Adapted from Missouri 4-H’s “Letters to New Leaders” series. They are originally posted at these links: Letter 1 (PDF), Letter 2 (PDF), Letter 3 (PDF), Letter 4 (PDF), Letter 5 (PDF), Letter 6 (PDF).

Developing Leadership Skills in 4-H Members

A wise teacher once noted that if children aren’t interested, you can’t teach them, but if they are interested, you can’t keep them from learning. You might not see yourself as a teacher, but every 4-H leader is!

Through you and other volunteers, 4-H members learn skills in their project areas. Because of their individual and group experiences, they develop life skills and character traits, including positive self-image, sound decision making, effective communication, responsibility, teamwork, and cooperation. They learn these skills through the personal relationships they form with fellow 4-H members and the caring adults helping to guide their club.

Experiential Learning

Learning experiences in 4-H build on young people’s natural curiosity through the relationships youth gain with caring adults. This begins when leaders work toward Building the Youth-Adult Partnership. Since youth learn by doing, your role is to provide fun, hands-on opportunities for learning and for engaging with 4-H volunteers.

The 4-H program encourages this learning-by-doing approach to teaching, but sometimes, it isn’t practical or even safe for all youth to experience something directly – for example, working with large animals is against WSU’s policy for Cloverbuds. In these cases, volunteers should use simulations, games, demonstrations or models to allow youth to be as hands-on as possible. Avoid telling youth to sit quietly to read as a primary method of instruction.

4-H curriculum guides are excellent resources for hands-on activities youth can use to learn about their project areas. These can be found on Shop 4-H. To make navigating this vast library of resources easier, several common resources are categorized by subjects on our Projects and Programs page.

Age-Appropriate Learning and Developmental Stages

Each age group has its own characteristics and different developmental needs. These stages of development will affect learning and it is important to keep in mind these differences when working with various age groups in your 4-H club. One teaching style may not work across all age groups!

While not all children develop at the same rate, being aware of the general characteristics of these age groups and developmental stages will help you be a more effective volunteer leader. Please visit our page on the Ages and Stages of 4-H Youth Development for more information on the general traits of youth at different developmental stages.

Specific Encouragement vs Blanket Praise

All people thrive in supportive environments, so creating 4-H programs where leaders demonstrate warmth and appreciation for youth and their accomplishments is bound to attract and keep kids and their families engaged. In addition to a warm emotional climate, positive feedback and praise can go a long way when it is delivered in an authentic manner and youth feel their achievements are seen and appreciated.

If possible, avoid ongoing “blanket praise” with youth. Blanket praise includes phrases like “good job” or “nice work” that don’t highlight what was actually noticed. A youth might not know why they are being given the compliment or they might think the adult isn’t paying attention and is just saying a general cliche to be nice. Instead, use specific feedback that helps youth understand what was noticed. As an example, “I really appreciate how you helped our Cloverbuds participate in the activity today – great leadership skills!” or “I noticed you did a lot of work on your project plan today. It was great to see you think through all your steps so thoroughly!”

Leadership Styles

A volunteer’s leadership style will influence the atmosphere of the club meeting. Great 4-H leaders use different styles, depending on the situation and need.

Building Youth Voice

4-H is built on the concept that youth should have a voice in their clubs, communities, countries, and world, and that this is possible with the support of caring adult volunteers and program staff. Youth voice happens at many levels within the 4-H program, from the club to state-level committees and events.

• Youth can lead and mentor other young people.
• Youth can share control and decision making with adult volunteers and 4-H staff.
• Youth can be given opportunities to make decisions about their activities and how they go about them.

There are four key pieces to youth engagement and youth voice: support, opportunities, space, and resources.

Principles of Youth Voice

• Respect: if you give it, you’ll receive it! Ask challenging questions, listen, and avoid age-based stereotypes and assumptions.
• Communication: Listen up! Young people are best heard when adults step back; adults are best heard when they’re straightforward and explain where they are coming from.
• Meaningful involvement: Count us in! Young people, like anyone else, needs to be involved in work and projects that are meaningful to them, not just busywork.

Reframing Conflict

There are many reasons youth act out. One important thing to remember is that behavior is communication. Youth may be looking for attention or they may be uncomfortable. They may be afraid of failure or an activity might not capture their imagination or interests. Leaders need to help young people understand what is at the core of their behavior and, if possible, to work with them to come up with a less-disruptive way to have their needs met. When youth and adults work together, youth are more likely to find their own solutions and to develop positive conflict resolution skills.

Evaluating Activities and Meetings

Every so often, and after special activities, it is important to pause and reflect on what went well or what learning opportunities arose for planning future activities and meetings. Reflect on both positive and negative experiences and talk through how what was learned can be used to plan successful meetings and activities in the future.

If something seemed well planned, highlight what youth will want to repeat the next time they plan something. If something didn’t go well, what could have been done to prevent problems or how could their planning be adapted to work better in the future? Did everyone participate and learn from an event, meeting, or activity? Was there any participant feedback to consider? Remember – failure is a learning experience! Don’t be afraid to find the positives in things that didn’t go well or to encourage youth to grow from difficult situations.

With the support of adult volunteers, even an activity that seems like a flop can have a golden opportunity underneath, just waiting for youth to discover for future success.

Quality Matters in 4-H: A Checklist for Volunteers

• I know how to provide a safe physical and emotional youth program environment
• I know how to provide a warm welcome to all youth, free of bias or exclusionary behavior
• I know the physical safety safeguards I should put in place at all 4-H events
• I know best practice strategies for helping youth reframe conflict if needed
• I know how to support youth engagement with materials and abstract ideas
• I allow youth officers the opportunity to maintain control of at least 50 percent of club meetings
• I know how to support youth interaction through multiple planning techniques
• I know how to provide all youth with specific encouragement rather than blanket praise
• I know how to support youth decision-making in content and process choices
• I know how to create opportunities for all youth to serve in a leadership role in some capacity
• I know how to create opportunities for all youth to express ideas with others
• I know how to provide all youth with opportunities to reflect and evaluate activity and club experiences