Mentoring Bright Ideas and Leadership within your Teen

This is the third and final post in an interview series with Kevin Sheehan. Any last gold, nuggets you can offer my readers? Leadership, like life, is not easy. No one wants to fail, or be embarrassed, or get worn out standing up for a cause or a candidate or a vision or a direction and not make it happen. But the point is not just winning. If we could gift one direction or piece of advice to families, it’s put teens and kids in leadership situations early. Let them have real impact. A middle school boy shows talent in gardening or design–great, break off a piece of the backyard and have him design and then build a little piece of your yard. A teenage girl starts to show an interest in business–terrific, encourage her when she wants to write a business plan to provide a service that has not existed before. The mistake we make with our young people and with ourselves is that we don’t believe that we can or should have an impact or make a difference. That’s the greatest fallacy, and research shows that one of the primary characteristics of depressed people is that they believe that they are not in control of their environment, and cannot make a difference. There is nothing more important for young people in developing leadership qualities than to be able to see the results of having been here. Legacy is everything in this life. And we can choose to create important, meaningful legacies, or destructive or passive ones. It’s all about leadership. And like that middle school girl who was really nailing the concepts, it’s all about how we come to see ourselves as we develop and as we grow up. Parents are the ultimate transmitters and mirrors for these important concepts and values. They are the leaders we ultimately depend on for civilization to evolve.rnIn addition to Kevin’s wonderful insight, another great way in which to encourage leadership and bright ideas is through mentoring. Here are a few ideas that Parent eSource came up with to help your adolescent enter the world of goal setting. • Encourage your teen to draw their goals in pictures, diagrams, flow charts, mind maps. Expressing them in vivid detail is KEY. • Describe the desired outcome on tape or videotape. Teens will hear themselves speaking on videotape describing their goals and imagining they have already achieved them. • Have your teen create their own poster board and place it somewhere where they will look at it often. Create a collage of the things they want from magazines, brochures or books. Knowing full well that as they look at them every day, they will soon be theirs—a VISION BOARD!!! • Start a savings account to begin learning the value of money. Also, have them set a monthly budget plan; another great way to set goals. • Select a charity and encourage your teen to join you in investing some of their time and energy, appreciating the importance of service to the community. • Encourage your teen to read one novel a week or month to improve their level of English, vocabulary and have a better understanding of the world around them. • Set performance goals in school work or skills, other studies or training being undertaken. This will not only show your teen how far she or he has come but will also give them a sense of accomplishment—A TIME TO CELEBRATE! • Boost ideas by coming up with a dream list. Applaud their dreams and set the goals to make it happenrn• Have your kiddo join or try out for a sport teams or club. • Have your teen considers ways of developing and nurturing positive friendships or improving relationships with siblings or other family members. • Exercise, exercise, exercise and come up with a nutrition plan.