By Katy Dolan, NYLC Board Chair

Let’s face it: society isn’t designed to give young people a lot of agency. Yes, we’ve mostly moved past the days of “children should be seen and not heard” – but culturally, we still have a long way to go in recognizing that young people have valid experiences and perspectives that can make just as much of an impact on our world as those of adults. 

When I was a 15-year-old nonprofit founder, I was acutely aware that many adults didn’t view my work with genuine respect. At best, they thought it was cute and well-intentioned but insubstantial; at worst, they were actively dismissive and assumed that a teenager couldn’t possibly have valuable perspectives on social issues, or the operational competence to make any real change. It was endlessly frustrating to overcome these biased preconceptions about young peoples’ ability to have a real impact. As a result, it became clear to me that adults who can meet young changemakers with esteem are a rare, valuable asset in service work. 

6 Ways to Be a Genuine Partner to Young People Making an Impact

1. Reflect on, acknowledge, and address biases. You don’t need to be ashamed of holding some subconscious biases about the value of young people’s opinions and how much they can achieve. There are a number of cultural messages that reinforce that young people don’t deserve a seat at important tables – just like with other forms of social inequality, your job is to be aware of those messages and work actively to reflect and dismantle them in your own worldview. This is ongoing work, and it won’t happen overnight!
   
2. Prioritize active listening and autonomy. As an adult, your primary responsibility to young people seeking to make change is to give your full attention. Listen carefully to exactly what young people are presenting to you, and exactly what they’re asking for. If specifically requested, you can collaborate and give feedback or input; otherwise, step back to ensure that young people are the ones driving their process and outcomes. 
3. Don’t view lack of connections or lack of expertise as indicators of incompetence. Young people might come to you with questions and requests. Do your best not to interpret the things that they may lack as indicators that they don’t have the skills or commitment to achieve their social impact goals. It can be easy to assume that just because you possess some resources that young people don’t (like connections, training, etc.), they are not set up for success; by contrast, see your role as an opportunity to provide the type of resources that will combine with young people’s intrinsic passion and skills to help them make an even bigger impact.
   
4. Create opportunities for leadership – the more radical, the better. If you hold a position of power – whether as a teacher, organization leader, etc. – one of the best ways you can empower young people is by creating opportunities for leadership within your institution. Make sure that these are authentic opportunities for leadership – not tokenized roles that place a young person in a place of visibility without any real power, but rather meaningful ways to dictate strategy, manage resources, and more. The more radically you can create the conditions for young people to lead, the better – for example, can your organization explore a youth co-leadership model that structurally positions a young person with the same degree of power as an adult?
   
5. Embrace failure as part of the journey. Some well-meaning adults accidentally restrict young people’s agency and autonomy simply because they are trying to prevent young people from experiencing failure. A mindset shift to embrace failure as an essential feature of audacious impact work – and a critical growth opportunity for young people – could help reduce your fear of letting young people take on radical leadership roles. 
   
6. Champion young people publicly. One of the most impactful ways for adults to amplify young peoples’ impact work is to use their platform and influence to boost public recognition. Visibility can help garner resources and allies for young peoples’ causes (and can have the broader impact of evolving societal attitudes toward youth and their potential to make change). 

When in doubt about the best way to support young people making change, the best way to figure out your role is simply to ask the young people. There are numerous ways for youth and adults to have meaningful, collaborative partnerships to make change in the world – but the key is for young people to have the structural power and respect to dictate how those partnerships take shape. With a bit of thoughtful effort, you can serve as an immensely valuable co-conspirator and advocate as young people continue to make incredible contributions to our society.

NYLC has been a champion of building meaningful youth-adult partnerships for 41+ years. Do you want more information on how to implement these steps within your school, organization, or program? Schedule a free consultation with one of our experts today to discover how you can tap into your ability to support young people! And check out Youth as Solutions, our national youth leadership development program that empowers young people – with the help of an adult mentor – to make real change in their schools and communities.