Eight Essential Leadership Tips and the Political Courses That Shape Future Leaders

Summary:

Leaders share eight distinct characteristics; the kind often taught in politics-related courses. Here are pre-college courses designed to help teens develop leadership skills while in high school.

Key Points:

Essential leadership characteristics include:

1. Authenticity
2. Curiosity
3. Analytical savvy
4. Adaptability
5. Creativity
6. Comfort with conflicting ideas
7. Resilience
8. Empathy

What do Martin Luther King Jr., Winston Churchill, and Abraham Lincoln have in common? All were leaders who left indelible marks on history. Martin Luther King Jr. led the civil rights movement in the U.S. in the 60’s. Churchill inspired his nation, England, while it suffered incessant bombings during World War II. And Abraham Lincoln kept the U.S. together during the Civil War; a major victory over slavery for which he lost his life. Although not all were elected officials, such as MLK, they all tipped the political scales significantly.

In this article, we’ll look at what can be learned about the influence politics has on building leadership skills, and review some of the courses offered by our Prelum partners in the areas of  law and government college prep for high school students.

What are the characteristics of a leader?

There are eight essential qualities of successful leaders. These include:

1. Authenticity: Genuine leaders are true to who they are. In other words, “embody your best self.” Competence is important, but people must connect with you in order for you to be trusted. This is essential to lead others — it is at the essence of team building.
2. Curiosity: It’s about having the courage to look forward and truthfully evaluate what lies ahead. Great leaders have an ability to look at situations and issues from the standpoint of various contributors, such as customers or competitors. This is vitally important to decision making; the job of every leader. 
3. Analytical savvy: This isn’t about trusting your gut, but about using your ability to break down problems, find root causes, and define solutions. Success requires calling on what you’ve learned. In this day of digital advances, being data smart is critical for success.
4. Adaptability: Technology is advancing every day, and it’s both a threat and a potential asset. Adaptable leaders must pivot swiftly when faced with aversion. It allows you to be able to swiftly respond to different dynamics and embrace new opportunities and challenges.
5. Creativity: Inspirational leaders tend to be creative in their approach to managing people and projects. It’s more about establishing an environment of creativity where all can get involved. When different viewpoints are allowed to surface, critical thinking can flourish — something needed in today’s political environment.
6. Comfort with conflicting ideas: Every leader faces times where decision making means choosing one path over another. Mastering ambiguous ideas requires asking a lot of “what ifs”? Look at potential outcomes from different perspectives, and lean into habits that clear your head, like meditating, yoga, or brainstorming with trusted colleagues.
7. Resilience: You could say this was a common trait among leaders like Winston Churchill, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Abraham Lincoln. Quite simply, they never gave up their principles, their goals, or their leadership style. Successful leaders recognize the fluid nature of situations. And they know how to seek input from others without ever giving up on the desired outcome.
8. Empathy: Connecting with others on an emotional level is not only a strong trait of leadership, but, when done consistently and believably, builds a lasting trust. It means developing emotional intelligence, the ability to stand in the shoes of those on your team, and creating a supportive, trusting environment.

In today’s fraught political culture, where people tend to take one side or another, establishing consistent behaviors like the eight discussed here is essential for anyone who seeks to lead others in the future. 

And studying politics while in high school is a great place to start.

College preparatory leadership courses for teens starts at Prelum.org

Our partner school, Georgetown University, offers a college preparatory course for teens called International Relations: How The World Works. This course delves into how economies are connected, while threats from pandemics shut down supply chains, and wars, terrorism, and cyber attacks seem to be on the rise. You'll assume the role of a president faced with a human rights crisis in a far off nation, and you’ll determine the actors, the conditions, and the right moves to make. 

Georgetown University’s Pre-College Program is also where you’ll find a popular course on politics and the law. U.S. Politics and Government: To Form a More Perfect Union takes a deep dive into the U.S. political system. You'll see how political actors adapt to realities and conflicts as they play out. You’ll find answers to questions such as: 

• What does the future hold?
• Will the government maintain democratic principles?
• How will it respond to challenges like climate change, economic inequality, and racial injustice?
  

If the U.S. Constitution interests you, you’ll want to check out William & Mary’s Pre-College Program. Their constitutional law course, We The People, is essential for anyone seeking a future in law or politics. You’ll get an inside look at how attorneys and judges tap into the constitution to support their cases. You’ll study the judiciary’s role, how they interpret constitutional rights, and why there are vastly different points of view on how this document should be interpreted. 

To learn more about all that Prelum, Powered by Kaplan has to offer, visit our website.