student leadership assignments

3 Great Worksheets to Focus Your Student Leaders

These Worksheets Will Help You Develop Student Leaders

Student leadership is part of a rock solid foundation for strong school culture, but steering students in that positive direction can be a challenge. That’s why our leadership expert, Stephen Amundson, has put together three worksheets designed to address three common leadership issues.

Feel free to use any or all of them as they fit your specific needs. If you’re not sure what your specific leadership needs are, you may want to check out this post which covers some of the basic starting points for student leaders.

FREE Student Leadership Worksheets

The first of the three worksheets addresses what a leader is, and what their role can and should be. This can be a great jumping off point for new leaders, or a valuable way to regroup with more senior student leaders. It also offers an opportunity for self reflection that can be valuable for adult leaders as well

Download the first worksheet, “Leaders Are, Can, & Think.”

It isn’t always easy to keep your student leaders focused and motivated, but I’ve found that most leaders thrive on guided thought exercises like the one in this worksheet. Most student leaders have a strong desire to contribute in a positive way, but they don’t always know how to get from “I want to help” to “here’s the plan.”

Try to remember that direction in leadership is something you obtained over a lifetime, and your students don’t yet have that benefit. They’re still experimenting, observing, and listening. Each experience is an opportunity for them to hone their skills, and each challenge is a chance for them to become an even stronger asset to both their school and their community.

This simple worksheet will help your students to reflect on where they are as leaders. It will also help you to steer them toward growth and agency. Feel free to download, share, and use this student leadership worksheet in your own lesson plans!

In case you missed it, here’s a link to the free worksheet.

Students participating in a leadership activity

Downloadable Leadership Worksheets #2 & #3

The second worksheet is a more focused look at who we want to be as leaders. One of the best ways to find a starting point for any new leader is to look at leadership role models and extract the qualities we see in them which we want to develop in ourselves. This worksheet focuses on that approach, and even offers action steps

CLICK HERE for the second worksheet, on leadership role models, “Who Do You Admire, and Why?”

Finally, the third worksheet takes a more advanced step into leadership, focusing on attitude. If you’ve followed TEEN TRUTH or RISING UP even for a short while, you’ve likely heard of the impact attitude can have. In fact, it’s one of the first things I look for when I’m visiting a campus. CLICK HERE for the third worksheet, on leadership attitude.

Be sure to develop your leadership (both student and adult). It is one of the quickest ways to improve school culture, and can be a massive return on your time. Special thanks to Stephen Amundson for these fantastic worksheets! His site can be found here and is an excellent resource which I highly recommend checking out.

Check out more student leadership activities and continue learning about how to build an inclusive and diverse culture of leadership at your school with our guide to building student leaders .

Ready to take your school leadership to the next level? Check out TEEN TRUTH’s Leadership Summits !

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38 Powerful Student Leadership Activities

In today’s dynamic world, developing leadership skills among students is crucial. Student leadership activities play a pivotal role in shaping responsible, confident, and capable future leaders.

In this article, we’ll explore 38 engaging activities that not only promote leadership but also enhance teamwork, communication, problem-solving, and decision-making skills.

Let’s dive into these activities, with each featuring concise benefits and step-by-step procedures.

Table of Contents

Activity 1: Human Knot

Engaging in the “Human Knot” activity offers several benefits.

It fosters teamwork, communication, and problem-solving skills as students must work together effectively to untangle the knot.

It builds trust among participants as they rely on each other to successfully complete the task.

Students form a circle and stand closely together, shoulder to shoulder.
Each participant reaches across the circle to grasp the hands of two different students, creating a tangled human knot.
The challenge is to untangle the knot without letting go of each other’s hands.

Encourage students to communicate, strategize, and help each other find a solution.

The activity is completed when the group successfully untangles the knot and forms a circle again.

Activity 2: Blindfolded Obstacle Course

“Blindfolded Obstacle Course” develops trust, communication, and leadership skills under pressure as the blindfolded student relies on their teammates’ guidance.

It enhances problem-solving skills, as participants must think quickly and adapt to unexpected challenges within the course.

Set up an obstacle course with various objects and challenges in a safe area.
Choose one student to be blindfolded while the rest of the group takes on the role of guides.
The blindfolded student must navigate the obstacle course with the guidance of their teammates’ verbal instructions.
The objective is to complete the course without making mistakes or colliding with obstacles.
Rotate the blindfolded student and continue until everyone has had a turn.

Activity 3: Survival Scenario

“Survival Scenario” encourages critical thinking and decision-making, as participants must weigh options and make choices that impact their group’s survival.

It teaches resource management and allocation skills, fostering an understanding of the importance of wise resource use.

It enhances leadership and teamwork abilities as students collaborate and justify their choices within their groups.

Present a survival scenario to the students, such as being stranded on a deserted island or facing a post-apocalyptic world.
Divide the students into small groups and assign each group a scenario with limited resources (e.g., food, water, shelter).
In their groups, students must prioritize and make decisions on how to allocate and manage these resources.
After a set time, have each group share their decisions and reasoning with the rest of the class for discussion.

Encourage them to discuss and justify their choices, emphasizing teamwork and leadership.

Activity 4: Escape Room Challenge

“Escape Room Challenge” cultivates problem-solving skills as participants must decipher puzzles, riddles, and clues to escape within a given time frame.

These challenges encourage creative thinking and adaptability, fostering the ability to approach problems from different angles.

Teamwork is greatly emphasized, as students must collaborate closely to find solutions.

The thrill of completing the challenge boosts self-confidence and provides a memorable learning experience.

Choose or create an escape room scenario with a storyline and a series of puzzles and challenges.
Divide the students into teams, ensuring that each team has an equal number of participants.
Assign each team to a separate escape room and provide them with the initial clue or puzzle.
Teams work together to solve the puzzles, unlock codes, and find clues that lead them to subsequent challenges.
Set a time limit for each team to complete the escape room challenge.
After the allotted time, gather the teams and discuss their experiences, highlighting the importance of teamwork, communication, and leadership in problem-solving situations.

Activity 5: Tower Building

Engaging in a “Tower Building” activity fosters creativity and teamwork while also promoting leadership skills.

It encourages students to think creatively to design and build the tallest tower possible using limited materials.

Leadership roles often emerge naturally, with individuals taking charge of planning, directing, and making crucial decisions.

Provide students with materials such as spaghetti, tape, marshmallows, and string.
Explain the challenge: teams must design and construct the tallest tower possible using the provided materials within a set time frame.
Divide the students into teams and distribute the materials evenly.
Encourage teams to brainstorm, plan, and assign roles (e.g., a designer, a builder, a timekeeper).
Set a time limit for tower construction.
After the time is up, measure the height of each team’s tower.

Activity 6: Leadership in the Arts

These activities allow students to express themselves creatively while developing leadership skills.

Depending on the chosen artistic endeavor, assign roles such as director, producer, lead artist, or scriptwriter.
Allow students to showcase their artistic work through performances, exhibitions, or presentations.
Reflect on the leadership experiences gained during the project, focusing on how artistic collaboration enhances leadership skills.

Encourage students to work together to plan and execute the project.

Activity 7: Paper Airplane Challenge

By combining fun with skill development, this activity fosters teamwork and effective communication as students work together to improve their designs.

Provide each student with a sheet of paper (standard letter size) and art supplies for decorating (optional).
Explain the challenge: students must design and construct a paper airplane that can fly the farthest or carry the most weight.
Once the airplanes are ready, hold flight competitions to determine the winners.
During the activity, pay attention to how students communicate, collaborate, and potentially take on leadership roles.
Debrief the activity, discussing the importance of teamwork, creativity, and leadership in achieving success.

Encourage students to experiment with different designs and modifications.

Activity 8: Leadership in Crisis

This activity immerses students in a simulated crisis scenario, such as a natural disaster or emergency.

The participants must make quick, informed choices to address the crisis effectively.

It enhances leadership under pressure by allowing students to experience and practice making decisions in high-stress situations.

Create a crisis scenario, such as a natural disaster or a simulated emergency.
Assign leadership roles within student groups and provide them with limited resources.
Each group must make quick decisions, allocate resources, and coordinate responses to address the crisis.
Create time constraints to simulate pressure and urgency.
After the activity, debrief and discuss the leadership strategies employed and the lessons learned from managing a crisis.

Activity 9: Bridge Building

Promotes teamwork and collaboration.

Enhances problem-solving skills.

Encourages creativity in design and construction.

Provide students with materials like spaghetti, tape, and marshmallows.
Challenge them to build a bridge that can support a specific weight or span a gap.
Test each bridge for strength and functionality.
Discuss the role of teamwork, effective communication, and innovative problem-solving in the success of the bridges.

Help and encourage students to work together to brainstorm, design, and construct their bridges.

Activity 10: Treasure Hunt

Fosters teamwork and collaboration.

Encourages creativity in deciphering clues.

Organize a treasure hunt with clues and challenges spread throughout a designated area.
Divide students into teams, ensuring each team has an equal opportunity to participate.
Provide the first clue or riddle to each team, leading them to the next location.
Teams must work together to solve each clue, find the next location, and eventually locate the treasure.
Celebrate the successful teams and discuss their experiences, emphasizing teamwork, problem-solving, and creative thinking.

Activity 11: Egg Drop Challenge

It presents the task of protecting an egg from breaking when dropped from a height.

This challenge promotes creative thinking as students design protective devices and encourages leadership as they present and defend their solutions to the class.

Provide each student or team with a raw egg and a selection of materials (e.g., paper, cardboard, tape, cotton, balloons) for constructing a protective device.
Explain that the objective is to create a device that will prevent the egg from breaking when dropped from a specified height (e.g., a ladder or balcony).
After construction, each student or team must present their device to the class, explaining their design choices and strategies.
Conduct the egg drop test by dropping each device from the designated height and inspecting whether the egg remains intact.
Discuss the activity, emphasizing teamwork, creative problem-solving, and leadership in the design process.

Guide and encourage students to build their protective devices within a set time frame.

Activity 12: Leadership in Media Production

Depending on the chosen project, such as a short film, podcast, or news segment, students can take on various leadership roles, including director, editor, scriptwriter, and producer.

This collaborative effort encourages effective communication, decision-making, and teamwork while also providing opportunities for students to showcase their creative talents.

Depending on the chosen media project, assign roles such as director, editor, scriptwriter, producer, and on-air talent.
Allow students to showcase their media project, whether through a screening, podcast episode, or news segment.
Reflect on the leadership experiences gained during the project, focusing on how collaboration enhances leadership skills.

