The Call to Leadership

Youth Leadership

Encounter the Gospel of Life

“Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.”

- Romans 12:2

YOU are Encounter

• From the very start Encounter has been about empowering youth to use their gifts to help others

• This means that YOU and your gifts are vital to the success of the week, and of the community that continues after the week is done

• If you are an experienced youth leader in your parish, now is the time to shine!

• If you don’t have any leadership experience, now is the time to step up!

What is Leadership?

• We all have different ideas of what a leader is

• In your schools, in your teams/groups, in your parishes, you see lots of examples of people (young and old) in leadership positions

• How are YOU a leader?

Leadership is…

• BE– Who you are

• And use your strengths

• KNOW– The skills of teaching and leading

• To help others – and you – achieve goals

• DO– The toolbox of leadership skills

• Communicating, problem solving, planning, resolving conflict

What are some different forms of leadership?

• Transactional Leadership– Values problem and solution identification– Makes decisions in order to move forward– Uses standards and principles to make

decisions– Takes charge and gets things done– Develop themselves to be better decision-

makers for the group– Recognizes the importance of the product

What are some different forms of leadership?

• Transformational Leadership– Values the participation and contribution of

others– Takes all viewpoints into consideration before

making a decision– Considers individuals within their situations– Develop themselves to be better contributors to

the group– Shares leadership responsibilities– Recognizes the importance of the process

Take a wild guess…

• If the Encounter core values are…– Direct-Relational Ministry – Shared Responsibility and Empowerment – Openness to God and Holy Spirit – Commitment to Excellence – Conversion is Reflected in Daily Life

• Which leadership style do you think is more in keeping with Encounter?– Transactional or transformational?

Components of Effective Leadership

• Moral confidence

• Futures thinking

• Human relationships

• Networking and collaboration

• Accountability

• Operational management

Effective Leadership Development

1. Challenge and problem solving

2. Cognitive strategies

3. Work based

4. Social interaction and models

5. Mentoring and coaching

Desired Outcomes of Leadership Development Programs

• Building confidence

• Social interaction

• Access to information

• Motivation – inspiration

• Skills development

• Behavioral – attitudinal change

• Personal growth

Leadership in Groups

• Groups experience developmental stages just as individuals do

• Each stage has challenges that need to be addressed

• There are advantages and disadvantages to working in groups

Stages of Group Functioning

• There are five basic stages of group functioning:– Forming– Storming– Norming– Performing– Transforming

Group Functioning at Encounter

• You will be part of a few different groups at Encounter– Parish– Small parish group (possibly)– Work-site– Action group

• EACH of these groups will move through the stages at their own pace

Team

Stage

Development Phase Best Leadership Behavior

Forming High Enthusiasm

Low Skills

Explaining

Storming Low Enthusiasm

Low Skills

Demonstrating

Norming Rising Enthusiasm

Growing Skills

Guiding

Performing High Enthusiasm

High Skills

Enabling

Transforming Falling Enthusiasm

High Skills

Empowering

Leadership Behavior

Group Functioning at Encounter

• The groups that you are a part of will move through these stage (and possibly revisit them) during the course of the week

• There is no “right” timing, but your groups may move through all of the stages as the week progresses (or only some)

• The timing shown on the next few pages a rough estimate for the average group, but yours may spend more or less time in a given stage

Forming – Sunday/Monday

• This is the first stage, involving the initial coming together of the group

• You spend time getting to know one another• Few (if any!) accomplishments occur• Uncertainty of how to act (think first day of

school)• Time should be spent defining goals• You need to get to know your tasks and how

to do them (and each other)

Storming – Monday/Tuesday

• Familiarity has been established

• Conflicts may (and often do!) occur

• Confusion among members concerning roles and responsibilities

• Members may become defensive

• Smaller cliques may start to form

• Conflict should serve to help clarify group goals and promote cohesion

Norming – Tuesday/Wednesday

• Group becomes more organized

• Roles and responsibilities are clearly defined

• Rules and relationships are established

• Trust and support increase

Performing – Wednesday/Thursday

• Group is more mature

• Members are comfortable and know what is expected of them

• Tasks are completed with focus and cooperation

• You have hit your stride as a group and are working well together

Transforming – Thursday/Friday

• This stage is about wrapping up and splitting up, both from the tasks and the group members.

• You will (hopefully!) be proud of having achieved much and having been part of the group.

• There may be sadness for the completion of the task and for the loss of the group, but this should be balanced by the excitement of moving forward into the future

• How can this experience continue to form and transform you in the future?

Identifying Strengths and Weaknesses

• When identifying your own strengths and weaknesses, consider the following questions:– What am I good at?– What do I enjoy? What do I not enjoy?– What can I do that I am proud of?– What do I ask others to assist me with?– What can I not do that I want to learn how

to do?

Facilitating Effective Discussions

• For the group to have an effective discussion, ownership needs to take place among all the youth in the group

• The majority of the discussion must be taking place among the YOU – the youth

• Use open-ended questions to get the conversation started

Meaningful Leadership

• Leadership is meaningful when:– There is an opportunity to apply the skills

you are learning– You are feeling your work is having an

impact

• Opportunities for meaningful leadership:– Community involvement and service

Goals and Expectations

• The most important thing to remember is to make sure that goals and expectations are set by the entire group and everyone should contribute

• Everyone has ownership, compromises can be reached, and agreements can be made on what is best for the group

Goals and Expectations

• Ground rules:– Every idea is valid, everyone contributes, and

every person is responsible– Use many of the open-ended questions you would

use in discussions– Provide adequate opportunities for participation– Ask for everyone’s opinions and ideas– Make sure they are communicated clearly and

everyone is comfortable with them – Review periodically and adjust as needed

Acknowledgements

• Portions of the above are based on information gathered from the following sources…– http://pa4h.cas.psu.edu/100.htm– www.pack730.com/CubCD/scouts – www.saintjoancatholic.org