I first joined my church choir about five years ago playing the trumpet. That didn’t work out so well, partly because I’m not very good, and partly because it just didn’t seem to fit in with the rest of the instruments (guitar and piano). I still wanted to remain an integral part of the choir, so I began to sing instead.

When I first started singing, I remember the choir director would always tell me to sing louder. I always got a bit irritated, because I thought I was singing pretty loud. Of course, the reality was that I was only singing as loud as I was comfortable with – which means, loud enough for myself to hear, but maybe not loud enough for everyone else.

One thing I did notice though, was that when other people started singing louder, I didn’t mind singing louder myself - it was if I felt safe knowing that my voice would be blanketed by everyone else’s. It’s quite a common phenomena among new choir members who are afraid of hearing their own voice – singing is good when the leader sings, but singing becomes scary when the leader doesn’t.

As time went by, I became more and more comfortable with my own voice and other people hearing it. Now, I am one of the lead singers in the choir, and also sometimes direct the choir when the normal choir directors aren’t available. And from this position, I myself have seen other choir members dealing with the same experience – wanting to sing, but only when everyone else, particularly the leader, was singing.

This is why leading by example is so important. By being a leader who participates (and not just directs), you make those around you feel more comfortable getting involved. The more you do, the more motivated other people become, and the more comfortable they become doing it. Hopefully, one day, your team will have developed the confidence to begin leading by example on their own.

Sing loudly, and your choir will sing loudly with you.

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Modern day education systems constantly stress the importance of developing leadership skills. Students who have “demonstrated leadership and “initiative” are the ones desired by higher education programs, as obvious through a glance at university admissions booklets and scholarship applications. Yet one of the things I find really weird and rather misleading is how young people are brought up viewing what it means to be a leader.

At least in my experience, while growing up, a strong leader was portrayed as someone who always took initiative in almost every situation; someone who always immediately knew the right thing to do; someone who was able to contribute in every single instance; someone who had charisma and was very vocal with his or her group members. I noticed certain individuals in my school and elsewhere who had those qualities, and so it seemed as if they were natural born leaders.

But I’m nothing like this

I tend to be pretty reserved in general, and I like to think and analyze about situations more than jumping into a decision right away. I don’t always take the initiative – in fact, most of the time, I usually let other people do whatever they want. I’m not and never have been interested in being “the leader” for the sake of being the leader – I have no interest in always directing the action or telling people what to do. I am interested in being a leader and in driving projects I have a vested interest in.

Was this bad? Could I still be a “leader”?

As someone who was in several leadership positions during high school, I felt as if I wasn’t doing as good a job as I could be. And so I experimented in different group activities. I tried being the outspoken, take action kind of leader in random situations, and while I initially felt a sense of accomplishment, it didn’t feel right. I wasn’t happy because it felt “forced”.

So I stopped, and I just continued leading in a way that felt right for me. I have always been more laid back in general. I like standing back and looking at entire situations as a whole. I like taking my time. I also like communication – I like hearing everyone’s ideas and facilitating discussion to find the best possible solution. I don’t think a fast solution is necessarily the best solution.

I also dislike negativity and cynicism – people don’t realize how much negativity reduces productivity, but it does. I’ve been in enough group situations to know that, so I always try to get everyone involved in a positive manner. When it comes to my personal leadership style, I believe that everyone involved should be encouraged to step up and lead when it’s right for them to do so (i.e. when the situation meets their leadership talents).

So I’m “Blue”

After being a recipient of the 2006 TD Canada Trust Scholarship for Community Leadership, I joined the other new recipients for a few days in Toronto to celebrate and network with each other. Prior to the event, all of the recipients were asked to take an online survey which would analyze our leadership styles, and provide advice on how we can improve both our effectiveness as leaders, as well as help those we work with understand us better.

Each person ended up being labelled with an overall colour type. Reds were individuals who were the “take action” or “director” types. Yellows tend to work on inspiring and motivating others to action. Greens are usually individuals who use their leadership skills to offer help and support. Blues were people who preferred to sit back and observe situations. Of course, everyone had a varying degree of each of the colour types in their profile, but everyone tended to be more of one type than the rest.

