How to Explain Leadership to Your 5-Year-Old

Kids are curious. They always have questions and adults have to provide answers. We cannot anticipate all the questions they would ask. But we know that they would eventually ask you about leadership. Because children will always ask questions about concepts that they don’t understand. Leadership is one such concept. You’ve done a great job of exposing them to wonderful materials. So when that day comes, here is a quick way to explain leadership to your kid. (Let’s say your kid’s name is Abigail.) 

1. First, do not tell her what the dictionary says.

The dictionary defines leadership as the ability of an individual, group, or organization to "lead", influence, or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations.

A bit confusing, right? To rephrase it and add a personal touch to it, you can say this to her:  

“Abigail, leadership is simply helping people do the right things. Through leadership,  Abigail will help and show her classmates how to do the right thing. If they don’t know how to do it, Abigail will teach them. But if they know how to do it, Abigail will guide them on how, why, and when they should do it. When Abigail does this, she has become a leader.”

You can go further with your explanation. 

2. Tell her about the two kinds of leaders.

“Abigail, there are good leaders and bad leaders. If you lead your classmates to do the right thing, you are a good leader. If you lead your classmates to do the wrong thing, you are a bad leader. Good leaders are rewarded, while bad leaders are punished. So Abigail, work hard to be a good leader.”

At this point, Abigail will ask how she can become a good leader. This is where you…

 

3. Tell her about the qualities of a (good) leader.

Abigail, to become a good leader, there are three important things you need to do:

1. Find the solution to a problem

2. Teach others how to solve that problem

3. Encourage others to solve that problem

For example, if Abigail has been made the head of a class project, what will Abigail do as a good leader? 

You will find the solution, which is to understand the class project. There is a guide for the class project. You will read it and understand it. But only you cannot do the class project. That is when you have to do the next thing. 

You will call your classmates and explain to them the requirement of the class project. Divide the responsibilities and assign a task to every member of the group. 

After demonstrating how the class project should be done, you make sure that everyone does their part to complete the class project. 

When you do this, and the group project is completed and submitted, we can say that Abigail is a good leader. Why is Abigail a good leader? 

1. She identified the solution to a group project

2. She explained the project to her group members and shared tasks with everyone. 

3. She encouraged them to solve the class project. 

You can take this illustration and multiply them into all the examples you can. You can also register your kids at DABA Kids school when you visit our website