations, more leadership content, activities, and interaction with the student leaders of several different organizations on each campus. As you might imagine, the leadership experience was amazing and I truly believe that the students who participated in these leadership programs will see great results as leaders in college and after graduation.

Although the leadership training in Boston was awesome, the most memorable moment had to be the two day leadership retreat at Purdue University in Lafayette, Indiana. The reason this leadership retreat was so unforgettable to me is because not only did I get interrupted in the middle of my speaking presentation with a tornado warning, but I had the opportunity to talk with students for three to four hours following my speaking presentation on the first day. During this amazing conversation with the students, not only did I have the opportunity to hear their concerns and opinions, but I had a chance to offer more leadership wisdom and insight as well.

Following this long conversation with the students and two additional days of leadership trainings in Indiana and Boston, I was able to develop a sense of what I strongly believe are some key leadership concepts we must develop in these aspiring young leaders of the future. Now, these are not the only key leadership concepts that I believe are important for these emerging leaders to understand, but they are key leadership concepts that I believe will enhance these future leaders' lives immensely in the college and working world!

Leadership Concept #1
We Must Teach Emerging Leaders about VISION

After speaking about this particular topic for the past ten years, it's probably quite obvious that I would strongly urge men and women that develop leaders of this emerging generation to teach them the importance of this leadership concept. But, like I tell every leader, there is no way that you can lead effectively in the 21st Century if you do not have vision! Vision is not only the foundation of leadership, but it's the guiding compass of any great leader and leadership experience..

Leadership Concept #2
We Must Teach Emerging Leaders How to Develop an Effective Action Plan

This leadership concept is not only essential for a leader's success, but it's literally the key to making any leaders vision a reality. Like I tell most student leaders, without the strategic action plan, there is a good chance that you will not see your vision become a reality. In John Maxwell's latest book on leadership, he revealed a study that explained how only 15% of people set goals with a vision. If this is indeed true, it should come as no surprise why so many people fail to see their vision or dreams become a reality!

Leadership Concept #3
We Must Teach Emerging Leaders about Selfless Leadership

Although this leadership concept is very similar to servant-leadership, it's a little different in my opinion and it's a leadership concept that I believe all emerging leaders must possess in the 21st Century. The reason I feel so strongly about this leadership concept is because selfless leadership not only deals with the importance of caring about the members of your team, but it reveals the importance of making sure that everyone within the team or group is involved and has their specific needs met as well. If a leader has this mindset, I believe it can help the organization immensely!

Leadership Concept #4
We Must Teach Emerging Leaders about the Importance of Specialized Knowledge

For years, many of the world's most successful men and women have succeeded because of specialized knowledge in a specific area of interest. As emerging leaders of the 21st Century, the same concept will hold true in every different professional arena as well. So, when we develop future leaders of this emerging generation, I not only believe it's important to teach them how to select experts for different positions within their company or organization, but I believe it's important to make sure they are gathering the specialized knowledge they need in order to succeed as a leader in their respected field of interest.

Leadership Concept #5
We Must Teach Emerging Leaders How to Overcome Extreme Obstacles

Throughout history, every generation has been challenged with some sort of great obstacle or challenge. Thankfully, when these challenges arose, there have been great leaders who have been able to overcome these different obstacles and negative situations. Currently, within our different communities and our nation, there are many great challenges, and the future leaders of this nation are going to be forced to overcome many different obstacles. So, as we develop these future leaders, it's critical that we offer them words of wisdom on how to deal with the future challenges and obstacles they will face as leaders in the years to come.

Leadership Concept #6
We Must Teach Emerging Leaders How to Be Patient

Unlike any other generation of the past, our generation is probably the generation that is most used to seeing things happen very quickly. As I stated in an earlier newsletter, instant gratification may be the biggest hurdle or challenge for our generation. However, when you study the great leaders of the past, the key to their success was patience and diligence for a specific cause they were passionate about. If we are going to expect tremendous results from our future leaders, it's crucial that they understand that great results and accomplishment take time and do not happen overnight!

Leadership Concept #7
We Must Teach Emerging Leaders the Importance of Courage

Most people understand that courage is a key leadership quality that all leaders must possess in order to be successful. However, I have found that not only is courage a key leadership quality we must all possess as leaders, but it's one of the foundational qualities our leaders must possess in order to truly be effective. The reason why I believe this so strongly is because every action of effective leadership starts with courage and some of the key road blocks that can stifle the success of any leader will always come back to something that is the opposite of courage. So, with that said, I believe it's crucial that we teach future leaders the importance of courage.

Obviously, there are many more key leadership concepts that I believe are essential as well, such as servant leadership, ethical leadership, passion, and a strong ability to connect with organizations and individuals different from yourself, but the aforementioned seven leadership concepts are key leadership principles that I believe are highly important for future leaders to possess on college campuses and in the real world! Hopefully, if you have the opportunity to develop leaders of the future, you can take the time to teach them these seven key leadership principles!