Out of the 20 recipients there, I was the only one who was primarily a Blue. It’s not like I was surprised to be a Blue – I kind of figured that’s what I was going to be once the workshop presenter told us about the different colour types. But I guess I was a bit surprised when I found out no one else was a Blue.

But the fact of the matter was that at least for this leadership profile survey, the Blue “Observer” type was a legitimate leadership style, even if it wasn’t in the majority.

There is No “Right” Leadership Style

Like with many things in life, there is often no one “right” way to do things. We are all unique in many ways, and as such, we all tend to have different styles when it comes to certain activities. Leadership is no different.

Up to this point in my life, I have met many individuals with different leadership styles, and have come to realize that they are all successful in their own ways. Some of the most successful leaders that I have met are not the most vocal, some of them are, and some are in between. The same goes for many “recognized” leadership qualities.

I sort of see leadership styles as an extension of our personalities. I tend to be a more observant, thoughtful, introverted type of person, and it shows in my leadership style. It works for me, and while there are situations where being able to adapt a bit is important, I see no reason to change my overall style.

Realize that you have your own leadership style, and it’s not right or wrong – it’s just yours. Despite what some people might think, I believe that everyone has different leadership qualities, and some just tend to be more recognized than others – it doesn’t remove the fact that those qualities are there. You just need to be willing to accept your own sense of leadership for what it is.

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When I was fifteen, I made a decision that would completely change my life. Inspired by a Report Card on Child Poverty in Toronto, my brother and I decided to start a youth group in our school to tackle child poverty in city. I had never been in a “leadership role” before, so to say that I learned a lot, would be quite the understatement.

That being said, being inexperienced and never having even been in a school club before, we made a lot of mistakes. But that’s okay, because there’s nothing as educational as learning by doing – and that involves making mistakes.

Now I know there are a lot of students out there who might have an idea or an issue important to them, and want to start a youth group or school club, but just don’t know where to start. Hopefully I can help you with that.

What follows is a basic, step-by-step guide to help you set up your own youth group or school club. Hopefully, with this guide, and a bit of passion and confidence, you too can turn your idea or passion into something amazing.

Step 1: Identify an Issue You are Passionate About

Whether it’s the environment, animal rights or global poverty, the basis for starting a youth group is having an objective. The passion you have about a specific issue is what will drive the group forward, and is the most important aspect of the group. Without passion and drive, the group will not progress and goals cannot be identified and achieved. Finding that passion inside of you is perhaps the most important thing.

Everyone is passionate about different things. In fact, you might not even know what your passion is at the moment. But for many people, discovering their passion comes at a defining moment in their lives. On any random day there might be something that moves you – this is the spark that will drive you forward to starting a youth group.

Step 2: Research the Issue

Before you can begin saving the world, you need to learn more about your issue. For example, if you want to help end poverty, you need to understand poverty and the factors that cause and affect it. Why does poverty exist? What factors regulate poverty? What is being done today to address it?

In today’s online-driven world, the Internet is a huge information resource. As you learn more, write down the information that you believe is important – this is the information you will use to help other people understand your cause, and the information that will inspire your peers and the public to believe in your vision.

Step 3: Getting Adult Support for Your Group

Assuming you are starting a social justice group in your school, you will need a teacher supervisor to help facilitate the group. The teacher supervisor helps keep the group under control, as well as provides guidance and mentorship for the group.

A staff advisor can be invaluable, especially when dealing with the school administration or outside contacts. Furthermore, the teacher supervisor helps provide an alternate perspective on issues, such as the adult, school staff, or overall school perspective The teacher supervisor also helps make your group an official club in the school, providing credibility to the work you are doing.

Step 4: Hold Your First Meeting to Attract Members

What is a group without members? To gain your initial group of members, you’ll need to call your first meeting. This is arguably the most important step so far. First impressions are important, and you will want to hold a first meeting that is informative, inspiring and engaging – remember, you want your peers to believe in your vision and your cause, and join your group!

Holding your first meeting, especially if you have no previous experience doing such things, can be a daunting task. That’s okay, it’s difficult the first time for anyone, but your passion will carry you through.

Meet with your teacher supervisor to select a good location and time to hold your first meeting. In schools, this is most commonly done in an empty classroom at lunch or after school, when students are free.

