President Joe Biden says young people need these 3 leadership skills to change the world – CNBC

The past two years have been difficult for just about everyone. President Joe Biden sees a silver lining in this, especially for recent college graduates.

Speaking at the Naval Academy commencement ceremony in Annapolis on Friday, Biden said the class of 2022 is uniquely equipped to change the world because of graduates’ proven ability to navigate uncertainty. “You faced additional challenges to maintain a sense of mission, community and purpose when a global pandemic forced…literally everything to change,” Biden said.

This adaptability has prepared graduates to make sound, informed decisions in an “uncertain world,” Biden added, noting that the choices leaders make will soon become “more consequential than ever.”

“You graduate at an inflection point, not just in American history, but in world history,” Biden said. “Things are changing so rapidly that the next 10 years will be the defining decade of this century as they will shape what our world looks like and the values ​​that will guide it – not just in the immediate future, but for generations to come. .”

In addition to adaptability, Biden highlighted respect and inclusiveness as important leadership traits young people can lean on, saying they’re especially valuable right now because the world is realigning. In the past, countries allied with other countries based on geography and conflict, he said – but now it depends on values, especially those that put people first rather than in power.

“We are living in a global struggle between autocracies and democracies,” Biden said. “This is what you are graduating into…a world that needs strong, leading, committed American leadership now more than ever. Where America leads not just by example of its power, but the power of its example.”

The president acknowledged that the class of 2022 also faces a tougher set of challenges than most promotions — including economic turmoil, international conflict and an as yet uncalculated pandemic toll. But the leadership skills they have already acquired, even without knowing it, could give them a better ability to ultimately change the world for the better in the years to come.

“No generation of graduates can choose which world they go to … graduate,” Biden said. “It has already been formed for you, but you have to change it.”

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