Tag Archives: leadership

Ideal Careers for your Strong Student Leader

leaderIf your child has excellent leadership skills or wants to develop them more, it might be time to start looking at colleges and careers that are suitable for passionate leaders. Children and teenagers have plenty of opportunities to build their leadership skills through the years, and there are some interesting college majors and careers they can explore too.

Business and Entrepreneurship

For people who want to take the lead in their career, working in business or becoming an entrepreneur is often a top choice. It opens up opportunities for them to climb the career ladder and to both use their leadership skills and put forward their own ideas.

Education

Working in education is a good way to use leadership skills to inspire others. There are lots of ways to work in education, teaching different ages and different subjects. You might teach children or adults, ranging from being a school teacher to passing on your area of expertise to people looking for a new hobby or teaching key skills like the English language.

Legal Careers

Working in a legal career as a lawyer or another legal professional presents plenty of opportunities for leadership too. However, it’s likely to be in a different way to how someone might lead a class of people or even a team in an office. Leadership in the legal profession could involve working with a team or with someone one-on-one.

Nonprofit Organizations

If your child is interested in doing good in the world, they might be interested in the leadership skills necessary for working at a nonprofit organization as outlined in this infographic.


Infographic Design By USC

Spotlight on College Pro–Training tomorrow’s leaders

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leadership

Leadership is not easy to teach; in fact some will say it can’t truly be taught at all. College Pro not only believes in the power of leadership, but that it can be learned in the process of training for, and then running, a business. “We subscribe to the idea of ‘learning by doing’ in a very real way,” explains Tony Valle, CEO of College Pro. “Our program is not theory, it’s reality. It’s based on coaching and teaching the skills required to not just run a business, but to grow a successful one. And that includes key skills like leadership and teamwork. Leadership helps the individual and motivates the team to be its best, so it’s a win-win for the business as a whole as well.”

Entrepreneurs are sometimes thought of as go-it-alone people who reluctantly engage teams for their business only when absolutely necessary. That model is changing significantly, though, as more and more entrepreneurs recognize that teamwork – and the ability to lead a team – are essential to driving a successful business. A strong, collaborative team brings complementary skills to the table, enabling ideas and solutions to emerge that can help the company, often in unanticipated ways. Leadership ability is also among the attributes today’s employers seek when looking to hire new graduates; all the more reason to develop and hone these skills.

The College Pro program content echoes that of most business school curricula. In addition to leadership training, the program covers sales and marketing, employee management, financial planning and management, and more. In what has sometimes been called a “real world MBA”, these skills are then applied to running a College Pro franchise offering painting or window cleaning services.

Match your classroom education with real-world practical application by taking advantage of valuable work and internship opportunities. Programs like these are a great way to enhance your skill and experience level without having to comprise your academic or recreational activities.

“Whether you’re striking out on your own or joining an established company, leadership is among the most valuable skills to have,” Valle added. “The people who go through our program have the opportunity for tremendous professional and personal growth that will benefit them now and far into the future.”

 

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About College Pro:  College Pro has helped thousands of young entrepreneurs realize their dream of becoming small business owners over the years, and we have also been a very strong presence in the communities in which we serve, coming together to donate our time and do something good for communities across North America through a variety of local and national initiatives.  Since 2004 alone, our Alternative Spring Break events have taken place in Oklahoma City, Denver, Spokane, Tampa, New Orleans, Nashville, Bend, Pueblo, Louisville, Philadelphia and Kansas City, providing over $1,000,000 in services, equipment and materials.  We strongly believe in partnering with community organizations that strive to improve the communities in which they serve.

How to become a leader among student peers

 

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leadershipStudents attending a university find many new activities to participate in and organizations to get involved with.  For some students, just participating and enjoying the camaraderie is enough, but for those who want to take the bull by the horns and act as leaders or managers, there is no better place to start than in college.  Getting experience as a leader not only looks good on a resume, but also helps you to understand what types of decisions to make in order to better at communicating and motivating others. 

Join

It may seem obvious, but the first step to becoming a leader is to join into a student organization.  Students going to college tend to be inundated with requests to join everything from fraternities to clubs to frisbee teams to debate.  Choose which one or ones you want to join based on several criteria.  Most important, of course, is how much you think you would enjoy the group, but also whether or not it has an active community with strong participation.  Ask recruiters about their current leaders, and if possible talk directly with team captains or club presidents. 

Organizational Hierarchies

Whether you join a chess club or whether you find yourself getting a spot on the football team, spend your first few weeks in an organization determining how the social structure works.  Every group has some sort of leader and many have a pecking order, even if it is a fairly loose one.  Once you have an idea of the hierarchy of a group, play to your strengths.  If you are passionate about a particular idea, whether it is having a school debate or taking a road trip, talk it up.  Do not try to be an expert, and do not try to take the spotlight.  Help empower others if they have ideas they would like to see come to fruition.  Get as many people involved as you can, while doing your best to minimize conflicts.

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