How parents can prepare their child to be a school leader
Helping children become a school leader gives them important skills for life. Ronan McGinniss works with students across Australia and has discovered a similar group of characteristics in those selected for leadership roles.
Are you one of the many parents who have secretly thought “It would be great for my child if they were to have an opportunity to be a school leader.”?
This thought is natural! You know your child’s strengths better than anyone else, you know that the opportunities they have today will shape their future, and you know that if they develop leadership skills whilst at school this will be a huge advantage in life.
The reality is, only a select few children eventually get selected for official leadership roles. In our work with almost 100,000 students around Australia we have discovered that those students selected for leadership responsibilities often posses a similar group of characteristics. Of course, leaders each have their own personal strengths, but there are some common traits we have noticed. Very often, these traits are things that are not related only to their formal education, they are characteristics that are fostered at home.
When reflecting on the many student leaders we have worked with we have identified 6 tips which we believe will assist parents in helping their child to be a school leader:
1) Don’t talk to your child about leadership positions, talk about leadership opportunities.
2) Encourage your child to be involved in everything.
3) Encourage your child to solve problems.
4) Help your child with their presentation skills.
5) Do community service with your child.
6) Encourage your child to ‘take responsibility’.
I assume that many people will think that these tips are easier to understand than they actually are to implement on a regular basis. To read more about these six tips you can download a FREE GUIDE that we have written for parents, packed with practical ways to implement these ideas at home.
We are not suggesting that by following a few simple steps your child will be chosen as the school captain. We firmly believe that ‘being chosen’ should not be the goal of any leader, rather that, by serving and contributing in a school community your child will develop life-long leadership skills.
Some students will be chosen for roles, some will not, but this should never be what matters.
The purpose of the free guide we have published is to pass on what we have observed and learnt to parents who have a keen interest in supporting their son or daughter in this area.
Ronan McGinniss is one of the Directors of GRIP Leadership, an Australian based organisation that trains school leaders to make a significant difference through their role. Ronan’s interest in leadership started with the opportunity to fulfil the role of Head Boy at Chisholm Catholic College in Perth, Western Australia. After finishing school Ronan studied management and leadership at Edith Cowan University where he was also the President of the student association whilst volunteering with numerous youth organisations and contributing to some of Australia’s largest youth events. When Ronan’s old school invited him back to train their newly elected leaders, he had no idea what would come from this. GRIP Leadership was formed soon after and within only a few years the team began training tens of thousands of student leaders each year. Ronan has published numerous books for student leaders and is a regular keynote speaker as a variety of conferences.
