Leadership: What is it, and why do we need it?

Leadership Anyone?

Have you noticed that there is more and more talk about leadership lately? It seems that every new initiative that deals with youth has some element of leadership attached to it. Perhaps this is due to the perception in many parts of the Quebec that all of the leaders have moved away; our best and brightest have left.

The fact is there is good reason for all the hype about leadership. It’s simple – if you want something done, you have two choices. You can roll up your sleeves and go at it alone, which might get the job done, eventually. Your second option is to convince others that your idea has merit and then recruit them to help you get it done. When presented like this the obvious choice is number two, right? Then why is there a perception that we don’t see young people leading groups to get things done? It begs the question, why aren’t there more leaders?

To answer this question we should look around for some “leaders” and see what makes them tick. The obvious ones include the prime minister, premier, mayor, or any other elected official who may someday have their picture on a telephone pole. We also have “local leaders” who sit on boards and other committees and show up in the newspaper from time to time.

We have industry leaders, those who we rarely see in the public eye although we might wonder how they can afford the awesome car they drive. There are also “ad-hoc” leaders who will get behind a specific and finite event or project but don’t have the desire or the time to get involved in ongoing initiatives.

No matter what type of leader we look at, there are numerous skills and attributes all of these individuals possess. Luckily these skills are not the type that you are born with. Certain people exhibit many traits just by their nature (good speaker, good listener) but the idea that true leaders are born and not made is a myth. These skills can be learned and honed over time.

The Best Leaders are Those with Experience.

Luckily, there is no shortage of places for people to learn and practice leadership skills. A visit to the bookstore or library to see the sheer amount of literature on the subject is a good first step. You can also apply your learning by contributing to voluntary initiatives such as those at school (student council, sports and other clubs) as well as in the communities beyond school (local organizations, social clubs). These places aren’t always obvious in terms of benefit or even opportunity but frequently have the most direct effect on the community in which we live.

So if you can learn all the skills you need to lead and there are lots of opportunities to get out there and do it, what’s the problem? There should be a waiting list to be a leader right? Unfortunately, this is not the case, so maybe we should also look at the drawbacks or reasons why people might not jump on board.

First, in order for someone to take something on, he or she has to feel pretty strongly about that issue. Let’s face it; there may not be a host of causes out there that we get all fired up about. Second, when someone takes a leadership role, they necessarily attract a certain amount of attention and have an increased chance of being criticised, especially if everything doesn’t go as planned. Finally, there’s the reality that young people have busy lives. Between studies, finding a job, starting a career, and building a family, there isn’t a lot of time to get out and take on the world.

So what can we do about all of this?

First, the number one job of any leader should be to develop other leaders. Imagine if every board member, every elected official, every company executive, and yes even every softball tournament organizer, took one person to mentor. If they each had one young person to stick by them and learn how things get done and how to influence people to obtain a goal, I think we’d begin to look for “followers” at that point because the leadership base in the province would be solid.

Second, all organizations dealing with young people and using leadership as an approach to fulfilling its mandate should take leadership training, read the literature, and talk to current leaders in order to be leadership mentors themselves. This training could be part of the learning culture of that organization or company.

Finally, take a look around and ask yourself what improvements you’d like to see. Ask yourself what business or service you’d like to see in your community and convince some of your friends that this might be something worth doing. You might actually enjoy it and get some new skills along the way that are needed to excel at work and in life generally.

I don’t agree that there is a lack of leaders in Quebec. I know there are young people all over the province that play a leadership role every day. The challenge is and will always be to engage these people in a way that will appeal to what is important to them and of course to provide the space and resources to support them along the way.

By: Allen Richards

Allen Richards is a Provincial Development Officer with Community Table. A volunteer-driven initiative, the Community Table, through its Community Economic Development and Employability Committees (CEDECs), supports employability and community economic development in the English-speaking community of Quebec. We do this by promoting community capacity building, economic diversification, leadership development, community planning, and partnership development at all levels of government and community.

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