“When it comes to leadership,” writes Mariam MacGregor in Leadership Is a Life Skill, “everyone has the potential to ‘go pro.’” This month, Free Spirit wants to help you and your students grow your leadership skills. From building self-awareness to engaging with and encouraging others to improving problem-solving and decision-making skills, leadership is something everyone can achieve.

In this month’s excerpts, we share expert advice from three of our leadership titles. You’ll find:

Read excerpts here.

Below we’re also shining a spotlight on Tell Me More In a Jar ^®. Leave teeth-pulling to the dentist and encourage more meaningful conversations with these out-of-the-ordinary prompts and questions.

Also included below is the Group Leader EQ Survey, a free download from Boost Emotional Intelligence in Students by Maurice J. Elias, Ph.D., and Steven E. Tobias, Psy.D. This survey helps you build awareness of your own strengths and challenges as you prepare to lead lessons on emotional intelligence.

“ Leadership Is a Life Skill provides characteristics of leadership cultures, offers an understanding of what soft skills employers are looking for in their hires, and shares how to create effective leaders in our students. Skills such as self-awareness, working with others, communicating and listening, decision-making, and problem-solving, when taught to students as young as elementary school, will only enhance their abilities by the time they go to college and prepare for their future careers. 

As MacGregor so eloquently states, ‘Developing socially and emotionally mature leaders relies on encouraging young people to act with conviction, compassion, and resourcefulness to reach goals. These benchmarks are measured by students’ abilities to color outside the bubbles, not fill them in!’ As educators at all levels within preK–16, we all must take to task our responsibilities to prepare our future leaders.”— School Administrator magazine