Developing Your Child’s Leadership Skills

Work on their confidence first

Leaders are confident and self-assured. Therefore, it’s important that you build your child’s confidence through positive reinforcement and affirmation. When your child takes initiative and completes a task independently and successfully, acknowledge their hard work and efforts:

• “Thank you for taking initiative and completing all the tasks on your chore chart! You did a great job. The house looks great!”

• “Thank you for taking charge and showing your little brother how to pick up his toys. You’re so helpful!”

Encourage them to use their problem-solving skills  

Leaders are often tasked with identifying problems and finding solutions. To build your child’s leadership skills, you must first develop their problem-solving skills. When presented with obstacles or challenges, ask for your child’s thoughts and feedback. Encourage them to think outside the box:

• “I don’t think that’s going to work. What are some other ways we can approach this task?”

• “I’m not sure what to do. What would you do in this situation?”

Communicate

Strong leaders are effective communicators. Therefore, it is important to encourage open dialogue in your household. In everything you do, ask your child to express their thoughts and feelings:

• “You seem upset. Let’s talk about what’s going on.”

• “You and your sister seem to be at odds. What’s going on? Let’s talk about it and find a solution.”

Give them opportunities to work in a team setting

Strong leaders know to collaborate with others to achieve a common goal. Develop your child’s leadership skills by offering them opportunities to work in team settings. If your child has siblings, make cleaning up the playroom a team effort. Sign your child up for extracurricular activities like sports.