You Are the First Teacher

Take the lead at home by teaching and modeling principles of effectiveness for all family members.

Over the span of 180 days, a student only spends 11 percent of the time at school (about 943 hours). The majority of his or her time—almost 50 percent—is dedicated to family life at home and other important communities outside of school). You are your child’s first and most influential teacher by laying the foundation for the education of their mind, heart, body, and spirit. No matter what is going on at school you can help your child discover the leader within themselves and prepare for a future of contribution and service. Even if you have a school that already supports the principles laid out in Leader in Me, your job is no less important.

Instructional Hours —US schools average 943 hours of instructional time in 180 days.
Recommended sleep for school age children is at least 10 hours a night.

If you want to make minor, incremental changes and improvements, work on practices, behavior, or attitude. But if you want to make significant, quantum improvement, work on paradigms.

–Stephen R. Covey, Author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

5 Core Paradigms to Inspire Families

Improve family life by improving the home environment with Core Paradigms shared by Leader in Me Schools.

As you contemplate the paradigms of the Leader in Me, consider how you could to apply them at home. Becoming self-aware that your paradigms are impacting what you see and what you do provides an opportunity for you to improve your home environment. By starting with the 5 Core Paradigms, you can identify positive behaviors that will help you reach the goals you set as a family. This is empowering! Following are the 5 Core Paradigms for Families:

Paradigm of Leadership:

Everyone can be a leader.

Parents and children have opportunities for shared leadership.

Not: Leadership is for the few. Parents are in charge of all the decisions.

Paradigm of Potential:

Everyone has genius.

We celebrate our differences and focus on each other’s strengths.

Not: A few people in our family are gifted.

Paradigm of Change:

All change starts with me.

Not: To improve my family they need to change. I can’t make a difference.

Paradigm of Motivation:

Parents empower children to lead their own learning.

Not: Parents control and direct a child’s learning.

Paradigm of Education:

Develop the whole person.

Not: Only help children achieve academically.

A Partnership Between Home and School

Leader in Me Schools support families by sharing a framework of timeless principles to help nurture and develop life-readiness skills in children and teens to be successful at school and in the future.

Leader in Me is a K–12 whole-school improvement model and process that helps educators and families collaborate together to develop students as life-ready leaders. As administrators and staff work to grow a leadership culture at school, parents and guardians can reinforce what is being taught at home with shared paradigms and principles. The result of a partnership between home and school will be students who are prepared for college, career, and life.
What is Leader in Me?

Leader in Me Parent’s Guide

Get started with several free, simple exercises to integrate 7 Habits principles at home.

The Leader in Me Parent’s Guide is based on the timeless principles found in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and Leader in Me. This introductory guide shares easy-to-understand ideas and activities and a reading list to help you teach and model powerful 7 Habits principles to your children and teens at home.

The 7 Habits of Effective Families Book

Read and implement timeless principles of the 7 Habits to improve family relations at home.

Experience a practical and philosophical guide to solving the problems—large and small; mundane and extraordinary―that affect all families and communities. By offering revealing anecdotes about ordinary people as well as helpful suggestions about changing everyday behavior, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families provides a powerful framework and set of tools that create an open and inspiring home culture. Learn how to model principles of effectiveness as a family by balancing individual needs and moving from dependence to interdependence together.

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The 7 Habits of Successful Families® Workshop

Improve family relations by establishing effective  paradigms and behaviors.

The 7 Habits of Successful Families training provides parents or guardians a chance to develop a deeper understanding of how to implement the principles and practices of the 7 Habits in a home environment. Parents can either attend a live workshop delivered by a Leader in Me School or become certified to teach other families in the community.

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Find a Leader in Me School

Would you like to enroll your child in a Leader in Me School? There are thousands of schools located around the globe in more than 50 countries worldwide. Contact us to locate a school near you.

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What has been your experience with Leader in Me? Share your thoughts anonymously or request a follow-up consultation to address any problems or concerns. Be sure to explore the FAQ section of the website for answers to common questions.

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Take Action

Would you like to see your local school implement Leader in Me? You can proactively introduce Leader in Me to your school or PTA by providing The Leader in Me book or by coordinating with a local FranklinCovey representative.

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Experience Leader in Me

Learn how thousands of schools in over 50 countries worldwide are discovering answers to some of the most challenging issues educators face today.

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Interested to learn more about our solutions? Our team is ready to help answer all of your questions.

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