Provide your guidance and support where needed.

Activity 13: Trust Fall

“Trust Fall” is an excellent way to build trust and strengthen the bonds among students.

Have one student stand with their back to the group, ready to perform the trust fall.
The remaining students form a circle around the “faller” and extend their arms forward, creating a safety net.
The “faller” should cross their arms over their chest and take a deep breath.
On a signal or when they’re ready, the “faller” leans backward and falls, trusting that the group will catch them.
The group catches the “faller” safely and gently lowers them to the ground.
Rotate roles, allowing different students to take turns as the “faller.”
After the activity, discuss the importance of trust, effective communication, and working together as a team.

Activity 14: Marshmallow Challenge

“Marshmallow Challenge” is a competitive activity that encourages students to work together to build the tallest freestanding structure using spaghetti, tape, string, and a marshmallow.

Provide each team with the same set of materials: spaghetti, tape, string, and a marshmallow.
Explain the challenge: teams must build the tallest freestanding structure that can support the marshmallow on top.
After the time is up, measure the height of each structure from the table surface to the top of the marshmallow.
Discuss the activity, highlighting the importance of collaboration, creativity, and effective problem-solving.

Encourage students to work together to construct their structures within a set time limit.

Activity 15: Minefield

This activity promotes trust, effective communication, and problem-solving as students rely on their teammates’ guidance to avoid “mines.”

Set up an obstacle course or designated area with various objects (the “mines”) scattered throughout.
Divide students into pairs, with one student blindfolded and the other serving as the guide.
The guide must verbally instruct and guide their blindfolded partner safely through the minefield without touching any “mines.”
Rotate roles, allowing each student to experience being blindfolded and being guided.
After the activity, discuss the importance of trust, effective communication, and teamwork in overcoming challenges.

Encourage students to communicate clearly, provide detailed instructions, and work together to successfully navigate the course.

Activity 16: Magic Carpet

The “Magic Carpet” challenges students to work together to stay on a “magic carpet” (a designated area) without stepping off.

This fun and cooperative game emphasizes teamwork and communication.

Create a designated “magic carpet” area using tape or markers on the floor.
Instruct students to stand on the “magic carpet” without stepping off.
Gradually make the “magic carpet” smaller by removing pieces of tape or markers.
Students must work together to stay on the shrinking “magic carpet” without anyone stepping off.

Discuss the activity, emphasizing teamwork, effective communication, and adaptability in challenging situations.

Activity 17: Center Stage

This activity involves taking turns being the leader and making decisions, which allows students to practice leadership in a supportive and inclusive environment.

Create a scenario or task that requires decision-making, such as planning an event or solving a problem.
Designate one student as the “leader” to make decisions and lead the group for a set time.
After the designated time, rotate the leadership role with another student.
Continue this rotation, allowing each student to have a turn as the leader.
During their leadership turn, students should make decisions and guide the group based on the scenario or task.

After the activity, encourage reflection and discussion on the leadership experiences, emphasizing the importance of leadership in various situations.

Activity 18: Group Storytelling

“Group Storytelling” allows students to collaboratively create a story. Each student contributes a sentence or phrase, promoting creativity, active listening, and cooperation.

Begin a story with a simple sentence or phrase, or provide a story prompt.
Have one student continue the story with the next sentence.
Continue this process, with each student taking turns adding to the story one sentence at a time.
The story can take unexpected and imaginative twists as students work together.
Continue the storytelling until the story reaches a satisfying conclusion or time runs out.

Encourage students to listen to the contributions of others and build upon them.

Activity 19: Balloon Tower

“Balloon Tower” challenges students to work together to build the tallest tower using balloons and tape, which promotes creativity, teamwork, and problem-solving.

Provide each team with a set of balloons and rolls of tape.
Explain the challenge: teams must construct the tallest freestanding tower using balloons and tape.
After the time is up, measure the height of each tower.
Discuss the activity, focusing on the importance of teamwork, creativity, and effective problem-solving.

Encourage students to brainstorm, plan, and work collaboratively.

Activity 20: Team-Based Board Games

Engaging in team-based board games, such as “Risk,” “Settlers of Catan,” or “Codenames,” provides an enjoyable way to foster teamwork, communication, and strategic thinking.

Select a team-based board game suitable for the group’s size and interests.
Divide students into teams, ensuring each team has an equal number of participants.
Play the board game, allowing students to immerse themselves in teamwork and strategic decision-making.

After the game, discuss the experiences and strategies employed by each team, emphasizing the value of teamwork and communication in achieving success.

Activity 21: Leadership in Debate

A structured debate activity encourages students to research and fosters critical thinking, communication skills, and leadership as students take on roles such as debaters, moderators, or judges.

Select a debate topic relevant to the students’ interests or curriculum.
Divide students into teams, with each team responsible for arguing either for or against the topic.
Provide time for research and preparation, encouraging students to gather evidence and construct persuasive arguments.
Conduct the debate, with students taking turns presenting their arguments and responding to opposing viewpoints.
Appoint a moderator to ensure a structured and respectful debate.
Judges or the class can evaluate the effectiveness of each team’s arguments and presentation.

Discuss the experience, highlighting the importance of research, critical thinking, and leadership in debates.

Activity 22: Leadership Through Mentorship

This activity promotes leadership, empathy, and the transfer of knowledge.

Pair older students with younger students or assign mentor-mentee pairs.
Instruct older students to mentor their younger peers by providing guidance, support, and assistance in areas such as academics, extracurricular activities, or personal development.
Reflect on the mentorship experiences, focusing on the development of leadership, empathy, and the value of helping others.

Encourage mentors to meet regularly with their mentees to discuss goals, challenges, and progress.

Activity 23: Role-Play Scenarios

In Role Play, students step into different roles and situations and develop problem-solving, communication, and leadership skills.

Create various role-play scenarios that relate to real-life situations or historical events.
Assign roles to students or allow them to choose roles.
In each scenario, students must work together to navigate challenges, make decisions, and interact in character.

Encourage debrief discussions after each role play to reflect on the leadership skills demonstrated, communication, and decision-making.

Activity 24: Community Service

Engaging in community service activities provides students with the opportunity to take on leadership roles while giving back to the community.

Identify community service opportunities that align with students’ interests and skills.
Organize volunteer teams and assign leadership roles such as team leaders, organizers, and communicators.
Students actively participate in the community service project, taking on their designated roles.

Encourage reflection and discussion on the value of giving back to the community.

Activity 25: Leadership in Sports

Participating in sports and team-based physical activities allows students to develop leadership skills such as teamwork, communication, and decision-making.

Organize sports or physical activities suitable for the group’s age and abilities.
Appoint team captains or leaders responsible for organizing teams, strategies, and communication.
Students actively participate in sports or physical activities.

Encourage students to participate and discuss the importance of physical activities.

Activity 26: Design Thinking Challenge

Engaging in a “Design Thinking Challenge” allows students to tackle real-world problems through creative problem-solving, innovation, and leadership.

Identify a real-world problem or challenge relevant to the students’ interests or curriculum.
Divide students into teams and assign each team the task of designing a solution to the problem.
Have each team present their solution, emphasizing the creative problem-solving and leadership skills demonstrated.

Discuss the activity, highlighting the importance of innovation, empathy, and leadership in addressing challenges.

Activity 27: Environmental Conservation

Environmental conservation activities allow students to take on leadership roles while contributing to the preservation of the environment.

Identify environmental conservation activities or projects such as tree planting, litter cleanup, or recycling initiatives.
Organize teams and assign leadership roles, including project coordinators, organizers, and communicators.
Students actively participate in the conservation project, taking on their designated leadership roles.

Encourage and assign leadership roles. Emphasize the importance of environmental conservation.

Activity 28: Cultural Exchange

Through this activity, students can explore and appreciate diverse cultures, promoting empathy, respect, and leadership.

Organize a cultural exchange event where students from different backgrounds or cultures can share their traditions, food, music, or art.
Appoint student leaders to organize and facilitate the event, ensuring that it runs smoothly and inclusively.
After the event, discuss the leadership experiences gained, emphasizing the importance of cultural appreciation and respect.

Encourage students to actively participate in sharing their culture while respecting and learning from others.

Activity 29: Leadership in Innovation

Students explore creative solutions to real-world problems, which fosters critical thinking, creativity, and leadership.

Identify a real-world problem or challenge that students can address through innovation.
Divide students into teams and assign each team the task of designing a unique solution to the problem.
Have each team present their innovative solution, emphasizing the creative problem-solving and leadership skills demonstrated.

Discuss the activity, highlighting the importance of innovation, critical thinking, and leadership in addressing challenges.

Activity 30: Leadership in Public Speaking

Public speaking activities provide students with opportunities to develop effective communication, confidence, and leadership skills.

Organize public speaking events or debates where students must present their ideas, arguments, or speeches in front of an audience.
Encourage students to research, prepare, and practice their presentations.
Provide feedback and coaching to help students improve their public speaking skills .
Allow students to take on leadership roles such as event organizers, moderators, or judges.

After each speaking event, discuss the leadership experiences gained, emphasizing the value of effective communication and confidence.

Activity 31: Leadership Through Peer Tutoring

Peer Tutoring allows students to take on the role of tutors, helping their peers understand and master academic subjects.

Pair students as tutors and tutees based on their expertise and needs.
Instruct tutors to assist their peers in understanding challenging subjects or concepts.
Encourage regular tutoring sessions, allowing students to share knowledge, provide support, and take on leadership roles.

Reflect on the tutoring experiences, focusing on leadership, empathy, and the value of helping others.

Activity 32: Creative Arts Showcase

In the Creative Arts Showcase, students organize and showcase their artistic talents, promoting creativity, teamwork, and leadership.

Organize a creative arts showcase event where students can display their artistic works, such as visual art, music, dance, or drama.
Appoint student leaders to organize and coordinate the showcase, including planning, scheduling, and promoting the event.

After the event, discuss the leadership experiences gained, emphasizing the importance of creativity, teamwork, and artistic expression.

Activity 33: Problem-Solving Challenges

In this activity,students work collaboratively to tackle complex problems, promoting critical thinking, communication, and leadership.

Present students with challenging scenarios or problems that require innovative solutions.
Divide students into teams and assign leadership roles, such as problem solvers, communicators, and organizers.
Encourage teams to brainstorm, research, and propose solutions to the presented challenges.

Discuss the activity, highlighting the importance of critical thinking, teamwork, and leadership in addressing complex problems.

