What Is a Leader? 
People have many different definitions.
 Here's a few to get you thinking:

• Leadership is guiding and showing the the way for other people and helping them work together to find direction.  It's getting people to cooperate and do things together.  It means you can lead a group.
• Leadership is the ability to be looked upon as a role model.
• Being a leader is being able to stand up for what you believe in.  It means you help to make new ideas, you don't just follow old one.
• Leadership is the ability to lead people or represent them.  It all starts with responsibility.  Your actions not only affect you, but everyone you represent.

What is your definition of leadership?  How about your friends' definition?  Your teachers'?  Click HERE for a printer-friendly worksheet.  Fill the sheet out, and then compare the different ideas.

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Strategies to Help You Become a Leader

When you see this web site, or hear about famous leaders somewhere else, you might wonder, "How did they become great?"  Well, this page will give you some ideas on how to get started.

1. JOIN A CLUB: Girl Scouts or Boy Scouts if possible.  It will boost your abilities, you'll make new friends, and do many exiting things, like sports, crafts, etc.  Also, it will improve your leadership skills.

2.Be a part of COMMUNITY ACTS:  You can baby-sit, rake leaves, shovel snow, and go to nursing homes and soup kitchens.  This will make people happy and it will improve your people skills.

3.When you are in middle school or high school, take English classes.  You may have to present your homework or extra credit projects to the class.  Speaking in front of your class or your family will help you overcome things like stage fright, and like they say, practice makes perfect.  If you do this, you will get used to public speaking, which leaders do A LOT of.

4.Try to be tolerable.  This means, don't try to make people hate you.  Try to be nice, relaxed, and don't be overly energized.  That can be a bit annoying to some people.  Don't say, "Oh that idea stinks, this one is better," just let people say their ideas, then vote on which one is the best.

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Leadership Myths

Talk about these myths with a group of your friends.  You might see some of them as true, but others as false.  

Boys make better leaders than girls.	You have to be popular to be a good leader.	You have to get all A's in school to be a leader.	You have to be rich to be a good leader.
People born first make better leaders than later-born brothers and sisters.	You have to be elected to be a leader.	You need to be a dictator to be a leader.	You need to be an adult to be a leader.