Chris Mance II - Mental Skills Coach

Research shows the best way for a parent to help their child is to develop their strengths. If your child has the potential to be a great leader, then it’s your responsibility as a parent to nurture this talent.

With that said, the best way to recognize a talent that needs nurturing is with “strengths spotting”.  Strengths spotting is the process of observing your child’s talents by using behavior clues.  In Gallup’s Strengths Based Parenting book, they recommend four methods to categorize clues for finding natural talent.

• Yearning: What activities or environments is your child repeatedly drawn to or eager to try?
• Rapid learning: What new skills or activities does your child pick up quickly and easily?
• Satisfaction: When is your child most enthusiastic and fulfilled?  Which activities is he or she excited about doing again and again?
• Timelessness: When does your child become so engrossed that he or she seems to lose track of time?

Using these four strength spotting categories, below are 8 signs that your child has leadership potential that needs your nurturing.

Yearning

1. Yearns to organize games and activities for family and friends
2. Yearns to read both fiction and non-fiction
   

Rapid Learning

1. Rapidly learns names, facts and figures with a uncanny ability to commit them to memory
2. Rapidly learns from mistakes and rarely makes the same mistake twice
   

Satisfaction

1. Finds immense satisfaction in solving problems
2. Finds immense satisfaction in telling compelling stories and public speaking
   

Timelessness

1. Engrossed with the desire to break records or set precedent as the first to do something
2. Spends an inordinate amount of time volunteering and helping others