Activity 34: Technology Innovation

Technology Innovation activities allow students to explore and develop innovative technological solutions to real-world problems.

Identify a real-world problem or challenge that can be addressed through technology.
Divide students into teams and assign each team the task of designing a technological solution.
Encourage students to brainstorm, research, prototype, and test their technological innovations.
Have each team present their technological solution, emphasizing the creative problem-solving and leadership skills demonstrated.
Discuss the activity, highlighting the importance of innovation, critical thinking, and leadership in the technology field.

Activity 35: Mock Trials

Engaging in mock trials allows students to take on the roles of lawyers, witnesses, and jurors, promoting critical thinking, public speaking, and leadership.

Organize a mock trial scenario based on a fictional case.
Assign students to various roles, including lawyers, witnesses, and jurors.
Encourage students to research, prepare, and present their cases or testimonies.
Provide guidance and feedback on legal procedures, public speaking, and presentation skills.
Emphasize the importance of leadership, effective communication, and critical thinking during the trial.
After the mock trial, discuss the experiences gained, focusing on the development of legal and leadership skills.

Activity 36: Model United Nations (MUN)

Engaging in Model United Nations (MUN) simulations allows students to represent different countries and address global issues. It promotes diplomacy, research skills, public speaking, and leadership.

Organize a Model United Nations (MUN) simulation with assigned countries and topics.
Assign students to represent specific countries and prepare for the MUN sessions.
Encourage students to research their countries’ positions, engage in debates, and propose solutions to global issues.
Provide guidance and coaching on diplomacy, public speaking, and negotiation skills.
Emphasize the importance of leadership, teamwork, and international cooperation during the simulation.

After the MUN simulation, discuss the experiences gained, focusing on diplomacy, research, and leadership in global affairs.

Activity 37: Scientific Research

Engaging in scientific research projects allows students to explore and investigate scientific questions.

Identify scientific research topics or questions relevant to the students’ interests or curriculum.
Form research teams and assign leadership roles, such as researchers, data analysts, and presenters.
Students engage in the research process, including hypothesis development, data collection, analysis, and presentation.
Emphasize the importance of critical thinking, teamwork, and leadership in scientific inquiry.
After completing the research projects, discuss the experiences gained, focusing on scientific inquiry and leadership in research.

Activity 38: Leadership Through Art and Expression

Students use various forms of art in this activity, such as visual art, music, dance, or writing, to express their thoughts and emotions. This activity promotes creativity, self-expression, and leadership.

Encourage students to explore different forms of artistic expression.
Provide opportunities to create and share their art, whether through exhibitions, performances, or publications.
Assign leadership roles to student organizers responsible for planning, promoting, and coordinating artistic events.
Emphasize the importance of creativity, self-expression, and leadership in the world of art.
After the artistic events, discuss the experiences gained.

Why are these Activities Important in Schools and Colleges?

Student leadership activities hold a pivotal role in the educational landscape for several reasons:

They offer a platform for students to develop essential life skills such as communication, teamwork, problem-solving, and time management.
These activities foster qualities like responsibility, empathy, and resilience, molding students into well-rounded individuals.
Student leaders connect with peers and staff, enhancing the overall school or college community and creating a sense of belonging.
They provide practical leadership experience, preparing students for future roles in their careers and communities.

Prerequisites for Students to Participate in Leadership Activities

While leadership opportunities are open to all, certain prerequisites can facilitate success:

Commitment: Dedication and a willingness to invest time and effort.
Academic Standing: Often, a minimum GPA may be required.
Respectful Behavior: Demonstrating respectful and responsible conduct
Teacher Recommendations: In some cases, recommendations from teachers may be necessary.

Key Qualities or Skills Required for Successful Student Leadership

Effective student leaders possess a unique set of qualities and skills:

Communication: The ability to convey ideas clearly and listen actively.
Empathy: Understanding and responding to the needs and concerns of others
Problem-Solving: Finding creative solutions to challenges
Organizational Skills: Managing time, resources, and tasks efficiently
Resilience: Bouncing back from setbacks and maintaining a positive attitude

The Role of Student Leaders in Shaping the School or College Community

Student leaders play a crucial role in shaping the culture and atmosphere of their educational institution.

Advocacy: They represent student interests, advocating for changes or improvements.
Innovation: Student leaders often introduce fresh ideas and initiatives.
Unity: They foster a sense of unity and belonging within the student body.
Inspiration: Their actions inspire other students to get involved and make a difference.

Impact of Student Leadership Activities on Academic Performance

Contrary to the misconception that leadership activities hinder academics, they often enhance academic performance.

Developing time management skills that benefit both academics and leadership roles
Increasing motivation and a sense of purpose leads to improved grades.
Building a network of peers and mentors who can provide academic support

Notable Alumni Who Started Their Leadership Journey Through Student Leadership Activities

One shining example is former U.S. President Barack Obama.

He began his leadership journey by becoming the president of the Harvard Law Review, demonstrating exceptional leadership and communication skills during his tenure.

Conclusion:

Student leadership activities are the heartbeat of educational institutions, fostering personal growth, community engagement, and a sense of responsibility. They empower students to become effective leaders, preparing them for future success in both their careers and their communities.

In the end, these activities are not merely a list; they are the keys to unlocking leadership potential. They are the compass guiding students toward the leadership destinations of empathy, confidence, and service. As educators, mentors, and guides, our role is to provide the canvas, and these activities are the vivid brushstrokes that paint a portrait of leaders ready to embrace the world with open hearts and inspired minds.

So, let us encourage our students to step boldly into leadership, to take the helm with courage, and to shape the future with compassion. In the tapestry of their journey, let leadership be the vibrant thread that leaves an indelible mark on the canvas of their lives.

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39 best leadership activities and games

Good leaders can make or break a team. While more and more people are being asked to step into leadership roles, the path to becoming a good leader is long and not always straightforward . This is where leadership activities come in.

Leadership activities are a great way of developing the skills and competencies needed to be an effective leader . It's not easy to learn these skills, especially when so many leaders don't receive effective training or support. In this article, we'll explore the leadership activities you should master in order to lead a high-performing team and become a better leader!

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What are leadership activities?

Leadership activities are exercises designed to help develop leadership skills and enable leaders to be more effective in their roles. They can include activities that help train new leaders and improve core leadership skills like problem-solving, active listening, or effective group management.

You’ll also find that the best leadership development activities give leaders tools and techniques they can use on the job. It’s one thing to know that leaders need to be good listeners, but quite another to be given a framework and toolkit that means you are a great listener who always helps their team feel heard and understood.

The exercises below are not only great to use when training leaders, but they are practical techniques leaders can use with every team member immediately, whatever their leadership style.

What are leadership activities used for?

While managers might approach tasks differently based on their leadership style, there are skills and competencies that all leaders should learn in order to best service their team. Learning how to be a good leader can be difficult, so using exercises and activities to improve leadership skills in a safe, experiential environment can help leaders be more effective in their role.

If you’re running a leadership development program, you might use these activities during the training program. For example, after conducting a self-assessment and deciding how they want to develop as a leader, participants might work on improving their leadership skills with these activities.

Whether you’re running such a program and developing managers internally with workshops or simply want to brush up on your own leadership skills, these exercises are a great place to begin.

A bespoke leadership development workshop (like the one featured in this leadership template! ) is also a natural place to include these activities.

In SessionLab, it’s quick and easy to design a leadership workshop fit for your needs. Start by dragging and dropping blocks to design your outline. Add minute-perfect timing and instructions to each activity to refine your agenda.

When you’re ready to share with collaborators or participants, export your workshop agenda in PDF, Word, Powerpoint or invite them directly to the session.

A screenshot of a leadership development workshop designed and built in SessionLab.

Leadership training activities for building a positive work climate

Leaders are role models to their colleagues and organization. Their leadership styles, principles, and values determine the culture that drives their organization’s behavior.

That is why a competitive, paranoid leader can easily create an organization where team members are similarly competitive and less open to collaboration. While a leader who is open and inclusive will create a climate of openness and inclusiveness. How they behave, and what they consider the norm, also affects which kinds of behaviors are enforced and celebrated and which behaviors are punished.

The following leadership activities can help you in recognising important leadership behaviors that result in a productive workplace. They can also be used by leaders to set the stage for team bonding and a great workplace environment with their team. A must for all leaders!

Leadership Envelopes

Leadership games like this help groups translate abstract leadership principles into practical on-the-job behaviors. Participants work in groups to come up with real-life applications of different leadership principles.

The groups conduct multiple rounds of discussion to build upon each others’ ideas, and in the end, evaluate the best ideas to identify the most useful behaviors. This is also a great activity to run with all your team members. Seeing how they consider and respond to different leadership styles can help you focus on the right approach as a leader!

Leadership Envelopes #leadership #issue analysis #thiagi Leadership exercise in groups, working with practical leadership principles. This activity helps groups to translate abstract leadership principles into practical on-the-job behaviours. Participants work in groups to come up with real-life application of leadership principles. The groups take multiple rounds to build upon the ideas of each other, and in the end, evaluate the best ideas to identify the most useful behaviours.

Your Favourite Manager

In this activity, participants take on three different employee personas and list the behaviors of a positive leader or manager and a negative one from the perspectives of those employees. After some individual reflection, participants compare their lists, first in pairs and then in groups. Finally, they collect the ultimate do’s and don’ts for managers and leaders.

Any activity that encourages deep reflection on your own leadership style and those of your role models is a wonderful way to grow. I’ve been especially inspired by how some of my old bosses approach problem solving while I was a team member working beneath them.

My Favourite Manager #management #leadership #thiagi #teamwork #remote-friendly Participants work individually, assuming the roles of three different people and brainstorming their perceptions of three most favourite managers and three least favourite managers. Later, they work with a partner (and still later, in teams) to prepare a list of dos and don’t-s for improving employees’ perception of a manager’s style.

Leadership Pizza

This leadership development activity offers a self-assessment framework for people to first identify the skills, attributes and attitudes they find important for effective leadership, and then assess their own development in these areas. This framework is also a great tool to set individual leadership development goals in a coaching process.

We love activities that allow team members to reflect on different leadership styles and assess their own skills and preferences. The visual format makes it easy to share and reflect on leadership styles later too!

Leadership Pizza #leadership #team #remote-friendly This leadership development activity offers a self-assessment framework for people to first identify what skills, attributes and attitudes they find important for effective leadership, and then assess their own development and initiate goal setting.

Playing with Status

The best leadership training activities often allow managers to work on their leadership skills while also providing an opportunity to reflect on their leadership style and how it might affect other employees.