When you have a date, time and location selected, you will need to announce it to the school. This is usually done through both verbal and written morning announcements so the school hears about it. Some other good ideas are putting up posters and spreading news via word of mouth – do whatever works in your school to spread the word. Remember, you want to get youth of all ages involved!

During your first meeting, you will want to do the following things:

1. Introduce your peers to the issue you are passionate about.
2. Inform your peers about the issue, via a speech, slideshow presentation, skit, etc. Be creative and engaging. Remember, you want your peers to believe in you and your vision!
3. Inspire your fellow students to get involved – share your story, and what made you want to get involved in this issue. Be passionate! You need your passion to inspire your peers.
4. Share your vision for where you see the group going and what you want to accomplish.
5. Open the floor for discussion among your peers – it’s important to know what they think too!
6. At the end of the meeting, hopefully you will have inspired a number of those who showed up to get involved, and you can start your group! Prepare some sign up sheets for the students so you can keep track of your members’ names, phone numbers, emails, etc.
7. Set the date and time for your next meeting, so you can get cracking!

Step 5: Develop an Organizational Structure

As an organized group of young people who want to achieve great things, you need structure. Any group without strong leadership is destined to go nowhere. Leaders are the visionaries, action takers and motivators that drive the group forward. Without them, often nothing happens and there is no progress. As such, it is important that leadership exists within your group, and that it is well organized. There are several ways to go about this:

1. Have 1 or 2 main leaders: These 1 or 2 leaders are sort of the “directors” who run the meetings, motivate the group, organize the events, etc. The advantage of this type of group is that it removes any type of controversy associated with hierarchies within a group.
2. Have a Committee-Type Structure: This involves having roles like President, Vice President, Secretary, External Affairs, Treasurer, etc. The advantage to this type of structure is that it gives more people responsibility and obligations, thus creating a strong “core” for the group.

Whether you choose one of these structures, or a combination of them – discuss it with your team, and do what you feel is best! All types of leadership have their own merits.

Step 6: Have Regular Group Meetings

Your youth group should meet on a regular basis. The easiest way is to do it at the same place and time on a regular basis (e.g. weekly, biweekly, etc.). If your group is based at school, this is even easier. The best way for a school group to operate is to meet every week at lunch or after school in the same room.

Before each meeting, the group’s leaders should come up with the Agenda for that meeting – that is, the things that need to be discuss and planned for your upcoming campaigns and events.

These meetings should be run by your group leaders, who are sort of the “chairpersons” for the meeting. They bring up each new item on the Agenda, and help facilitate group discussion. A “Minute-Taker” should be designated to write down these notes, or “minutes” of the meeting, so that they can be recorded. A good idea would be to send a copy of these notes to everyone by email, in case someone couldn’t make the meeting!

Step 7: Get Cracking!

Now that your group is all set up, it is time to start running different projects, campaigns and events!

However, before you get started on those projects, here is some useful advice. Although you may have some designated roles in your group (e.g. group leaders, President, Treasurer, etc.), a good idea would be to occasionally let other members (especially the younger ones) gain some leadership experience. For example, each event you run could be organized by a different person – this way, lots of people get the chance to develop their leadership skills!

Furthermore, a good idea is to have the tasks of each event to be divided into committees. For example, you might require a Promotions Committee to make posters, announcements, etc. for your event. Each of these committees should have a “Committee Leader” who reports back to the overall committee leader. Breaking up your event into committees and creating more of a core organizing committee (rather than having just one organizer) makes things much easier and gets more individuals actively involved.

Step 8: After Each Project or Event, Take Time to Review

It is important to always step back and review how things are going every so often. A great time to do this is at the end of every event or project your group completes. Each of these events is a great learning experience, and you gain even more by stopping to reflect on how it went, and how it could have been done better.

Step 9: Think About the Future: Succession

You aren’t going to be able to help lead or be involved with your youth group forever. Every year, some turnover is going to happen. At some point or another, turnovers are going to involve everybody: leaders, members, and staff support.

It is important before the end of every school year that you have decided who will be facilitating the youth group for the following year. This is one reason why it is often a good idea to have both older and younger students involved in leadership roles in your group – so that even when some of the leaders graduate, there are always younger leaders ready to take their place.

But above all, perhaps the best piece advice I can give is to dive right in. Try things out. Take chances. Make mistakes – then learn from them. Just go for it!

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