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# Growing Leaders powered by Maxwell Leadership Foundation: At Growing Leaders, we believe every student has the potential to lead—and the world needs their leadership now more than ever. Powered by the Maxwell Leadership Foundation, we partner with schools, districts, and organizations to develop young people into confident, values-driven leaders who are ready for life beyond the classroom.  Our proven programs are built on research, real-life application, and time-tested leadership principles. From peer-led lessons to interactive experiences, Growing Leaders equips the next generation with the mindset and skill set to lead themselves and positively influence others.  For over two decades, we’ve served millions of students worldwide through our innovative curriculum, educator training, and strategic partnerships. Whether you’re an educator, administrator, or advocate for youth, Growing Leaders provides the tools to shape character, build resilience, and spark transformation—in schools, in communities, and around the world.  We don’t just teach leadership. We grow it.

## Sitemaps
[XML Sitemap](https://growingleaders.com/sitemap_index.xml): Includes all crawlable and indexable pages.

## Posts
- [Preparing Students for Life Beyond Graduation Without Adding Another Initiative](https://growingleaders.com/preparing-students-for-life-beyond-graduation-without-adding-another-initiative/): Schools today are stretched thin. Teachers juggle curriculum demands, testing requirements, behavior challenges, parent communication, and limited time. Administrators are navigating staffing shortages, accountability metrics, and increasing expectations from every direction. So when someone says, “We need to better prepare students for life after graduation,” the instinctive response is: With what time? And with what program? The good news is this: preparing students for life doesn’t mean adding another initiative. It calls on us to adopt a different way of applying and utilizing what we are already doing. The goal is not to fill all the holes. The goal is to align.
- [The Quiet Power of Consistency in a Student’s Life](https://growingleaders.com/the-quiet-power-of-consistency-in-a-students-life/): How Consistency in the Life Of A Student Can Help With Your Education, That is. But Great Gestures Just Don’t Have That Same Effect: The Presence of a Predictable Leader is as Important as the Gestures of a Calm Presence.
- [Why the Next Generation Needs Fewer Programs and Stronger Frameworks](https://growingleaders.com/why-the-next-generation-needs-fewer-programs-and-stronger-frameworks/): Schools and youth organizations today are overflowing with initiatives. Every year brings a new program promising to solve a pressing challenge — mental health, bullying, leadership, character, resilience, digital citizenship. The intentions are good. The needs are real.
- [What Your Child Is Really Learning From How You Respond to Stress](https://growingleaders.com/what-your-child-is-really-learning-from-how-you-respond-to-stress/): Stress, big or small, is part of life. But how you manage stress as a parent teaches your child far more than any intentional lesson you could plan. Kids are always watching, always observing, always learning. What they learn from your stress responses shapes their emotional world, their understanding of relationships, and even the adults they will become.In this post, we’ll explore what your child is really learning when you respond to stress, how these lessons show up in their behavior, and practical steps you can take toward healthier family dynamics.
- [Building a Common Language for Student Leadership Across Systems](https://growingleaders.com/building-a-common-language-for-student-leadership-across-systems/): Student leadership development is a priority for many schools, districts, and youth-serving organizations. But when systems operate independently — each using different terminology, frameworks, and expectations — the result is fragmentation instead of momentum.
- [No Pressure Raised to Raise Leaders](https://growingleaders.com/no-pressure-raised-to-raise-leaders/): In today’s achievement-driven culture, many parents and educators are in a tight spot. We want young people to lead. We want them to be responsible and resilient and confident. We want them to find out how much they are capable of. But somewhere along the way, leadership development has gotten tangled with pressure.
- [What Schools Gain When Leadership Is Taught as Behavior, Not Position](https://growingleaders.com/what-schools-gain-when-leadership-is-taught-as-behavior-not-position/): When schools limit leadership to titles — class president, team captain, club officer — they unintentionally limit leadership opportunities to a small group of students.
- [Preparing Students to Lead in an Uncertain World](https://growingleaders.com/preparing-students-to-lead-in-an-uncertain-world/): Students are being prepared to lead in an uncertain world. The world in which students are growing up today couldn’t be more dissimilar from the one in which they were educated by their parents or teachers. The rapid pace of technological change, the global challenges we face, the altering careers we pursue, and the constant availability of information suggest that something is always happening — sometimes unexpectedly, sometimes very fast. But within that uncertainty lies a remarkable opportunity: teaching students not just to endure change, but to lead through it.Leadership is not held by all, nor is it restricted to those in positions of power. Today’s leadership is about influence, responsibility, and the ability to respond boldly and courageously when the fog is still not clear. If we want our students to succeed, we must be intentional about educating them in mindset, skills, and character so that they can lead with confidence in uncertain times.
