Leadership is a simple word. A 10-letter word containing three syllables. A word we commonly use for those who go above and beyond to bring goodness to people. 

Our world has had many great leaders, but even great leaders didn’t get to the pinnacle by themselves. Take Michel Jordan, Tom Osborne, or Warren Buffet. They all had mentors in their life to help them grow into a person who brought extraordinary outcomes in their professional lives. 

The word leadership and Nebraska communities seemingly go hand and hand. Nebraskans are known for our strong drive, cohesiveness, and philanthropic mindset to help others. As we discuss leadership of the next generation, we commonly hear, “Our youth are the future.” The obvious response is, “Yes.”

But dive deeper into the phrase, “Our youth are the future,” and what are we actively doing to prepare them? Are they in a unique position of being mentored as well as mentoring others? Are we teaching them proper life skills, intrapersonal skills, money management, professional development and morals? Are there leaders in their life facilitating development for our local community to lead us into 2030, 2040, 2050 and beyond? 

If we are honest with ourselves, we are failing our youth to reach their full potential in many ways. Oftentimes we fail them not because the youth aren’t talented or capable of learning. Rather, it is due to us not having the trust that our young people are capable. We scrutinize so closely; we don’t let them make mistakes; or we, as adults, claim to always know what is best. Based solely on the year we were born, we are quick to utilize an age barrier and say, “There is no way they could know more or know better than me.” 

But to build a healthy community, we have to start at the foundation. When we say, “Our youth is the future,” we must acknowledge that our young people are the foundation of the future. So, how can we help foster a strong foundation of the future? 

I challenge each of us to consider ways to lift up our youth. It truly is up to each and every one of us. Not coincidentally, this is the slogan of McCook Community Foundation Fund’s youth group, Youth Change Reaction (YCR). YCR believes that it is up to each and every one of us to make our community a better place to call McCook home. 

It is up to us as leaders to build our youth through:

Connecting youth to adult leaders

Whether at the city council, on a board such as the YMCA or various leadership groups, we must allow them to have a seat at the table. We can learn from them just as much as they learn from us.

Grant opportunities for professional development

We need to create internship experiences that offer education and build skills, not just extract grunt labor. 

Teach life lessons 

We all need to learn that failing is OK sometimes. Failure promotes a development of understanding and we can learn more from our mistakes than our achievements.

Networking in a small community 

We need to share the opportunities in our community with our youth, we need to utilize and showcase their talents and we need to get them involved at every level. How? Take them to lunch to share information, but more importantly - to listen.

Build relationships 

It all comes down to relationships. We need to mentor our youth and we need to let our youth mentor us. 

Leadership is a simple word, but nurturing and creating strong leaders is much more complex. If we want a growing and thriving community in 2050 and beyond, we must develop our young people into our leaders of the future. We need to bring them to the table to learn - now. We need them to provide their insight - now. We need them to be part of making McCook an even better place to call home - now.