Our family puts a lot of stock in the importance of developing leadership qualities and potential. Having been leaders in the Navy for decades, between the two of us, my husband and I both have attended countless leadership development courses, and have even been on committees to develop these courses to teach junior Sailors in the Navy how to be good leaders in the Navy.
Therefore, when I was given the opportunity to review a leadership development course, per se, for kids, I thought it to be an excellent opportunity to see what is available to begin teaching our kids the importance of leadership skill development. U.N.I.Q.U.E. KIDS: Growing My Leadership Garden is a book for every ages 8 to 12 and U.N.I.Q.U.E.: Growing the Leader Within is the adult version. I was given the opportunity to review these materials along with the audio books and workbook. Here are the materials I was given to review:
U.N.I.Q.U.E. KIDS: Growing My Leadership Garden
U.N.I.Q.U.E.KIDS: Growing My Leadership Garden Activity Book
U.N.I.Q.U.E. KIDS: Growing My Leadership Garden Audio Book
U.N.I.Q.U.E: Growing the Leader Within
All of these materials have one common goal – to help families identify qualities they may possess that can be harmful to them in developing their leadership potential.
The books are a combination of a story and personal recount from the author. The story of a little lamb named Hugh who has his own fears to overcome before he can develop his own leadership potential, visits the Leadership Farm who send Hugh on a journey through the leadership garden to learn from the other animals what traits and qualities are important to overcome as well as grow in order to become a good leader and grown your owner leadership garden.
The child’s book is colorful and interesting and my daughter (8 years old) enjoyed the story. The adult book was very similar to the child’s book but interlaced with more of the author’s personal story and examples.
The eBook was a nice addition; however, we like to listen in the car when we are on the run and it was difficult to use since there were no tracks to skip forward and back to discuss or pick up where we left off. This is one improvement I would love to see the author work on.
The adult book is a mixture of the authors own account on her leadership journey along with the story of Hugh. I found this an interesting way to discuss leadership development with adults but may be a great way for some that are new to this.
The workbook was a little above the level that my daughter was interested in. But I think it would be a great tool for a group reading this together. There is room for digging deeper into topics and journaling personal experiences that relate to the leadership qualities being discussed.
Overall, I think it was a nice way to introduce leadership development to kids; however, I’m not sure it was where I would prefer something as an adult who has studied the subject at length. That being said, I think it was a fresh way to look at leadership skill development and could be considered a great way for a group to read about the author’s own experiences and then compare their own experiences in a group environment.
Pros: Easy to read, unique story and presentation of leadership traits, and available for various age groups and in various media forms.
Cons: A little more self-help that leadership development and a little too basic if you are looking for something deeper for older student or adults.
If you are looking for a good way to introduce the basics of leadership qualities and the importance of developing the right frame of mind to be a leader, you may want to try out Growing Your Leadership Garden for yourself. Check out their website and all the products they have to offer to see what might be the right fit for you and your family.
Leadership Garden Legacy is offering the The Old Schoolhouse Community a “Spring Special Discount” of 20% on all their Empowerment Tools. This is in addition to their already discounted Tool Kit bundles. To receive your discount, enter the discount code: TOS-SS20D upon checkout in their product store on their website. This is a limited time offer and the code will expire on May 31, 2013.
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