I've just got back to the office to find a welcome package on my desk. A copy of Leading Work with Young People has arrived. The book includes a chapter that I co-wrote earlier this year with Bill Badham. The chapter is on 'The active involvement of young people' and explores both the need for the need for strong leadership to make young people's participation in decision making a reality, and the way in which leadership in a participative organisation is radically different from conventional models of heirachical leadership.
Whilst I can't post the whole chapter here, I'm hoping to post more on the role of leadership in participation soon – and I thought that it would be useful to provide a space here open to any feedback, questions, or discussion on the chapter from those who've read the book (in particular those reading the work for Open University course E132 – Leading Work with Young People).
So, if you've read the chapter, and have any reflections on it or issues it raises, both Bill and I would love to hear them. You can drop me a line by e-mail, or share your thoughts in the comments below.