Playing with Status is a role playing game where pairs enact a job interview or coaching session and enact different versions of the conversation based on whether each person has high or low status. By experiencing the effect of status on the relationship, would-be leaders can consider how they interact with other members of their team and create a more positive workplace culture.

Playing with Status #teambuilding #communication #team #thiagi Participants are given a short script of 8-10 lines of neutral dialogue. The scene may depict a job interview (see the sample below) or a coaching session. Pairs take turns enacting the scene, playing with the status relationships through non-verbal behaviours.

Heard Seen Respected

Standing in the shoes of others, practicing empathy and ensuring that everyone on a team is able to be heard is a necessity for great leaders and your team in general. In this activity, participants shift between telling stories where they were not heard, seen or respected and then being listeners who do not pass judgment.

Remember that leadership training should often start with the fundamentals of respect and empathy. If you can’t respect and empathize with your team members, how can you expect them to do the same for you? Keeping things simple with an activity like Heard Seen Respected can be an especially effective option whether you’re working online or offline.

Heard, Seen, Respected (HSR) #issue analysis #empathy #communication #liberating structures #remote-friendly You can foster the empathetic capacity of participants to “walk in the shoes” of others. Many situations do not have immediate answers or clear resolutions. Recognizing these situations and responding with empathy can improve the “cultural climate” and build trust among group members. HSR helps individuals learn to respond in ways that do not overpromise or overcontrol. It helps members of a group notice unwanted patterns and work together on shifting to more productive interactions. Participants experience the practice of more compassion and the benefits it engenders.

Team building leadership activities

Every leader has an integral role in the formation of the teams they work with. Whether you are consciously working on it or not, your attitude and actions as a leader will significantly influence team cohesion, communication and the team spirit of the people you work with.

This comes through in small everyday actions, the way you share responsibilities, the way you empower colleagues, and the way you foster a cooperative work environment as opposed to a competitive one.

Sometimes, it can also be effective to run team building activities with your company that are expressly focused on helping teams come together and bond. Try using the following leadership team building activities with new teams, or groups that need to spend a little time getting to know each other better.

Marshmallow challenge

The Marshmallow Challenge is a team-building activity in which teams compete to build the tallest free-standing structure out of spaghetti sticks, tape, string, and the marshmallow that needs to be on the top. This leadership activity emphasizes group communication, leadership dynamics, collaboration, and innovation and problem-solving.

It’s a wonderful game that allows participants’s natural leadership qualities to shine through, and it helps teams have a lot of fun too!

Marshmallow challenge with debriefing #teamwork #team #leadership #collaboration In eighteen minutes, teams must build the tallest free-standing structure out of 20 sticks of spaghetti, one yard of tape, one yard of string, and one marshmallow. The marshmallow needs to be on top. The Marshmallow Challenge was developed by Tom Wujec, who has done the activity with hundreds of groups around the world. Visit the Marshmallow Challenge website for more information. This version has an extra debriefing question added with sample questions focusing on roles within the team.

Blind Square Rope Game

This activity is a tried and tested game that asks teams to communicate well and solve a problem as a team. Not only is this a fun team building activity, but it’s a great way for potential leaders to step up and help their team win! Start by tying a length of rope into a circle and then instruct participants they will have 20 minutes to turn it into a square, with fifteen minutes to plan their actions and five minutes to implement. Here’s the catch – no one may touch the rope until you begin, and every team member is blindfolded during implementation. This is an effective leadership game that is great with both small groups and larger teams separated into breakouts.

Blind Square – Rope game #teamwork #communication #teambuilding #team #energiser #thiagi #outdoor This is an activity that I use in almost every teambuilding session I run–because it delivers results every time. I can take no credit for its invention since it has existed from long before my time, in various forms and with a variety of names (such as Blind Polygon). The activity can be frontloaded to focus on particular issues by changing a few parameters or altering the instructions.

Tower of Power

All leaders need to work closely with other members of their organization in order to succeed. This leadership game encourages groups to work together in order to build a tower with specific (and sometimes tricky!) rules before than reflecting on what worked, what didn’t and what they would do next time.

It’s a wonderful activity for leadership training, as it provides an experiential way to explore leadership concepts, all wrapped in a fun game!

Tower of Power #team #teamwork #communication #leadership #teambuilding #skills This teamwork activity requires participants to work closely together to build a tower from a set of building blocks. The players need to coordinate their actions in order to be able to move the wooden blocks with the crane they have, and this can only be solved by precise planning, good communication and well-organised teamwork. You may use this exercise to emphasise the following themes and outcomes: In Leadership training : identifying interdependencies in systems, leadership communication, dealing with risk, giving feedback In Team building : communicating effectively, cooperating, being an active listener, maintaining the balance, working with values In Project management : simulating strategic planning, working under time pressure In Communication training : meta communication, facilitating, dealing with different perspectives

When teams work together well, something magic happens. But what elements constitute a high performing team? As a leader, how can you help ensure those conditions are met? In this leadership game, participants must work together to get every team member across an obstacle while blindfolded.

It’s a simple concept that creates a perfect space for exploring how teams operate and the role leaders have within them. Bring plenty of fun obstacles (squeaky toys are best) and encourage groups to think strategically for best results!

Minefield #teampedia #teamwork #action #team #icebreaker A fun activity that helps participants working together as a team while teaching the importance of communication, strategy and trust.

Crocodile River

The Crocodile River is a team-building activity in which group members need to support each other in a task to move from one end of a space to another. It requires working together creatively and strategically in order to solve a practical, physical problem. It tends to emphasize group communication, cooperation, leadership and membership, patience and problem-solving.

Crocodile River #hyperisland #team #outdoor A team-building activity in which a group is challenged to physically support one another in an endeavour to move from one end of a space to another. It requires working together creatively and strategically in order to solve a practical, physical problem. It tends to emphasize group communication, cooperation, leadership and membership, patience and problem-solving.

This is a simple game to help team members learn how to work together (better). It can also focus on the group’s understanding of communication, leadership, problem-solving, trust or persistence. Participants stand in a circle, close their eyes and put their hands into the circle to find two other hands to hold. Then they open their eyes and the group has to try to get back into a circle without letting go, though they can change their grip, of course.

Human Knot A physical-participation disentanglement puzzle that helps a group learn how to work together (self-organize) and can be used to illustrate the difference between self-organization and command-control management or simply as a get-to-know-you icebreaker. Standing in a circle, group members reach across to connect hands with different people. The group then tries to unravel the “human knot” by unthreading their bodies without letting go of each other people’s hands. As a management-awareness game to illustrate required change in behavior and leadership on a management level (e.g., illustrate the change from ‘task-oriented’ management towards ‘goal/value-oriented’ management).

Who are you? The pirate ship exercise

Every member of a group occupies a different position in the team. An effective team leader is one who considers their role and is aware of where employees also stand.

This leadership training activity is an effective method of getting a group to consider their roles with the metaphor of a pirate ship. Start by sharing the image and invite each person to consider which person on the deck they most identify with. Is it the captain, or perhaps is it the person repairing damage to the hull? What follows is an effective conversation on roles within a team.

Who are you? The pirate ship exercise (dinámica del barco pirata) #team alignment #team #remote-friendly #teamwork #warm up #icebreaker This an easy but powerful exercise to open a meeting or session and get participants to reflect on their attitudes or feelings about a topic, in the organization, team, or in the project.

Collaborative leadership activities

Whether you’re leading a small group or working across a massive organization, part of your role of a leader is to help their team work together more effectively. Removing obstacles to effective collaboration and creating frameworks for better teamwork is something you’ll be doing as a leader.

Use the activities below to develop the skills necessary to facilitate better collaboration and working habits between team members.

Circles of Influence

Effective teamwork is often about identifying where each member of a team can have the most impact and use their skills best. Leaders often need to find ways to identify where to direct their team and consider how different skills and working styles fit together to make a cohesive team. This activity makes it easy to facilitate this process and encourage employees to reflect and be proactive too!

We love that this leadership exercise encourages every team member to take responsibility and action. When looking for leadership qualities in a group and considering who you might want to develop into a future leader, this is also a great place to start!

Circles of Influence #hyperisland #team #team effectiveness A workshop to review team priorities and made choices about what to focus on individually and collectively. The workshop challenges members to reflect on where they can have the most impact and influence. Use this workshop to refine priorities and empower ownership among team members.

Team of Two

Whether you’re leading a team of just a few people or hundreds, the reality is that many of your discussions and interactions with the people you will lead will be interpersonal and one-on-one in nature. Developing the skillset you need to solve issues in your team when they arise and finding ways to ensure these conversations are productive is one of the most important things you can do as a leader.

Use Team of Two whether working online or as part of an in-person session to help your working pairs and interpersonal relationships go from strength to strength. By articulating needs and consequences clearly, this leadership exercise helps people communicate efficiently and see the results they need – a must for anyone in a leadership role!

Team of Two #communication #active listening #issue analysis #conflict resolution #issue resolution #remote-friendly #team Much of the business of an organisation takes place between pairs of people. These interactions can be positive and developing or frustrating and destructive. You can improve them using simple methods, providing people are willing to listen to each other. “Team of two” will work between secretaries and managers, managers and directors, consultants and clients or engineers working on a job together. It will even work between life partners.

What I Need From You

One of the most important leadership skills to cultivate is clarity: being clear in what you expect and need from others in your organisation or group is an integral component of high-functioning teams. With What I Need From You, each team member involved in the exchange is given the chance to articulate their core needs to others and respond in a structured way.

This kind of clear, direct action is great at unblocking conversational roadblocks in both large and small groups, and is something all leaders should have in their toolkit.

What I Need From You (WINFY) #issue analysis #liberating structures #team #communication #remote-friendly People working in different functions and disciplines can quickly improve how they ask each other for what they need to be successful. You can mend misunderstandings or dissolve prejudices developed over time by demystifying what group members need in order to achieve common goals. Since participants articulate core needs to others and each person involved in the exchange is given the chance to respond, you boost clarity, integrity, and transparency while promoting cohesion and coordination across silos: you can put Humpty Dumpty back together again!

Generative Relationships STAR

The relationships between the members of a team can make or break the work you do together. In this leadership training activity, leaders learn how to help a group understand their current working patterns and identify possible changes.

Each participant will individually rate the current performance of the group on the 4 points of the STAR compass tool included. Next, small groups will discuss their choices and find points of alignment and disagreement. Finally, the whole team will discuss the first steps they can take to improve relationships and performance for the group.

