Leadership Through a Youth Lens: Understanding Youth Conceptualizations of Leadership

There is agreement in the literature that we need to develop more youth leaders. Research has focused on the outcomes of youth leadership programs that typically use adult theories to guide program activities. Little formative work has been done to assess whether adult theories actually map onto youth definitions of leadership. Therefore, a critical first step toward developing more youth leaders is understanding how youth define leadership (Dempster & Lizzio, ). This study sought to understand leadership from a youth perspective. Using qualitative methods, 5 ideas emerged in the youths’ narratives: leadership is available to anyone in any context and involves creating change, collective action, modeling and mentoring, and strong character. This suggests youth share some views with adults but also have unique perspectives. We describe how youth talk about leadership and compare this to adult theories in an effort to advance our understanding of leadership through a youth lens.