- [How Values-Based Leadership Strengthens School Culture at Scale](https://growingleaders.com/how-values-based-leadership-strengthens-school-culture-at-scale/): In the complex educational landscape of today, school leaders can’t just do it by raising test scores. They create the culture in which teacher effectiveness, student engagement, and community trust are all the more important. It is only through values-based leadership — deliberate, purposeful leadership based on shared values and beliefs that inform and guide every action, interaction, initiative etc. – that we can build and sustain a thriving school culture. When applied at a large level, values-based leadership becomes the foundation for a school system that is resilient, equitable, and oriented to a purpose.
- [Leadership Development as a Public Good: Why It Belongs at the Center for Education Policy](https://growingleaders.com/leadership-development-as-a-public-good-why-it-belongs-at-the-center-for-education-policy/): We generally refer to roads, healthcare systems, and public safety when we talk about public goods; it’s the shared structures that make society work. But one of the most potent public goods that is frequently neglected is the development of leadership capacity among young people.Leadership education is not all about titles, popularity, or student government. More than anything, it’s character building, responsibility training, empathy-building, problem-solving skills, and ultimately positive influence over others. These skills are not “soft” — they are bedrock. They lay the foundation for how future citizens will engage in democracy, contribute to their community, and succeed in the workforce.For policymakers, this is far from a philosophical argument. It is practical. Societies flourish when citizens can act across differences, take initiative, communicate effectively, and make moral judgments. These qualities can't just happen. They are intentionally designed — and schools are the fairest place to do so at scale.
- [Questions That Help Kids Open Up Without Feeling Interrogated](https://growingleaders.com/questions-that-help-kids-open-up-without-feeling-interrogated/): How simple car-ride conversations can build trust, confidence, and deeper connection
- [Why Leadership Development Starts at the Dinner Table](https://growingleaders.com/why-leadership-development-starts-at-the-dinner-table/): Leadership development does not start in the boardroom, classroom, or corner office. It starts at home — often with something so simple and ordinary as the dinner table. Long before young people lead teams, projects, or communities, they are learning the skills of listening, speaking up, taking responsibility, and caring about others. And these foundational leadership skills are established in daily family rhythms — including through shared meals, where small, powerful conversations, connections, and character build each other. Dining at the dinner table may not resemble a learning ground for leadership but can be one of the most influential places to develop confident, responsible, and values-based future leaders.
- [Teaching Leadership Without Adding “One More Thing” to Your Plate](https://growingleaders.com/teaching-leadership-without-adding-one-more-thing-to-your-plate/): We’ve all heard the collective sigh in the teacher’s lounge or the management meeting when a new "initiative" is announced. Whether you are an educator, a parent, or a corporate manager, the sentiment is the same: “My plate is already full. I don’t have time to teach leadership on top of everything else.”It’s a valid concern. We are living in an era of "initiative fatigue." However, the mistake we often make is viewing leadership as a separate subject—a textbook to be opened or a seminar to be scheduled. In reality, leadership isn’t a content block; it’s a contextual habit.By shifting our perspective, we can embed leadership development into the cracks of our existing routines, turning everyday interactions into masterclasses in influence and character.
- [The Leadership Moments Students See Long Before We Do](https://growingleaders.com/the-leadership-moments-students-see-long-before-we-do/): Leadership isn’t always loud. Indeed, some of the most powerful early leadership moments in schools occur quietly and without fanfare — long before adults are conscious of it. Principals and teachers view leadership as huge statements or formal committees; students are witnessing something much deeper, and it’s the way leaders show up every day. Studying these quiet, weighty moments can have a game-changing impact on how educators lead, and how students learn to lead.
- [The Hidden Cost of Ignoring Soft Skills in Student Readiness](https://growingleaders.com/the-hidden-cost-of-ignoring-soft-skills-in-student-readiness/): We have always measured readiness through grades, test scores and academic standards. Yes, these indicators matter, but they speak only part of the story. Underneath is a quieter, more powerful set of competencies that influence how students learn, behave and eventually succeed in life: soft skills.
- [Why Student Leadership Is a Culture Strategy, Not an Enrichment Program](https://growingleaders.com/why-student-leadership-is-a-culture-strategy-not-an-enrichment-program/): Student leadership is not something bolted on. It is a culture strategy.