Generative Relationships STAR #team #liberating structures #teamwork You can help a group of people understand how they work together and identify changes that they can make to improve group performance. All members of the group diagnose current relationship patterns and decide how to follow up with action steps together, without intermediaries. The STAR compass tool helps group members understand what makes their relationships more or less generative. The compass used in the initial diagnosis can also be used later to evaluate progress in developing relationships that are more generative.

Team Canvas

When it comes to enabling true collaboration throughout your organization, it pays to involve your team members in helping shape the way you want to work together. Different leadership styles may call for a different approach to this process, but it’s always helpful to see a complete example of how you might define your team culture and working processes.

In this workshop template, you can see a complete agenda for a team canvas workshop. This will take a team through a process of co-creating and defining everything from your goals, values, assets, and rules. Effective leadership often means tapping into group intelligence and enabling your team to take shared ownership of their success. Team Canvas great way of achieving this!

Team Canvas Session #team alignment #teamwork #conflict resolution #feedback #teambuilding #team #issue resolution #remote-friendly The Team Canvas is Business Model Canvas for teamwork. It is an effective technique to facilitate getting teams aligned about their goals, values and purposes, and help team members find their role on the team.

Inspirational leadership activities

Great leaders inspire others. However, there are many different reasons why someone will find a leader inspirational. Developing the skills to inspire team members and lead with this energy is important, whatever your leadership style.

In order to grasp what facilitates inspiring leadership, try the following exercises. You’ll be surprised at how thinking more deeply about your own role models or what your values can help you in all of your leadership interactions!

Leadership Advice from your Role Model

Everyone is asked to think of a role model they look up to and ask themselves: If a young person would ask these role models for leadership advice and what kind of advice that would be.

Facilitate a group conversation where these pieces of advice are shared and contradicting points are discussed and reconciled. Given diverse enough responses, this structured sharing activity might be a good introduction to the concept of situational leadership.

Leadership Advice from Your Role Model #skills #leadership #thiagi #role playing This structured sharing activity provides a faster, cheaper, and better alternative to buying and reading a lot of books: You tap into the wisdom of the group—and of their role models.

Living Core Values

The core values of your organization are a great place to look when you want to inspire your team members. Leaders should be involved in defining and exemplifying their core values and also helping create space for the team to share how they’re living those values. The result is an inspiring leadership exercise that allows a leader to help the group celebrate their wins and also suggest places for improvement.

Start by choosing one of your core values and asking activity participants to share a story of how they have been practicing this core value. After sharing, ask the team to reflect on what inspired them from the story. As with any leadership development game, be the first one to share a story to help guide the discussion. Running this exercise will not only help inspire a team to greater heights but also surface any areas that need improvement – it’s a great method to have in your leadership toolbox!

Living Core Values #culture #values #core values, #connection #inspiration #virtual_friendly #team #team alignment #energizer #remote-friendly For use with a team, organization or any peer group forum. Can be done in person or virtual This is designed to create a conversation that brings Core Values alive. This is great for a team that knows what values they stand for. Through this exercise they will celebrate their values in action and therefore be energized to magnify them further. It will also help bring along anyone that is new so they can understand that the group really walks the talk

Throughout human history, stories have been a consistent source of inspiration. Whatever your leadership style, finding time to share more about your own story and create space for others to share theirs can be massively useful as a leader.

In Campfire, start by creating a selection of 10-20 sticky notes relating to a concept you wish to explore with the group. Put these on the wall and then invite your group to review them and consider stories they might tell related to one of those words. Start the storytelling session yourself and think about how you might inspire and elicit further stories from the rest of the team before passing the torch to the next person around the campfire!

This is a great activity to run during leadership training or when team building. Creating safe spaces for people to share their experiences is a leadership skill you absolutely want to cultivate and practice!

Campfire #gamestorming #team #remote-friendly #storytelling Campfire leverages our natural storytelling tendencies by giving players a format and a space in which to share work stories—of trial and error, failure and success, competition, diplomacy, and teamwork. Campfire is useful not only because it acts as an informal training game, but also because it reveals commonalities in employee perception and experience.

Letter from the Future

Leaders are often called upon to inspire their team members about the future of their product or organization. Employees who are excited about where you’re going are more likely to work together well and be energized to see results. This activity is useful for helping inspire a team, or even just to inspire yourself as a leader and get your vision for the future down on paper!

Begin by asking your team to speculate on what the world will look like in five years. Next, ask them to write a letter from the future detailing what the group has accomplished in that time and how they overcame any challenges.

Share the results to inspire the group for what you might accomplish and also start creating plans for how you’ll create your desired future. You might even find that running this activity solo is effective when thinking about how you want to develop as a team leader!

Letter from the Future #strategy #vision #thiagi #team #teamwork Teams that fail to develop a shared vision of what they are all about and what they need to do suffer later on when team members start implementing the common mandate based on individual assumptions. To help teams get started on the right foot, here is a process for creating a shared vision.

Leadership activities for personal development

A good leader is one who helps uplift and upskill the members of their team. These leadership activities are designed to help you encourage participants to be more autonomous, take initiative and work on their personal development.

If you’re new to a leadership role or trying on various leadership styles, these can also be great activities to practice on the road to leading a team. Growth and development is a vital aspect of employee happiness and fulfilment – be sure to bring ideas for enabling others to your leadership role.

Roles in a meeting

Learning by doing is an important aspect of effective leadership. Sometimes, you have to try something new and approach the task with an open mind while working to the best of your ability. This simple method is a great way of encouraging participants to take an important role during a meeting and also take part in developing and refining those roles.

If you’re running a leadership development program and want to start upskilling participants, this is a great way of delegating some simple leadership roles. Plus, it helps encourage the group to contribute and engage with how a successful meeting is put together too!

Roles in a meeting #meeting facilitation #remote-friendly #hybrid-friendly #skills Organize the day’s meeting by co-creating and assigning roles among participants.

Alignment & Autonomy

One of the most impactful things a leader can do is get out of a team’s way and allow them to perform more autonomously. Doing so effectively means people can take ownership of their work, be more invested, and develop their skills too. But how can you do this without creating chaos or misalignment?

In this activity, you first help every team member align on your goals and then reflect on where they can take more ownership and be more autonomous in their work while still contributing to the goals of the team. Not only is this a great way to help your team develop, but it also takes work off your plate as a leader and can enable you to get out of the trenches if necessary.

Alignment & Autonomy #team #team alignment #team effectiveness #hyperisland A workshop to support teams to reflect on and ultimately increase their alignment with purpose/goals and team member autonomy. Inspired by Peter Smith’s model of personal responsibility. Use this workshop to strengthen a culture of personal responsibility and build your team’s ability to adapt quickly and navigate change.

15% Solutions

One of the biggest barriers to personal development is being overwhelmed by what you need to do to achieve your goals. As a leader, you can help your team by enabling them to take the small, important actions that are within their control.

Start by asking participants to reflect on where they have the discretion and freedom to act and how they might make a small step towards a goal without needing outside help. By flipping the conversation to what 15% of a solution looks like, rather than 100%, employees can begin to make changes without fear of being overwhelmed.

15% Solutions #action #liberating structures #remote-friendly You can reveal the actions, however small, that everyone can do immediately. At a minimum, these will create momentum, and that may make a BIG difference. 15% Solutions show that there is no reason to wait around, feel powerless, or fearful. They help people pick it up a level. They get individuals and the group to focus on what is within their discretion instead of what they cannot change. With a very simple question, you can flip the conversation to what can be done and find solutions to big problems that are often distributed widely in places not known in advance. Shifting a few grains of sand may trigger a landslide and change the whole landscape.

The GROW Coaching Model

The best leaders are often great coaches, helping individual team members achieve their potential and grow. This tried and test method is a wonderful way to help activate the development of everyone from a new start to an established leader.

Begin by teaching your mentee or group the GROW acronym (Goal, Reality, Obstacles/Options, and Will.) and guide them through a process of defining each section and collectively agreeing on how you’ll make progress. This is an effective leadership activity that is great for leadership training and is equally useful when it comes to help any team member grow.

The GROW Coaching Model #hyperisland #coaching #growth #goal setting The GROW Model is a coaching framework used in conversations, meetings, and everyday leadership to unlock potential and possibilities. It’s a simple & effective framework for structuring your coaching & mentoring sessions and great coaching conversations. Easy to use for both face-to-face and online meetings. GROW is an acronym that stands for Goal, Reality, Obstacles/Options, and Will.

Decision-making leadership activities

An important aspect of leadership development is learning how to make informed and intelligent decisions while also ensuring you listen to your team. A leader who bulldozes their team into a decision without first listening to their expertise is not going to make their team feel valued.

The outcomes of uninformed decisions are often poor or frustrating for those involved too. While leaders are justifiably responsible for making final decisions, it’s integral to find methods to do so in a well-reasoned way.

These leadership activities are useful when it comes to making good decisions while involving your team members in the process and developing a leadership style that creates space for others.

When solving problems as a team, it’s common to have various options for moving forward. As a leader, it often falls to you to make the decision for which solution or direction to pursue. But how can you do that while also creating space for the opinions of your team to be heard?

Dotmocracy is a tried and tested facilitation method for making informed decisions with the help of your team. After presenting the available options, give everyone on your team a number of dots to indicate which option they prefer. You’ll want to adjust the number of votes based on the number of options there are to choose from. A good rule of thumb is to have fewer dots than there are options, giving just a few for every team member.

Leaders want to be on hand to break any ties and to facilitate discussion around what is chosen, but when it comes to making decisions with your team, this method is hard to beat.

Dotmocracy #action #decision making #group prioritization #hyperisland #remote-friendly Dotmocracy is a simple method for group prioritization or decision-making. It is not an activity on its own, but a method to use in processes where prioritization or decision-making is the aim. The method supports a group to quickly see which options are most popular or relevant. The options or ideas are written on post-its and stuck up on a wall for the whole group to see. Each person votes for the options they think are the strongest, and that information is used to inform a decision.

Impact and Effort Matrix

The hallmark of a good decision making process is transparency. Leaders should know why a decision is made and should be able to clearly explain their thinking to team members. As such, the best decision making activities make the process open and easy to understand.

Start this activity by creating a 2×2 matrix and then place possible options on the matrix based on the expected impact and effort it would take to achieve them. This makes it easy to prioritize and compare possible decisions while also including team members in the process.

An inclusive leadership style means bringing your own knowledge to the table while also listening to the opinions of the team. When running this activity, be sure to combine these aspects to ensure items are placed in the appropriate place on the matrix.

