Leadership Development Activity (Slides)
Here is some slides from a workshop that we did involving learning about leadership styles and having fun with some team building games.
There are multiple styles of and theories of leadership, but here are a few that we've found useful. The better part of this workshop though were the activities that followed it. You see training people to be leaders isn't as straight forward a task like training a manager might be, so rather than just lecturing all day the real goal was to have a series of activities that help develop leadership skill by doing them. It also helps that it's fun to do it this way!
The slides have more than the video
It's interesting that my post on Leadership Training seems to consistently get views vs this one on Leadership Development. I'm guessing it's because of the topic title & the fact that i've written a description. (So let's update this post and see what happens). Might as well add my Officer Management slides developed for the Network Security Team (Club at CSUMB) after this. All three of the presentations have related, but slightly different material included.
The training involved a presentation of hypothesis on leadership, then three activities. (We really didn't do much on the last activity.)
What is a Leader?
First consider the following: What do you think a leader is?
In the training we got some really good answers and perspectives such as:
*Being a member of a group while also helping to facilitate a more organized group.
*A leader cares and facilitates rather than just telling people what to do.
*Leaders are individuals that at the end of the line are accountable for the goals & objectives of a group.
*In philosophy could be ultimately an individual that everyone ultimately serves Or in reverse the servant of all.
Leadership Styles & Theories
Value Ethics Vs Machiavellism
There seems to be a repeating theme through history and across different cultures a division between leaders of virtue vs leaders that do whatever it takes. The Greeks are major proponents that leaders should be filled with virtue, and in a similar line of thinking so were the Hebrews as proponents of righteous moral leaders, as well as the disciples Confucius with ethical leadership. This position i'll call a Value Ethic leadership. On the other hand, we can also see another view that is well known as Machiavellism which can also be seen from ancient times such as the dispersion of people within the Babylonian empire or with Machiavelli himself in his book The Prince. I would like to note that i'm not saying all of these examples are the same, far from it, but there are general similarities that exist between them of worth noting.
Value Ethics simply states that a leader should ultimately encompass good virtues, and that will make them a great leader. Machiavellianism posits that a great leader will do whatever it takes to set a direction and control of a group.
Let talk about some big picture leadership styles. Note, most leaders encompass several.
Authority
When I say Authority, what do you think of?
I think by far this is the most commonly held and used form of leadership. Social engineers know it too and will appeal to the authority of a title, position, or form.
In the slides you will see pictures of related things such as the architecture of the Roman empire, ancient Egypt, individuals in uniforms such as police or soldiers, or even specific politicians.
- The leadership style of Authority leaders due to their position.
- It is as good or bad as the leader who uses it.
- It is efficient in decision making.
- It is often effective in emergency situations.
- It is common.
- It is most easily abused.
Character
How would you describe someone who has good character?
This type of leadership style follows the Value Ethics approach. The character approach is where a person embodies a set of values. It's harder to characterize this simply because some who rely on the authority style will try to appear like they embody character but will lack it within. It's more about how a person's internal beliefs and values align with the actions they take.
The scouting uniform seems to be a good candidate image
for a visual representation of something that is within a person.
(I guess you could say the uniform which operates under the
Authority style is used to represent character in this instance.)
- People choose to follow because of their values, virtue, and traits of their character.
- Leads by Example. (Servant Leadership)
- Values can be cultural in origin (time or place) or specific to occupation.
Competence
Benjamin Franklin & Nikola Tesla seem like good science
inventor/business candidates for encompassing this leadership style.
This form of leadership style is often gained through experience working, through education, hobbies, or a combination of the two. Mentorship is a type of this leadership. Someone who has experience in a trade, or activity is often valued because of this leadership style. An example of this in martial arts is that someone who wins competitions regardless of their rank or belt, people will want to learn from.
- People follow because of their skill, effectiveness, or knowledge.
- Great for specific activities.
- Often not effective outside of their specialty.
Vision
Visionary leadership seems to be the most powerful of all the leadership styles. This type of leader has a strong, vivid, ideal of things to be. They are able to articulate it to others and share that vision with others who then begin to try and accomplish it. Leaders who show this style include the Founding Fathers of the United States of America, Martin Luther King Jr., Ghandi, Joan of Arc, and Moses. It's worth noting briefly again that both good and bad can come from leaders.
- Leadership through vision.
- Communicates How things should be, might become, or can be accomplished.
- Often the greatest impact, for both good or for evil.
Conclusion of Lecture Portion
Ask yourself: Of these leadership styles, which ones do you feel you encompass the most?
Developing Leadership Skills
Okay, onto the FUN portion. It is more effective to do activities that build leadership skills than to talk about them.
Tape Maze
- Great for developing group communication and listening skills.
Obstacles & Limitations 
This activity is fairly simple. You assign everyone in the group a disability such as they can't use a leg, arm, talk, see, hear, etc... and you have some sort of obstacle they need to get over (Typically a high bar, or rope/string). The group has to work together for everyone to make it up and over. It's generally a good idea to assign at least one person no disability, to help everyone else. (Normally someone a bit bigger, or stronger looking is ideal, unless you want it to be even more difficult.)
- One of the best activities that develops teamwork, group communication, cooperation, compassion.
- You might need to encourage people that they can accomplish the task with the resources around them. (Like chairs)
3 Rules to Running a Meeting
This portion of the presentation largely comes from the following New York Times Article1) Set the Agenda.
2) Start on Time. End on Time.
3) End with an Action Plan.
Sources
* How Great Leaders Inspire Action by Simon Sinek | TED
* The Authority of Personality, Competence, and Character | BYU Speeches
* The Authority of Personality, Competence, and Character | BYU Speeches
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