Bringing the #Lifepath to high school students

A tool to bring answers

What really excites us at Leadapreneur is to see how much impact we can have on a generation of young and eager talent with a simple yet powerful tool: the Lifepath. 

"What would I like to do after graduating from high school?"
"Do I want to become an entrepreneur?"
"Should I take a gap year?"
"Do I want to go into university? And if so, what course should I study?"

These are some of the questions students ask themselves, regardless of their grades, gender and background and worries we have come across in our workshops over and over again.

​This is because the last year of high school is a key turning point in a young person's life as they are about to make their first major life decisions and enter adulthood. This can be a very daunting step, especially when not having a large understanding as to what lays outside of the school bubble and what opportunities are available to them based on their strengths, passions & reality. 

A fast-moving world

The world today as it is experienced by the Millennials (born between 1982 and 2004) is very different from what it used to be for the generations that came before them. 

One of the ways it is different is that in the past career paths used to be very linear and development opportunities were  often constricted within the same firm. Today, however,  possibilities are endless and this causes a lot of confusion and a trend of "job-hopping" from one enterprise to another. 

According to the most recent Deloitte survey on Millennials at work, "one in four millennials would quit his or her current job to join a new organisation or to do something different". The struggle to engage, develop & retain talent is a major challenge faced by many organisations today and a large part of this is due to the Millennial's lack of clear direction and search for meaning in their life & work. Check our article on "3 reasons your organisation is struggling with its talent". 

Our belief at Leadapreneur is that the earlier this is addressed and given a framework , the less anxiety and confusion it will generate for the student. This is why we have decided to put into place a Lifepath journey that begins in grade 11 and continues on all the way through the individual's professional career.

Last week, we had the pleasure to carry out the first step of that journey with our one-day Lifepath workshop at the International School of Phnom Penh with a group of 46 high-school students in grade 11 from seventeen different nationalities. 

Here is what they said about it: 

It's been an amazing experience attending the Lifepath workshop, it didn't only allow me to think through my career plan but also to understand what more life has to offer and provided me with a clear understanding on how I am the one who controls how I want my life to be."

I really enjoyed the Lifepath workshop: I believe it helped me really think and analyze what my plan is for the next 3 years.  Comparing my ideas with my peers was also very useful, so I could ask questions about their life path and see the similarities as well as help each other out with suggestions. 

Understanding their past, designing a vision for the future and creating tangible action steps for the present allowed the participants to create their own unique Lifepath, thus gaining the clarity and the confidence required to decide on their next step. 

As part of the Leadapreneur vision to have every high school student go through the Lifepath to generate the answers they are looking for we are eager to engage with institutions excited to be part of the change and bring something different and unique to their students.

Created by combining expertise on complex systems science, neurolinguistic programming and 21st Century leadership, the Leadapreneur Lifepath is a practical & powerful solution to a dire need in the education system to provide its students with the confidence and clarity they need to make important decisions regarding their future.  

If this is something your school or educational institution is looking for, please contact Bettina Guirkinger at bettina@leadapreneur.com to run the Lifepath for your students.