Impact and Effort Matrix #gamestorming #decision making #action #remote-friendly In this decision-making exercise, possible actions are mapped based on two factors: effort required to implement and potential impact. Categorizing ideas along these lines is a useful technique in decision making, as it obliges contributors to balance and evaluate suggested actions before committing to them.

Level of influence

Making the right decision is often a process of weighing up various factors and prioritizing accordingly. While there are many methods for doing this, being an effective leader often means making this as simple as possible.

We love this decision making activity because it asks the group (and its leader!) some simple questions to narrow down possible options and makes it easy to prioritize too. Start by asking the level of influence a team has to make possible actions happen and ranking them accordingly.

Next, choose those items that you have the most influence on and then prioritize the ones you really want to happen. This simple, two-step process is a great activity for leadership development as it is something any leader can use with ease!

Level of Influence #prioritization #implementation #decision making #planning #online facilitation This is a simple method to prioritize actions as part of an action planning workshop, after a list of actions has been generated.

Fishbone Analysis

Making good decisions requires a complete knowledge of the problem at hand. For leaders who may no longer be on the frontlines of their department, it’s important to surface insights from their team and understand the root cause of any problem before making a decision.

In this leadership activity, start by choosing a problem area and adding it to the head of the fish. Next, brainstorm ideas that might cause the problem and add these as categories to the skeleton. Brainstorm on each of these categories and ask why is this happening in order to dive deeper and fully understand the issue at hand before making an informed decision as a group.

Fishbone Analysis #problem solving ##root cause analysis #decision making #online facilitation A process to help identify and understand the origins of problems, issues or observations.

Leadership exercises for setting team values

Usually, the values of a leader are mirrored in the organization. If shortcuts are common practice for the leader, then she will see shortcuts made by her team members all across their projects. But if learning and self-improvement are important to the leader, then this will be a good foundation for these values in the whole organization, too.

To be more aware of your own values as a leader and then bring these ideas to your team, try these leadership exercises!

Explore Your Values

Explore your Values is a group exercise for thinking on what your own and your team’s most important values are. It’s done in an intuitive and rapid way to encourage participants to follow their intuitions rather than over-thinking and finding the “correct” values.

It’s a good leadership game to use to initiate reflection and dialogue around personal values and consider how various leadership styles might chime with some values more than others.

Explore your Values #hyperisland #skills #values #remote-friendly Your Values is an exercise for participants to explore what their most important values are. It’s done in an intuitive and rapid way to encourage participants to follow their intuitive feeling rather than over-thinking and finding the “correct” values. It is a good exercise to use to initiate reflection and dialogue around personal values.

Your Leadership Coat of Arms

In this leadership development activity, participants are asked to draw their own coat of arms symbolising the most important elements of their leadership philosophy. The coat of arms drawings are then debriefed and discussed together with the group.

This activity works well with equally well with leadership and team members. Creating a visual representation of what you stand for in the form of a coat of arms can help create a memorable asset you can refer to and rally behind in the future.

Your Leadership Coat of Arms #leadership #leadership development #skills #remote-friendly #values In this leadership development activity, participants are asked to draw their own coat of arms symbolising the most important elements of their leadership philosophy. The coat of arms drawings are then debriefed and discussed together with the group. After the exercise you may prepare a coat of arms gallery, exhibiting the leadership approach and philosophy of group members

Team Purpose & Culture

Ensuring all group participants are aligned when it comes to purpose and cultural values is one of the jobs of a leader. Teams and organizations that have a shared and cohesive vision are often happier and more productive and by helping a group arrive at these conclusions, a good leader can help empower everyone to succeed. Even with multi-discipline teams and organizations with different leadership styles, this method is an effective way of getting everyone on the same page. This is a framework you’ll likely use again and again with different teams throughout your career.

Team Purpose & Culture #team #hyperisland #culture #remote-friendly This is an essential process designed to help teams define their purpose (why they exist) and their culture (how they work together to achieve that purpose). Defining these two things will help any team to be more focused and aligned. With support of tangible examples from other companies, the team members work as individuals and a group to codify the way they work together. The goal is a visual manifestation of both the purpose and culture that can be put up in the team’s work space.

Leadership communication activities

Leaders are usually viewed as the parents of the organization. It is expected from them that they take care of their people and make sure that proper norms and rules are followed. One of the key areas where a leader has a large influence is the style and amount of communication between people.

Active Listening and giving effective feedback are critical skills to have as a leader but are also crucial for your team members. In fact, the issue that leaders rank as one of the biggest barriers to successful leadership is avoiding tough conversations, including giving honest, constructive feedback .

Develop good communication practices with the following leadership games and activities.

Active Listening

This activity supports participants in reflecting on a question and generating their own solutions using simple principles of active listening and peer coaching. It’s an excellent introduction to active listening but can also be used with groups that are already familiar with this activity. Participants work in groups of three and take turns being “the subject” who will explore a question, “the listener” who is supposed to be totally focused on the subject, and “the observer” who will watch the dynamic between the other two.

Active Listening #hyperisland #skills #active listening #remote-friendly This activity supports participants to reflect on a question and generate their own solutions using simple principles of active listening and peer coaching. It’s an excellent introduction to active listening but can also be used with groups that are already familiar with it. Participants work in groups of three and take turns being: “the subject”, the listener, and the observer.

Trust battery

Every time you work together with someone, your trust battery – the trust you have towards a certain person, or the ‘emotional credit’ that person has in your eyes – either charges or depletes based on things like whether you deliver on what you promise and the social interaction you exhibit. A low trust battery is the core of many personal issues at the workplace.

This self-assessment activity allows you and your team members to reflect on the ‘trust battery’ they individually have towards each person on the team and encourages focus on actions that can charge the depleted trust batteries. It also works great when promoting virtual leadership and working with online teams!

Trust Battery #leadership #teamwork #team #remote-friendly This self-assessment activity allows you and your team members to reflect on the ‘trust battery’ they individually have towards each person on the team, and encourages focus on actions that can charge the depleted trust batteries.

Feedback: Start, Stop, Continue

Regular and constructive feedback is one of the most important ingredients for effective teams. Openness creates trust, and trust creates more openness. This is an activity for teams that have worked together for some time and are familiar with giving and receiving feedback. The objective of Start, Stop, Continue is to examine aspects of a situation or develop next steps by polling people on what to start, what to stop and what to continue doing.

For those in charge of online leadership, it’s vital to find ways of having difficult conversations in constructive ways virtually – try this method when working to resolve issues with your distributed team!

Feedback: Start, Stop, Continue #hyperisland #skills #feedback #remote-friendly Regular, effective feedback is one of the most important ingredients in building constructive relationships and thriving teams. Openness creates trust and trust creates more openness. Feedback exercises aim to support groups to build trust and openness and for individuals to gain self-awareness and insight. Feedback exercises should always be conducted with thoughtfulness and high awareness of group dynamics. This is an exercise for groups or teams that have worked together for some time and are familiar with giving and receiving feedback. It uses the words “stop”, “start” and “continue” to guide the feedback messages.

Reflection: Team

All leaders know the value of structured and considered reflection. Teams that take the time to reflect and improve are those that can grow and by creating an environment of reflection, team leaders and managers can help their group move forward together. This method is effective for both offline and virtual leadership development. It helps a group progress from individual reflection through to full group discussion in a way that encourages constructive thought and minimizes potential frustration or antagonistic conversation.

Reflection: Team #hyperisland #team #remote-friendly The purpose of reflecting as a team is for members to express thoughts, feelings and opinions about a shared experience, to build openness and trust in the team, and to draw out key learnings and insights to take forward into subsequent experiences. Team members generally sit in a circle, reflecting first as individuals, sharing those reflections with the group, then discussing the insights and potential actions to take out of the session. Use this session one or more times throughout a project or program.

Leadership conflict resolution activities

One of the most important leadership skills you’ll want to develop is the ability to mediate and resolve team conflicts. Even the most connected and effective teams can run into conflict and it will fall to managers and team leaders to help get things back on track.

Even for established leaders, navigating conflict can be difficult! These leadership development activities are designed to help groups manage and resolve conflicts more effectively.

Giving leaders a framework they can trust and use with their team right away is always a good use of time, and we’d recommend teaching these methods to all new leaders!

What, So What, Now What?

It’s easy to get lost in the woods when it comes to managing conflict. Helping a group see what happened objectively and without judgment is an important leadership skill, and this framework helps make this process easy.

Start by working with the group to collect facts about what happened before moving towards making sense of them. Once everywhere has been heard and given space to process these facts, you can then move towards suggesting practical actions. By following this kind of framework, you can manage a conflict in a pragmatic way that also ensures everyone in a group can contribute.

W³ – What, So What, Now What? #issue analysis #innovation #liberating structures You can help groups reflect on a shared experience in a way that builds understanding and spurs coordinated action while avoiding unproductive conflict. It is possible for every voice to be heard while simultaneously sifting for insights and shaping new direction. Progressing in stages makes this practical—from collecting facts about What Happened to making sense of these facts with So What and finally to what actions logically follow with Now What . The shared progression eliminates most of the misunderstandings that otherwise fuel disagreements about what to do. Voila!

Conflict Responses

All of us can be guilty of handling conflicts in a less than ideal manner. Part of developing as a leader is identifying when something didn’t go well before finding ways to do things better next time.

In this leadership activity, ask the group to provide examples of previous conflicts and then reflect on how they handled them. Next, ask everyone to reflect on how they might change their behavior for a better outcome in the future. As a leader, use this opportunity to lead the way and be honest and vulnerable. It’s your role to provide a model for interaction and its always worthwhile to see how you can do better as a people manager dealing with conflict too!

Conflict Responses #hyperisland #team #issue resolution A workshop for a team to reflect on past conflicts, and use them to generate guidelines for effective conflict handling. The workshop uses the Thomas-Killman model of conflict responses to frame a reflective discussion. Use it to open up a discussion around conflict with a team.

Bright Blurry Blind

Finding opportunities to reframe conflict as an opportunity to solve problems and create clarity is a very useful leadership quality. Often, conflict is a signifier of a deeper problem and so finding ways to surface and work on these issues as a team is a great way to move forward and bring a group together too.

In this leadership activity, start by asking the group to reflect on the central metaphor of bright to blind issues or topics, based on whether the problem is out in the open or unknown. Next, invite small groups to ideate on what issues facing the team are bright, blurry, or blind and then discuss them as a group. By working together to illuminate what is blurry or blind, you can create a one-team mentality and start resolving problems that can lead to conflict too.

