I have been blessed to work with junior high and senior high students for nearly 20 years now, as a student pastor, student speaker, director of eight junior high camps and worked in the public school system for seven years. I was honored to be able to run student leadership teams in a public Junior High School. I also love to read. So I have been asked to create a student book list for right-sized books for junior high and senior high students.  Although these books are directed for particular age groups, I have used many of these books for leaders of all ages.

Our schools endeavor to teach our students “hard skills” – Math, English, Science, History, etc. However, there is a great need to teach our students the “soft skills” – Attitude, Communication, Teamwork and Time Management, etc.

This post is focused on providing reading resources that reinforce these Soft Skills. Each of the skills has a Jr high resource and a High School focused resource. Of course this is just a starter list that you can add to or delete books according to your needs in leading students under your care.

SKILLS FOR STUDENT LEADERSHIP

SKILL #1: LEADERSHIP

• JR HIGH: Be The Change by Zach Hunter
• HIGH SCHOOL: Leadership 101 by John Maxwell

SKILL #2: COMMUNICATION

• JR HIGH: Smile & Succeed for Teens: A Crash Course in Face-to-Face Communication by Kirt Manecke
• JR HIGH: Beyond Texting: The Fine Art of Face-to-Face Communication for Teenagers Paperback– by Debra Fine
• HIGH SCHOOL: Relationships 101 by John C. Maxwell

SKILL #3: TEAMWORK

• JR HIGH: Teamwork Makes the Dream Work by John C. Maxwell
• HIGH SCHOOL: Teamwork 101 by John C. Maxwell

SKILL #4: PROBLEM SOLVING

• JR HIGH: Who Moved My Cheese by Spencer Johnson
• HIGH SCHOOL: Problem Solving 101: A Simple Book for Smart People by Ken Watanabe

SKILL #5: TIME MANAGEMENT

• JR HIGH: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens by Sean Covey
• JR HIGH: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens Workbook by Sean Covey
• HIGH SCHOOL: Make Today Count by John Maxwell

SKILL #6: ATTITUDE

• JR HIGH: Attitude 101: by John C. Maxwell
• HIGH SCHOOL: How Full Is Your Bucket? by Tom Rath 

SKILL #7: WORK ETHIC

• JR HIGH: Do Hard Things: A Teenage Rebellion Against Low Expectations by Alex Harris
• HIGH SCHOOL: Training Camp: What the Best Do Better Than Everyone Else by Jon Gordon

SKILL #8: SELF-CONFIDENCE

• HIGH SCHOOL: Equipping 101 by John C. Maxwell
• HIGH SCHOOL: Strengths Based Leadership by Tom Rath

SKILL #9: VALUES

• JR HIGH: The 6 Most Important Decisions You’ll Ever Make: A Guide for Teens by Sean Covey
• JR HIGH: The 6 Most Important Decisions You’ll Ever Make: Personal Workbook by Sean Covey
• HIGH SCHOOL: Ethics 101 by John Maxwell

ADDITIONAL BOOKS:

• Self-Improvement 101 by John Maxwell
• Success 101 by John Maxwell
• Chicken Soup for the Soul Extraordinary Teens