The California Future Business Leaders of America (California FBLA) career technical student organization is working to align its middle and high school leadership programs with The Leader In Me program developed by FranklinCovey. Integrating the teaching of leadership skills is in line with significant current and emerging academic research on educational effectiveness.

The FBLA initiative is targeted to help underserved students develop personal skills that will ensure their success in high school and in life. The Leader in Me program focus on the following “leadership” skills:

• Leadership
• Responsibility
• Accountability
• Problem Solving
• Adaptability
• Communication
• Initiative and Self-Direction
• Creativity
• Cross-Cultural Skills
• Teamwork

Recent research by the Center for Education Reform noted: “The types of leadership skills identified as effective include private leadership development in skills such as goal setting, personal planning, organization, and student motivated learning; as well as group collaboration, empathic listening, public speaking, and classroom and/or school-wide leadership.” Many, if not all, of these skills can be embedded in Career Technical Education (CTE) courses in alignment with the California CTE Model Curriculum Standards.

It is sometimes said that while technical skills will get you the job, it’s the soft skills that will keep you the job.