Leadership Qualities for Students: Guide to Developing Future Leaders

Leadership qualities for students help to boost their confidence level. In addition, these qualities also support them in this digital age. In this post-pandemic world, and the dynamic global scenario, our young generations need many more skills over and above foundational literacy. Because these skills like leadership, collaboration, digital literacy, etc. are highly relevant for them to avail the best opportunities in adulthood. Our students need to develop these skills for themselves. In fact, they also need these to contribute to the world at large.

As a teacher/stakeholder, if you struggle to identify, build, or nurture these read this article till the end. We will cover some essential aspects of these skills. In addition, we will also touch upon their importance for our students in today’s world.

What Are Leadership Skills in Students?

Many soft skills fall in the category of leadership skills. For our students, we need to develop and build these skills through carefully planned pedagogies within lesson plans and curricula. The best example to incorporate relevant skill-building activities into the curriculum is set by the top online schools (like K8 School). The entire instructional delivery and online resources are planned to build 21st-century skills.

And this helps the students to know and work on their leadership qualities.

Top virtual schooling platforms nurture these skills in students through collaborative activities, flipped classroom models, and group projects, etc.

Let’s start with the examples of some of these qualities for our students.

As per Forbes, some of the essential 21st-century leadership skills are:

Strategic thinking
Goal setting
Giving and receiving feedback
Team building
Positivity
Building trust
Self-awareness etc.

What is the Importance of Leadership skills in Today’s World?

In the present-day scenario, there is a major shift from degrees to skills. But our Indian students lack both the employability skills. This means that they also need to work extra on developing the qualities of a good leader.

Unfortunately, only 50.3% of our Indian students have the required skills and are employable. This figure was even worse in the year 2021, it was only 46.2%.

Employability skills in Indian | leadership skills

Another sorry state of affairs is that 89% of our graduates looked for internship opportunities. Hence, if we focus on developing leadership skills, we have a chance to open new career pathways for our students in this competitive world. In this way, we can help them to be a part of the global workforce actively.

percentage of graduates looked for internship opportunities | leadership skills

What are Types of Leadership?

Some common types of leadership are:

Autocratic– This type of leader makes decisions on his/her own without discussing much with others
Democratic– They give importance to all team members and work through collaboration
Adaptive– Identify and include people for a task because of their strengths
Strength-based– They appreciate and leverage one’s own strengths. And use the strong points of the team members for the best results
Transformational – These leaders motivate their followers.

Steps to Build Leadership Qualities in Students

Introducing Concepts

In a classroom, we can introduce the qualities of a good leader through relevant opportunities. Most students like the idea of choosing leaders in the classroom. Weekly/monthly monitors or class group leaders are all-time great ideas. And in case of online schooling, teachers can have many more opportunities to nurture these qualities during group activities. Start with assigning leaders to a group. But make sure that all children get these chances equally.

Take Charge of the Classroom

When you plan activities with student leaders, many extroverted students tend to dominate the activity/conversation/conversation/presentation. As a teacher, you need to keep a check on these activities to give equal opportunities for developing leadership to all students. You can plan simple class rules like ‘one person at a time’. And encourage patience while one of the students does his or her part.

Nurture Related Skills

We cannot see leadership qualities for students in isolation. We have to nurture other skills like collaboration, teamwork, critical thinking, problem-solving, etc. to help students develop actual leadership qualities. In online schools, the curricula focus on building skills like divergent thinking, communication, teamwork, etc. In any classroom setting, try to nurture these skills by encouraging creative answers through problem-solving. And appreciating students for their innovative ideas to encourage out-of-box thinking.

Group Projects

Projects and group activities are also great to help students develop different types of leadership. Divide students carefully into groups. But keep in mind that all groups should have a different mix of students to avoid the dominance of specific students repeatedly.

Help all children to present the findings of all types of group activities as leaders of their respective groups turn wise. Because this will give all of them an equal chance to learn the ways of addressing people. And they will also learn how to handle criticism/feedback as well. Keep a record of the leaders, so that there is a fair chance for all of them.

Real-Life Examples

Today we are living in an age of interdisciplinary education. You can make use of real-life examples to highlight the importance of leadership. History lessons, political examples, and exemplary achievements of role models, or freedom fighters are excellent ways to create a solid understanding of positive leadership. You can also make use of role plays to help students recreate the qualities of a good leader.

Final Thoughts

We already know the importance of leadership in the global village. These qualities are the stepping stones for success for our students in the future. Because they need to be highly skilled in order to succeed in the competitive and dynamic workforce. The future is highly skill-based for our young generations. And the best opportunities will be available for them only if they develop the essential ‘SKILLS FOR THE FUTURE’ including leadership skills!

Thanks for Reading!

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the importance of leadership for students?
In India, we need to focus on developing leadership to help our students be confident citizens in the future. Today, the best opportunities come from the global workforce. Our students can avail these benefits only if they have these qualities.

What are 5 leadership skills in students?
Our students need the following qualities:
- Critical thinking
- Collaboration
- Being a team player
- Self-awareness
- Acceptance of feedback

Leadership qualities for Students: Preparing Students for Future