Professional Development

We have historically focused on developing “hard skills”-- we call many of our trainings “skill-based,” or give merit to fact-building.  But only in recent years have we given the “soft skills” the stage they deserve.  The “soft skills” deal with our inter and intra-personal interactions, where the “hard skills” deal in tasks.  The “hard skills” help us navigate a google doc; the “soft skills” help us not yell at our co-worker.   Each has its rightful and important place in our development as leaders.  But while it’s easy to understand how to learn how to navigate google docs, it can be trickier to understand how to learn to navigate the heart.

In celebration of National Mentoring Month, we are highlighting some of our favorite articles. From mentoring youth in programs, to young professionals in the field, mentoring is an important development strategy. Check out the resources below and think about how you can incorporate mentoring at all levels.

Youth voice and choice is a powerful, proactive youth development approach that fosters decision-making skills, self-efficacy, and independence. In addition to on-going program opportunities for youth voice and choice, kids need in the moment skill-building support. The five steps below can be used to help with the decision-making process when time is short or as part of a guidance strategy to redirect behavior.

It's never too early to think about attending NAA22! Michelle Owens, National Advisor for Alliance for a Healthier Generation, sat down with NAA to offer her perspective on why NAA22 is the place to be in March 2022.