Youth – Program Content

The Institute’s Youth Leadership Development Program focuses on:

• Creating a personal mission statement:
• Demonstration of ability to articulate personal values and guiding principles;
• Enhancing leadership capability:
• Demonstrate distinctions between adversarial, transactional, & collaborative leadership styles and the key mindsets and skillsets for collaborative leadership;
• Improving innovation and changing thinking patterns:
• Demonstration of critical thinking and creative inquiry during problem solving;
• Increasing economic and social benefits:
• Demonstration of value-creation through action, planning, communications, teamwork;
• Integrating diverse cultures and thinking into a collaborative team-based framework:
• Demonstration of use of differences in thinking and skill sets to generate breakthrough learning and positive adversity response through trust-based leadership principles;
• Producing high impact Leadership outcomes in groups and in personal interaction:
• Demonstration of trust-based thinking and skills through a high action, outcome-based interactive community-based game (either a standard set of game scenarios and simulations, or a computer-based interactive game);

• To assist in the creation and adoption of a personal mission statement with guiding principles and core values.
• To provide modeling, key principles, and a support system to rebound successfully from adversity.
• To enable youth to turn every event into a learning experience, develop an inner wisdom, use learning as the foundation of collaborative innovation, and turn breakdowns into breakthroughs.
• To utilize the strategies, principles, and tools to effectively assess the level of trust in their environment, build trust with their peer groups, and to build a support team around them they can trust in difficult times.
• To excite and direct students to accept their role as Collaborative Leader
• To exceed each student’s expectations after 5 days of training, simulation, and game interaction
• To engage the student in the development of a lifelong learning process through connection with alumni of the program (eventually around the world)
• To energize and engage with peers and like-minded community to continue their personal and team development.

We are aiming to deliver a world-class Youth Leadership development program. To ensure program effectiveness and continuous improvement, we expect to engage in a five year study to test and gather data on these key factors:

• Impact on At Risk students (those with highest likelihood for future difficulties)
• Preconditions for Success (what needs to be in place to enhance immediate success)
• Follow-up Support for Success (what support conditions will enhance long-term success)
• Impact on Future Life Experience (in college, work, or parenting)
• Most Effective Training Methodology (what techniques are most impactful to what populations)

We have enlisted the Institute of Applied Research in Youth Development at Tufts University to be our research partner to assist in program development, program delivery, and program effectiveness.