Bright Blurry Blind #communication #collaboration #problem identification #issue analysis This is an exercise for creating a sense of community, support intra and inter departmental communication and breakdown of “Silos” within organizations. It allows participants to openly speak about current issues within the team and organization.

The Art of Effective Feedback Workshop

All leaders will need to give effective feedback in order to help their team develop and do great work. The best leaders also solicit feedback from their direct reports and use this is an opportunity to grow. But how can you teach these feedback skills and help leaders develop this important skill?

Check out our Effective Feedback Workshop template for a complete agenda you can use to develop this leadership skill. You’ll find a ready-to-go workshop with a guide and PowerPoint presentation you can use to help anyone in a leadership role give and receive better feedback.

Workshop design made easy

Designing and running effective workshops and meetings is an important leadership skill; whether it’s staying organized and on time during your daily stand-ups or planning more involved sessions.

With SessionLab, it’s easy to create engaging workshops that create impact while engaging every member of your team. Drag, drop and reorder blocks to build your agenda. When you make changes or update your agenda, your session timing adjusts automatically , saving you time on manual adjustments.

Collaborating with stakeholders or clients? Share your agenda with a single click and collaborate in real-time. No more sending documents back and forth over email.

Explore how you and your team might use SessionLab to design more effective sessions or watch this five minute video to see the planner in action!

Now over to you…

I hope you have found some useful tips for leadership development workshops above. Now we’d love to hear from you!

What are your favorite leadership workshop ideas and training exercises for leadership development? Did you incorporate any of them into your facilitation practice?

Have you tried any of the activities above? Let us know about your experiences in the comments.

23 Comments

Thank you for sharing such great activity ideas. It is greatly appreciated and a perfect example of how the internet can and does serve the greater good!

Thank you, Jeanne! Great to see that you have found some useful ideas here!

Thank you this is very helpful in building new activities and revitalising teaching.

You’re welcome, Christine! Great to see that you’ve found the post helpful!

Thank you for the magnanimity of sharing these activities. We will choose and run and I am sure they will be very effective.

You are welcome, Roofi – enjoy using these activities at your sessions!

Thank you for sharing such great activity ideas. I will use in my leadership training programme

You are welcome man, happy to see that you’ve found some useful inspiration in this post!

Awesome resources for leadership coaching. Thank you so much! Cheers Marion (From Australia)

You’re welcome, Marion! I’m happy to hear you’ve found interesting the techniques above :-)

Thank you so much . I am really having a hard time thinking about what activities to include for my leadership training talk . This is of great help .

That’s nice to hear – I hope your training talk with go great! :-)

These exercises sound great. Does anyone have any feedback as to how these exercises have worked with their teams? Thanks!

Thank you for the question, Jennifer. We’ve used some of these activities at our own team meetings at SessionLab, and I’ve used other ones earlier on at different training workshops. Which one would you be interested to hear more about?

Thank you for these activities, I have used some of them already in my classes when teaching about leadership and leadership styles. Köszönöm!

That’s great to hear, you’re welcome, Réka! If you have any suggestion on how to tweak or run better these activities, we’d love to hear your thoughts :-)

Thank you for these activities. I was struggling to find activities to work on with groups as small as 1-5, but this should work well.

You’re welcome, Albert – Indeed, most of these activities do work well in small groups as well. Wishing best with your next sessions!

wow! this great! very helpful for trainers like me…. thanks you for sharing …

You’re welcome, I’m happy you’ve found these activities useful!

Hi I am trying to find an online simulation for a course I am designing for a college in Ontario, Canada. I am hoping to find something like your Leadership Envelope but in a virtual format or game. The ’rounds’ aspect is particularly interesting as I would like the students to work with one team over 14 weeks and then submit assigned work based on their experiences related to the course concepts.

Please let me know if you provide something like this or can help in any way.

Hey Rick! Thanks for your comment :)

Leadership Envelope is a great method! Sadly, there’s nothing quite like it in our remote-friendly section of the library currently, though there are a heap of virtual team building activities that could be adapted to go for multiple rounds.

We did have some thoughts on how you might perform the Leadership Envelope in a remote format, which I hope will help!

– Use breakout groups in Zoom for each group. – Have each team pass their virtual “envelope” with responses to the facilitator, either over Slack, PM or email – The facilitator then “passes” the leadership principle to the next team, though keeps the responses back – Play continues, with the facilitator collecting the responses under each leadership principle for later distribution – we’d recommend setting these up in an online whiteboard such as Mural or a Google Doc so teams can review them during the evaluation round – In the evaluation round, share the online whiteboard/Google Doc with the teams – they can then score them in the shared online space and present back to the group from there :) – For the final round, everyone returns to a single Zoom session, each team reclaims their cards (or the facilitator can distribute them back) and then you can debrief :)

Hope that helps, Rick! Using a shared online space such as Mural is also a great shout for an ongoing course, as you can collect and display artifacts generated by the teams throughout :)

Let us know how you get on!

Thank you for having the time and effort on sharing this amazing blog with us! I’ll probably read more of your articles.

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Student Council & Leadership

My favorite part of teaching Leadership class is also the most underrated: having the chance to strengthen life skills!

When else do active listening, empathy, or thinking outside the box get to be the focus of class time? I love it! These are the types of things we hope students pick up somehow but rarely have opportunity to teach explicitly.

Leadership skills, especially at the middle or high school level, encompass many life skills—communication, compassion, teamwork, creativity, and social-emotional intelligence. It goes way beyond just leading people.

The best part is being able to plot precisely in the year a particular skill is best to focus on so they carry more meaning. Like practicing speaking skills right before an assembly. Or doing a gratitude lesson during November.

If this is your first time teaching Leadership, you aren’t able to fully predict which skills need work and when. So, give yourself grace and take lots of notes during your first year. Then, before the following school year, use them to plan out your calendar.

Below are 5 of my favorite activities to teach essential leadership skills. These come from my year-long leadership skills activity bundle , which includes 30 one-hour print-and-teach lessons.

1. Build Team Work by Hosting a Scavenger Hunt Swap

This activity is perfect for right at the start of the year!

Divide your students into groups of 3-4, giving each a shopping bag and a blank sheet of paper, and head outside. Be sure to review the defined boundaries for this activity (ex. “ on campus, except parking lot ”).

Give groups a few minutes to brainstorm ten items that are

findable and accessible on campus
nobody’s personal property
fit inside the provided bags

Some examples could be a rock from the courtyard, a napkin from the cafeteria, a sticky note from the attendance office counter.

Gather up the lists, then randomly pass them back out to groups. With all members sticking together in their group, they must find the items on their list within a set amount of time.

Debrief by asking: “What was the most challenging part of moving together as a team?”

Click to get more fun teambuilding lessons .

2. Practicing Microphone Speaking Skills

Question slips to practice microphone skills

Plan this one right before the first assembly.

Ahead of time, type up a bunch of questions that take just a few words or a sentence to answer. Just be sure the questions are ones every student can easily and comfortably answer. So, no sensitive or personal questions.

Cut them into slips for students to pull randomly.

Some examples of questions to ask:

Would you ever go skydiving?
What’s your favorite season and why?
Is a hotdog a sandwich?
What’s your favorite meal?

Head down to the auditorium or gym (wherever you hold assemblies!) and power up the microphone. Stand in a line or circle, pull a question, and have students, one by one, answer the questions in the microphone.

After several rounds, students should know how close to hold it and how loudly to speak and feel confident with their own voice.

Start with questions that require only one-word answers and work up to ones that require a sentence.

Debrief by asking: After several rounds, what trick seemed to work the best to speak loudly, clearly, and confidently?

Click here for more print-and-go speaking and listening lessons .

3. Strengthen Relationships among Students

This one is great to do a few weeks into the school year since it’s a more vulnerable team-building activity.

Grab a bunch of paper lunch bags and hand one to each student to decorate with well-known things that represent them—sports a part of, instruments played, clubs a member of, stuff like that.

Task students to bring something that fits inside the bag representing an aspect them that isn’t widely known. Like someone who likes to cook for their family bringing in a bottle of their favorite spice or a someone whose happy spot is the beach bringing in a seashell. Without showing anyone, students put their item into their bag.

Put the filled bags into a box and have students take one out. Have them examine the outside to see if they can guess the owner. Then, pull out the secret item and guess what it might represent. The owner can then share a bit about what the bag and item mean.

Debrief by asking: How can we create a group where we feel safe sharing our inner selves?

Click for more great lessons on building healthy relationships .

4. Practice Creative Thinking with Oops Art

Save this one for a less hectic time of year since it can be scheduled at any time. All you need are some basic art supplies like paint, scissors, glue, and construction paper.

Get a copy of the children’s book Beautiful Oops! by Barney Saltzberg and read it aloud with students or have them each read a page aloud, then pass it on to the next. Yes, even high schoolers get a kick out of storytime!

Saltzberg includes nine “oopses” in the book, like a tear or paint spill. Assign each student one to create.

Redistribute them back out, challenging students to now create a masterpiece out of the oops they got. Afterward, make a bulletin board display out of the artworks.

Debrief by asking: How can we remind ourselves to look for the beauty in or a new purpose for a “mistake”?

Click to get more creative and problem-solving lessons .

5. Encourage Goal Setting with a Bucket List

Worksheets to create a goal setting bucket list

This works well at many points in the year—the start of the school year, the new year, or second semester. Or even right before summer break!

This activity shows students that leadership skills include personal leadership too!

Decide a number theme that works for when you’re doing this:

18 Things to Do in 180 Days
9 Challenges for the 90 Days of Summer
11 Things to Do by the End of 11 th Grade

Start by having students take a minute or two to close their eyes and envision how the perfect summer or school year would look. You may also want to make and share your own bucket list with students.

The trick to a successful bucket list is to have a range of activities. Accomplishments shouldn’t all be expensive, time-consuming, or outside of comfort zones. A few “reach” goals should be balanced with ones that are free, can be done solo or at any time, and don’t much of time.

Since lists should be personal, just ask for volunteers to share an item on their list to close the lesson.

Debrief by asking: What’s something you’re excited to do that you’d never thought of until this activity?

Click here for more ready-to-go mindfulness and personal growth lessons .

I hope these activity ideas help you incorporate more leadership skills into your classroom!

Get all these activities as ready-to-go leadership lessons in my Leadership Skills bundle , complete with teacher guides, warm-ups, handouts, and exit slips. With over 30 hour-long lessons to pick from, you will be set for the whole school year!