- [What Student Readiness Looks Like Beyond Academic Metrics](https://growingleaders.com/what-student-readiness-looks-like-beyond-academic-metrics/): In discussions of modern education, “student readiness” is too frequently squeezed into an overly constricted box of test scores, grades, and graduation requirements. Academic metrics can still be useful, but they tell only part of the story. Today's students require a broader range of skills that will keep them competitive. Real readiness is so much more than being ready to sit with standardized testing and have a solid grasp of your academic subjects — it encompasses leadership, resilience under duress, and relationship competencies needed to be prepared for adult success, in life and in society. To know what readiness actually looks like, teachers, parents, and societies need to reconsider our frameworks. Instead of centering on what students already know, it becomes the real problem: What students are able to do with what they know—and how they come to be as human beings in complex and sometimes challenging environments?
- [How Small Daily Conversations Shape a Child’s Sense of Purpose](https://growingleaders.com/how-small-daily-conversations-shape-a-childs-sense-of-purpose/): When we imagine what it might be like to shape a child’s future, milestone moments are often what come to mind — graduation, an award, a big achievement. But those large, high-definition, attention-grabbing events rarely develop a child’s sense of purpose. It actually grows in quiet, everyday conversations that happen on a routine basis.
- [What Students Learn About Leadership From How We Handle Mistakes](https://growingleaders.com/what-students-learn-about-leadership-from-how-we-handle-mistakes-2/): Mistakes are a fact of life in school. Assignments get missed. Emotions run high. Plans fall apart. Technology fails five minutes before a presentation. Though these moments can seem clunky and exhausting, they can teach extraordinary leadership lessons — not from a mistake, but from how adults react to it.
- [Why Classroom Culture Is Built Between Lessons, Not During Them](https://growingleaders.com/why-classroom-culture-is-built-between-lessons-not-during-them/): When people picture classroom culture, they often imagine lessons in full swing — a teacher leading discussion, students raising hands, learning objectives posted neatly on the board. But the truth is, classroom culture isn’t built during the lesson nearly as much as it’s built between them.

## Pages
- [Superintendent Forum](https://growingleaders.com/superintendent-forum/): A monthly, 45-minute virtual roundtable for Superintendents and Executive Leadership Team who want to strengthen their leadership, grow their teams, and impact their districts with purpose and clarity.
- [The Leadership System Built](https://growingleaders.com/the-leadership-system-built/): FOR SCHOOL & DISTRICT ADMINISTRATORS
- [Ilead Instant Quote](https://growingleaders.com/ilead-instant-quote/): Your iLead Quote
- [Jesus, Transformational Leader](https://growingleaders.com/jesus-transformational-leader/): A series of short video teachings from John on Jesus the Transformational Leader, created to add value to our leaders, share the heart of EQUIP and Beyond Success, and provide meaningful, ready-to-use spiritual content for partners who want to walk alongside us.
- [Politician](https://growingleaders.com/politician/): A Message for Policy Makers
- [Educator](https://growingleaders.com/educator/): For Educators
- [roletest](https://growingleaders.com/roletest/): just a test for review
- [I love this Place](https://growingleaders.com/i-love-this-place/): Amplify Your School Culture to Reignite Staff, Reconnect Students, and Rally Community
- [Leadership Unscripted](https://growingleaders.com/resources/leadership-unscripted/): Can’t-miss conversations shaping how leaders in education think about leadership development and student transformation.
- [iLead Parents](https://growingleaders.com/ilead-parents/): Imagine every student walking into school knowing how to lead, communicate, and serve others. With your voice—and iLead—you can help make that a reality in your school, your home, and your community.
- [Superintendent Forum](https://growingleaders.com/superintendent-forum-old/): The Superintendent Leadership Forum is a free, monthly, virtual event series hosted by the Maxwell Leadership Foundation and Growing Leaders. Designed exclusively for District and State Superintendents, and their Executive leadership team. Each 45-minute session offers practical tools, honest conversations, and values-based strategies for leading people—not just systems.
- [Insider](https://growingleaders.com/insider/): Stay connected with the heartbeat of Growing Leaders through the NextGen Leadership Insider—our weekly digital newsletter for educators, school administrators, and parents who are shaping the next generation. Each issue features fresh leadership development resources, updates on our iLead curriculum, upcoming webinars and training opportunities, book recommendations, and stories of impact from classrooms around the world. If you’re invested in building a values-based school culture and want practical tools for teaching leadership and life readiness, this newsletter keeps you informed, inspired, and empowered.
- [Contact 2025](https://growingleaders.com/contact-2025/): Every EQUIP and Maxwell Leadership Foundation event is more than an experience—it’s a catalyst for transformation. Connect with passionate leaders, discover deeper purpose, and see how your presence and generosity help fuel a global movement that’s changing lives.
