Youth Leadership Toward Community Development

According to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, youth populations (aged 10-19) account for nearly 13% of the U.S. population, or 42 million individuals, as of 2019. The U.S. Census projects this number to increase significantly over the next 30-40 years. This represents a significant group that has largely been ignored until quite recently regarding leadership and participation in community projects and programs. This article will discuss ways in which we can distinguish between youth and adult leadership and provide strategies for how to empower and develop youth leaders in our communities.

Youth Leadership v. Adult Leadership

Youth and adult leaders are different. Multiple studies (e.g., McElravy & Hastings, 2014; Redmond & Dolan, 2016) have highlighted the differences between youth and adult leaders. Redmond and Dolan (2016) suggest that youth leadership "focuses on the methods by which leadership can be explored, taught or experienced by young people." (p. 262). By contrast, adult leadership is described as being "learned in the context of practicing leadership." (p. 262). McElravy and Hastings (2014) examined the links between personality, emotional intelligence, and self-leadership skills in youth, finding that personality is not a strong predictor of self-leadership skills, contrasting literature studying adults. Emotional intelligence was a strong predictor of self-leadership skills in youth, matching studies involving adults. The study's results suggest that only a few individual characteristics translate to self-leadership ability in both youth and adults, and we need to consider this in youth leadership development.  

Youth Leadership in the Community

Eubanks Owens et al. (2011) provide key ideas and strategies for how to incorporate youth voices into our community projects and programs.

1. Place a greater focus on broader youth-led discussions rather than specifically focusing on single topics. For example, rather than beginning a community service project discussion with a specific issue (e.g., picking up trash), begin with a brainstorming session asking youth to identify some things they have observed in the community that they would like to change. From there, narrow the focus to specific issues.
2. Encourage the formation of youth leadership teams and allow youth to tackle a large project in groups. Provide flexibility and resources to empower the groups to make their part of the project their own.

In summary, allow youth leaders to connect their lived experiences to the needs of their community. Be aware that youth may have a different perspective on community issues. It is important to give them the opportunity to bring those thoughts to the discussion and the responsibility to try and address the issues themselves.

Developing Youth Leaders

Despite an increase in the number of programs and opportunities for youth to gain valuable leadership skills (e.g., 4-H, FFA, Boys and Girls Clubs of America, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, etc.), there is still a lack of youth participation in community leadership. Redmond and Dolan (2016) created a multi-level conceptual model of youth leadership development. The proposed model incorporates three important components for developing youth community leaders, namely,

1. Developing youth leadership skills. This level of the model emphasized the importance of developing social and emotional intelligence skills, collaboration skills, articulation skills, and insight and knowledge that stimulate critical thinking ability and ethical behavior. 
2. Providing the right environmental conditions. This level of the model relates to allowing youth to actively participate in the planning and decision-making processes while guiding and mentoring to help them overcome obstacles and challenges they face. For example:
    -- Avoid "tokenistic" youth involvement. If you are serious about youth involvement in a community project, include them in all the meetings and discussions and ensure that their ideas are being actively taken into consideration.
    -- Partner with teachers and local community leaders to create a mentoring program that matches these individuals with youth leaders to develop their leadership skills and abilities.
3. Opportunities for action-taking to enable youth leaders to have meaningful leadership experience action in their community. This level involves youth implementing the skills and experiences they gained in the first two levels toward motivating and empowering others as leaders themselves. In the community sense, this is the level at which community youth are tasked with leading others toward a shared vision and goal. Below are a few ways we can support them in this process.
    -- Provide targeted opportunities for youth to take charge (individually or in groups) of a small community project or program. If asked, share your own experiences in community project management but be sure to allow them to try to solve any problems they encounter.
    -- Link the greater community with local schools to allow students to identify community needs and propose solutions.
    -- Recognize where you can assist youth leaders in the community. That may be logistics, finance, or help connecting them with individuals outside of the community.

References

Eubanks Owens, P., La Rochelle, M., Nelson, A. A., & Montgomery-Block, K. F. (2011). Youth voices influencing local and regional change. Children, Youth and Environments, 21(1), 253–274.

McElravy, L. J., & Hastings, L. J. (2014). Profiling the youth leader: Personality and emotional intelligence trends and their relationship to leadership skills. Journal of Agricultural Education, 55(1), 134–151.

Redmond, S., & Dolan, P. (2016). Towards a conceptual model of youth leadership development. Child & Family Social Work, 21, 261–271. DOI.org/10.1111/cfs.12146

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Office of Population Affairs. (n.d.). America's diverse adolescents. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. Retrieved July 27, 2022.