Leadership among teenagers is the topic of Jeff Zillgitt’s “Sam Presti’s (2016) article “Program Helping Students Be Better Leaders”. Zillgitt describes the nature of the leadership program, as well as the objectives of shaping new leaders for the next generation. The article focuses on Oklahoma City Thunder general manager, Sam Presti, who implements a leadership program among students, in order to transform shy youngsters into future leaders of their generation.
In Presti’s vision, leadership abilities need to be ignited and developed, and a special program, “Presti’s Forward Thinking Leadership Development Program” dedicated to forming leadership skills among 60 sophomore students answers this goal. Presti’s 2016 program centers not on athletes or debate team members, who manifest extrovert personalities. The program focuses on the shy and introverted youngsters, giving them the opportunity to explore their leadership potential, providing the proper context to do so.
The leadership approach that Presti takes is to allow high school students to understand how their soft skills, such active listening, unconditioned support and help when it is needed or the expression of their feelings accurately can prepare them for taking on future careers (Zillgitt, 2016). In this sense, the leadership program starts with theoretical, PowerPoint presentations that permit students to exert their creativity by encouraging them to freely speak their feelings or opinions about the topics discussed.
The success of Presti’s leadership program is confirmed within the article, by referring to former students who previously participated in this program, such as the welder Israel Tello, who intends to re-start school, in order to further explore his potential (Zillgitt, 2016). These types of stories indicate how leadership programs destined to less extroverted individuals, but to youngsters who do not stand out from the crowd, can transform shy students into committed adults, actively involved in their communities.
The article talks about the difference between nature and nurture. While the genetic information are important for highlighting leadership skills and abilities, the environment wherein they develop is also essential. This implies that the shy students, who do not exhibit exceptional leadership traits such as the ones who participate in debate teams do, have the potential of developing leadership skills and abilities in the proper environment. It could also imply that their natural inclinations towards leadership were not sufficiently trained, but were paralyzed due to inactivity. By nurturing leadership, Presti invests in community, transforming average students into strong individuals, who can further inspire and lead others. Presti’s program is meant to encourage diversity, by enhancing students with fewer opportunities to enrich their lives. In this sense, the program highlights leadership values that foster students self – confidence, by determining them to critically analyze their actions and behaviors, for attaining life goals.
Presti’s goal in developing this leadership program was to invest in society, enriching its potential of developing through sound leaders, who exist throughout its structures, from a welder or a mechanical to a health care professional. Leadership not only helps students to face greater challenges and better cope with difficulties, but it also contributes to forming a stronger generation of actively involved individuals that enhances the sense of community.
Zillgitt’s article delineates an educational program that prepares students for their future, strengthening skills that they will require in their academic and professional development. Presti’s program demonstrates that in the proper context, everybody can overpass themselves and become better at what they do, enriching their lives, as well as the wellbeing of their communities through leadership skills.
References
Zillgitt, J. (2016) Sam Presti’s program helping students be better leaders. Retrieved from http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/playoffs/2016/05/25/sam-presti-thunder-schools/84932226/.
