Today’s young adults, those between 16 and 26, lack leadership skills to be effective in the work force and in the community. As many as one-third of the workers surveyed said that they were interested in leading a nonprofit but most felt that they were not being mentored or groomed for such leadership. (Joanne Fritz, Nonprofit Leadership Gap). The fact that our kids are woefully unprepared to deal with real life” (Jay Strack, President of Student Leadership University)
Years ago, leadership training came from Mom and Dad. When most people work near or at home such as farmers, blacksmiths, carpenters, etc…Now, not only are moms and dads work away from home, many work two jobs because there is only mom or only dad. Children no long learn from mom and dad. Second place most Americans learned leadership skills was from church. From pastors, youth group leaders, Sunday school teachers. Now, less than 40% of American attend church, and the percentage is dropping. So where do we learn leadership? Is this why the number of leaders are decreasing? Today’s young adults, those between 16 and 26, lack leadership skills to be effective in the work force and in the community. As many as one-third of the workers surveyed said that they were interested in leading a nonprofit but most felt that they were not being mentored or groomed for such leadership. (Joanne Fritz, Nonprofit Leadership Gap). The fact that our kids are woefully unprepared to deal with real life” (Jay Strack, President of Student Leadership University) “Recently the [Center for Creative Leadership] polled [their] Leadership Insights panel on these questions, asking (among other things) what excited them most about young people in the workforce today and what concerned them most. It turns out what excites them most about young people is their: (1) comfort and skill with technology (2) creativity and fresh ideas, (3) global awareness and tolerance, and (4) adaptability. At the same time, among the concerns voiced were: (1) the sense of entitlement/lack of work ethic young people seem to have, (2) their lack of ability to communicate face-to-face (3) a lack of decision-making skills, and (4) their lack of learning opportunities, such as mentoring, positive role models, and training.” (Ellen Van Velsor, Developing Young Leaders: Great Potential, Significant Gaps) In the community, Debra Blum states, “The number of Americans who volunteer grew last year at the fastest rate in six years, according to a new report.” Yet a college professor stated, “With the increase in volunteerism, these is a decrease in those volunteering to lead.” Written into the abstract of Leadership for Volunteers, it states, “The failure of volunteer organizations is commonly attributed to a lack of leadership for the organization.” (Richard Cummins, Texas A&M Univ). Dr. Larry McCarthy of Stillman School of Business Management concludes, “we have no new generation of leaders ready to step up to the challenges of our world.” Pat William, Vice President of the Orlando Magic’s, asked the question, “If today’s kids do not become leaders, where does our society go? Where do we go from here? Every opportunity to teach, train, educate, mentor a young adult, male of female should be taken to help build confidence, experience, self-esteem and motivate this generation Y Z and the next generation to take calculated risks, cultivate new idea, and encourage them to make decisions. |