Leadership Traits in Children

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Most children are born with a natural tendency toward confidence. They do not doubt their place in the world, they do not have any judgement or biases, and most importantly, they are curious. This is healthy and necessary, as it is foundational to how well they learn and pick up life skills.

It is possible to identify qualities in children that point toward a predisposition to lead. It is important to note that although these qualities exist, not all children will want to be leaders. As well, these qualities need to be honed in order to bring out the leader in a child.

According to educator and leadership expert Karon LeCompte, Ph.D., of Baylor University, leadership qualities in children are drawn broadly from their environment, their developmental skills, as well, their commitment to action in various circumstances.

LeCompte highlights that there is no particular age in which leadership qualities in children emerge. However, as children develop, their skills in multitasking, in coordinating different sensory skills, and in how they develop competency over certain skills, can be used as indicators of leadership qualities.

Experts on leadership agree that leadership is not a once-off skill, rather it is developed over time, often throughout a person’s life. The practical nature of leadership also requires that children be put into situations where these qualities can emerge. This means that parents need to take time to observe their children, before thrusting or pressuring their children into leadership roles.

Teaching Leadership Skills to Children

Children are a product of their environment. They are also very observant. The primary way they learn is through imitating words and behaviour. Often children will be seen at play, and the nature of the game is a replay of something they observed at home, in their community, or even from TV.

Therefore, a key approach to teaching leadership is through modelling good leadership. A good role model for leadership can be in the form of a parent, guardian, relative, or community leader. In observing how the adults around them work together, resolve issues, and manage themselves in difficulty, children begin to understand life from a broader perspective.

Once children can observe good leadership, then teaching and developing the necessary skills becomes the next step. In order to do this, one has to consider the level of a child’s development as well as their abilities. For example, older children may demonstrate traits such as patience, teamwork, perseverance, and problem solving a lot more readily than younger children.

The developmental level a child is in will determine the ease with which they will understand and practise the concepts they are learning. It is important to note that there is no specific order in which these skills ought to be learned by a child. Therefore flexibility will be required when training a child, in order not to frustrate or discourage them.

Having gotten an overview of some important considerations when addressing leadership to children, future articles will look in more detail, the various aspects that need to be developed in a child, in order to put them on the path to leadership. Stay tuned!