- [2025 Leadership Open](https://growingleaders.com/2025-leadership-open/): https://vimeo.com/895959154?share=copy
- [Gina Watts](https://growingleaders.com/speakers/gina-watts/): Dynamic, story-driven, and interactive sessions using iLead principles & Habitudes® imagery
- [Lead On Webinar](https://growingleaders.com/lead-on-webinar/): Purchase Webinar Recording Access
- [What’s the Leadership Health of Your District?](https://growingleaders.com/whats-the-leadership-health-of-your-district/)
- [Quiz – Classroom Leadership Style](https://growingleaders.com/quiz-classroom-leadership-style/)
- [Growing Leaders Blog](https://growingleaders.com/blog/): Leadership insights, real-world stories, and values-based perspectives shaping schools, communities, and nations. Every ripple begins with a conversation. This is where ours continue.
- [Quiz – What Kind of Leader Are You?](https://growingleaders.com/quiz-what-kind-of-leader-are-you/)
- [Elevate Impact](https://growingleaders.com/elevate-impact/): We’re excited to introduce the Leadership Development Series, designed to:
- [My account](https://growingleaders.com/my-account/): Login Username or email address *Required Password *Required Remember me Log in Lost your password?
- [Checkout](https://growingleaders.com/checkout/)
- [Cart](https://growingleaders.com/cart/): Your cart is currently empty. Return to shop
- [Shop](https://growingleaders.com/shop/)
- [Store](https://growingleaders.com/store/): Growing Leaders STORE Habitudes Courses Habitudes Flashcards $20.00 I Can’t Wait Book $23.99 Habitudes® for Chick-fil- $32.99 Middle School $32.99 Middle School $32.99 Middle School $32.99 High School $32.99 High School $32.99 Show More
- [MLSA](https://growingleaders.com/mlsa/): Student ambassadors are young leaders with a heart  for leadership, solving problems and serving people. 
- [Speakers](https://growingleaders.com/speakers/): Impact Speaking Team Andrew McPeak Dr. Greg Steely Gina Watts Patrick Erwin Deb Eslinger Patrick Erwin Deb Eslinger Book a Speaker Subscribe to Growing Leader's blogs and podcast to receive leadership development resources and more!
- [Resources](https://growingleaders.com/resources/): The Growing Leaders Blog is your go-to destination for practical strategies and expert insights on how to engage, equip, and empower the next generation of student leaders. Each article is grounded in research and designed for educators, parents, and youth mentors who are passionate about building character, leadership, and life skills in young people. Whether you’re looking for tips on fostering student engagement, implementing leadership curriculum, or understanding Gen Z and Gen Alpha, our blog delivers timely content that helps you develop resilient, future-ready leaders.
- [About](https://growingleaders.com/about-2/): Since 2003, Growing Leaders has rallied around one audacious mission: ignite the potential inside every emerging leader. Founded by Dr. Tim Elmore and powered by the proven principles of John C. Maxwell, we partner with schools, universities, and youth-focused organizations worldwide to turn classrooms, clubs, and community spaces into vibrant “Transformation Tables.” Through iLead—our research-driven, peer-to-peer curriculum—and a suite of events, coaching tools, and parent and educator resources, we deliver unforgettable stories, striking visuals, and hands-on experiences that translate leadership theory into daily practice. From the first lesson, students learn to lead themselves, then multiply that influence in their careers and communities, building character that lasts long after grades are posted. Join us and watch your students trade passive learning for purposeful action—because when the next generation leads well, everyone wins.
- [Contact Us](https://growingleaders.com/contact-us/): Contact Us How Can We Help?
- [Curriculum](https://growingleaders.com/curriculum/): iLead is a values-based K–12 leadership curriculum equipping students with the character, confidence, and critical life skills needed to thrive in school and beyond. Grounded in the timeless leadership principles of Dr. John C. Maxwell and enhanced by Dr. Tim Elmore’s deep understanding of emerging generations, iLead is transforming the student experience—one conversation at a time.
- [About](https://growingleaders.com/about/): Decades of Impact = Millions of Lives Transformed
- [Home](https://growingleaders.com/): For over twenty years, schools like yours have turned to Growing Leaders to transform rows of passive learners into circles of courageous, values-driven leaders. By weaving our peer-led iLead curriculum and research-backed resources into advisory periods, CTE tracks, and after-school clubs, our partners empower students to lead themselves first, then shape their campuses, careers, and communities with character that sticks. Principals report stronger culture, teachers see deeper engagement, and students graduate equipped to tackle real-world challenges, not just memorize answers for a test. If you are ready to watch your students trade worksheets for world-changing action, you are ready to partner with Growing Leaders.