Worksheets to teach leadership skill lessons

Feature image photo credit: Perry Grone

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10 Leadership Activities for High School Students

Today we'll share some leadership activities for high school students. High school is the perfect time for students to gain leadership skills and life skills that will support them on their academic and professional journeys. Leadership is one of the most desired soft skills among employers hiring today and effective leaders help any team or organization improve. Leadership skills do not grow on trees, however, and while some kids are naturally good at bossing other kids around, that’s not what makes a good leader. Leaders do not need to be commanding, extraverted, or aggressive. In fact these qualities can have a negative impact, especially on large, diverse teams with complex goals.

Explore leadership activities for high school students

Good leaders are supportive, great listeners and communicators, and they lead through empathy and mutual respect. Great leaders are open minded and they take risks, which means trying new things, developing self awareness, and actively listening to others. This might sound complicated, but like any skill, leadership can be taught.

Which is why we put together this list of leadership activities for high school students to help you guide your teens toward activities which suit them. Some of them are more traditional, like the National Honors Society and the Future Business Leaders of America. But if you keep reading you might be surprised by some of the fun ways that high school students can learn how to become great leaders!

1. Tutoring and Volunteering

Great teachers make great learners in their students, but they are also great at learning themselves. In fact, studies have shown that when we learn something with the intention of teaching it to others, we learn more effectively than when studying for examinations or for personal enjoyment. Good leaders need to train and support their teams, and they are great at sharing their knowledge with others. They are also themselves eager to learn, and a good leader will be honest when they do not know something.

While some people in positions of power consider it embarrassing to make a mistake or not know something, a good leader will ask a lot of questions, remain honest with themselves, and work hard to fill in the gaps of their knowledge. For students with skills in one or more subjects, they can refine and reinforce their skills by tutoring younger students and those who are struggling.

Tutoring is a great way to gain experience as a volunteer, but there are other actions that support one’s local community: volunteering at a soup kitchen, an animal shelter, or a library can help kids learn the value of service and the importance of giving back while becoming role models.

2. High School AP Courses

Advanced Placement courses are introductory college and university courses offered to advanced high school students. These courses vary depending on one’s high school. The most commonly taught ones are Chemistry, Biology, English, History, and Calculus, but some schools offer AP Computer Science , Art and Design, Geography, Economics, International Languages, and more. At the culmination of these courses, students have the opportunity to complete an exam which can allow them to use the course for college credit.

They are an excellent means of getting a leg up and saving some money in college, but they are also great opportunities to see how university differs from high school and how to go deeper into their interests. AP courses are intentionally challenging, and they might be the hardest academic experience yet for many high school juniors and seniors. But by completing AP courses, students can gain confidence and expertise that can serve them well throughout their lives.

Join our live online, expert-led introduction to Java that also maps to AP Computer Science Java (APCSA) requirements, and is certified by the College Board.

3. Put the “A” in “STEAM”

Creative pursuits are never a waste of time. Especially for students, organized creative activities such as painting, music, cooking, and theater have incredible benefits for a growing mind. Learning music reinforces the patterns, logic, and relationships in both math and reading. Drawing and painting have long been primary ways in which students of Biology, Geography, and Architecture relate to the world around them , especially before the advent of photography and smartphones. Even with these advanced technologies, drawing a living organism by hand is a painstaking but mesmerizing activity that improves knowledge of physical biological structures.

The acronym STEAM was first advocated as a replacement for STEM by the Rhode Island School of Design, which argued that the creative arts help integrate the skills required for STEM while also helping students to become more well-rounded, expressive, and organized. Aside from patience, problem solving, and attention to detail, art is itself a transformative process of discovery, both of the artist herself and of the world around her.

When it comes to relationships of power, a lack of self awareness, self control, and patience are hallmarks of bad leadership, so by learning through creation, students can gain some small mastery over their young, illusive selves, something which even many adults. Studies have shown that these benefits are nearly universal, helping struggling students to learn better and giving high achieving students a low-stress outlet to help them decompress, which has been shown to reduce headaches in teenagers .

4. Student Government, Clubs, Publications, and Organizations

One of the most enduring opportunities for volunteering for high school students has long revolved around student government, after school clubs, student journalism, and national organizations. While the most obvious might be student council, where students run for election by their peers, many high school students might struggle with this level of direct, public leadership. For students who are more introverted, running for office can be a great way of stepping outside their comfort zone, but if that sounds too uncomfortable, then chess club, STEM clubs, and coding clubs are great options.

By setting goals, working in teams, and producing work such as a yearbook, a student newspaper, an amateur TV program, or a coding club, students can gain immense satisfaction and confidence that can propel them toward excellence, sparking a desire for future success. For artistic students who are interested in technology, courses in digital design in Photoshop or Canva and game design in Unity are great interdisciplinary activities for high school students.

Success is rarely achieved through talent or interest alone, but requires hard work and dedication above and beyond what is expected. While students should balance extracurricular activities to support and not hinder their education, it can be a fundamentally important experience to run for office or become a member of a club. At the core level, these activities teach students to put more effort into their education than the baseline of simply attending school and doing one’s best.

5. National STEM Honors Society, National Honors Society, and National Merit Scholarship

These organizations encourage high school students to strive towards excellence as academics, but also as members of their communities. The National Honors Society recognizes academic excellence, while providing opportunities for scholarships, community service, and national competitions that help on resumes and college applications. There is also a specific National STEM Honors Society to help drive equality and community engagement in STEM education.

National Merit Scholars follow a similar tack, by providing recognition and financial support to students who achieve good grades in high school. Especially for lower income students, these resources are an excellent way to narrow the economic/educational achievement gap and open opportunities for students wondering how to fund their higher education .

6. Future Business Leaders of America

The FBLA is an organization dedicated to guiding future leaders in global business and entrepreneurship. Representing values of equality, diversity, and economic development, the FBLA helps over 200,000 students every year to become community-minded leaders through a variety of initiatives including competitions, workshops, scholarships, and conferences.

7. Sports and Gaming

Team sports are a great way for high school students to develop leadership skills . By leading a team, students must be able to organize others, train effectively, and adapt to rapidly changing situations, skills valued everywhere. Studies have found a direct correlation between exercise and higher test scores in STEM and language arts. Without even being a team captain, team members learn how to work with others to achieve a common goal, where communication and support are crucial. These are directly related to leadership.

But it doesn’t stop there: for less socially inclined people, there are other opportunities such as jogging, yoga, and swimming that can engender physical strength, endurance, better sleep, and resilient mental health. Sports teach team building, and exercise is a key component of building positive relationships with health, sleep, and proper diet , but the team work and competition aspects of sport extends to other forms of gaming. Board games and video games can be social or solo, but they provide students with a chance to problem solve, to imagine solutions to complex problems, and to have fun. While video games can disrupt sleep when they are played too late, and while many parents might worry about gaming being a waste of time, some studies have shown a positive correlation between video games and increased test scores in reading . Within moderation, we feel that gaming can be a stimulating, fun, and social activity for all ages.

8. Build Community Around Your Passions

Let’s take this a step further: students can learn better when they actively participate in their education . Likewise, students are likely to be motivated to learn better when they are pursuing something that they are already interested in , but they learn especially well when they are helping or teaching others . For this reason, we suggest that you get involved in your child’s passions and support their interests, even when they seem unrelated to your desired plan for your kids.

Video games and creative expression are excellent tools to reinforce learning STEM, but they are also doorways into STEAM, especially when it comes to Computer Science, coding, reading, and math. For example, ask any child under the age of 14 about Minecraft and Roblox . Chances are they have played one or the other, and considering how popular they are, your child probably already knows a lot about one or the other, if not both. What most kids and parents don’t know is that these are also great platforms for learning about coding , game design , and logic.

There’s a lot of tutorials online, but we suggest that coding classes are one of the best ways to encourage kids who love gaming to learn how to code. As one of the most in-demand skills and one of the areas of highest growth potential in the future tech-driven economy, learning to code early is a great way to get ahead. At Create & Learn, we believe that the future leaders of tomorrow will need to be comfortable with code, so we offer a range of live online courses for kids of all ages to learn computer programming in relation to gaming, art and design, robotics , and software engineering. We even have free coding classes led by experts to try.

9. FIRST Robotics and Robotics Competitions

If your high school student loves STEM, then FIRST Robotics is for them. FIRST Robotics is a national robotics competition that joins teams of students from around the country to design and build large robots that will work together with other teams to complete in a field game of some kind. Students also gain experience in fundraising and representing their schools in competitions. These teams are often the best of the best when it comes to STEM students, who also gain valuable experience in coding and programming their robots using Python or other programming languages.

10. The Importance of Structured Activity and Free Time for Teens

Time use is a topic that can provoke strong debates among parents, educators, and students. A longitudinal study on high school educational outcomes and time use shows that merely participating in extracurricular activities has been associated with positive improvements in academic performance and pro-social behaviors. These activities are important, because many children and teens have not yet had enough experience to know the options available to them. They must be shown and sometimes gently encouraged to try new things.

These activities provide them with communities of their peers as well as adult role models who can shape their self perception and their expectations towards leaders, both positively and negatively. It has been shown that too much unstructured time has been linked to disorders such as substance abuse and antisocial behavior in high school students. Structure is good for kids.

There is a fine line to walk however, as having no free time to be at ease among one’s peers can result in stunted social development and lower levels of autonomy as adults. All this is to say that if you want your child to learn leadership skills, then extracurricular activities of any kind can support that goal, but that too much activity and not enough free time can begin to have an adverse effect on academic performance and mental health.

Try leadership activities and examples for high school students

As a next step, speak with your child. Ask them what they think they are best at? What could they teach others? Encourage them to think about themselves as potential leaders, but then ask them, How could you become better? We suggest encouraging them to pursue two or three activities from the above list, each of which should aim at physical exercise, academics, and creativity. A sport, a club, and an artistic practice.

Keeping it simple and following their interests is a great place to start. But then we suggest signing up for an AP High School class, taking an online coding class , or perhaps a community painting or drawing class to light the creative spark that they might not have expected. Push them, gently, to explore their boundaries and be ready to encourage them at every step without getting too worried if they change directions. If you’re looking for an activity to begin today, you could check out some of our other articles on the top online coding bootcamps for kids and Math competitions for high school students .

Written by Bryan Gordon, a Create & Learn instructor. After ten years of working as an English teacher, Bryan began studying Math and Computer Science over the past few years. Aside from writing and teaching, he likes cooking, gardening, playing guitar, and hanging out with his cats, Baguette and Wally.

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Building Student Leadership in the Classroom

Thinking deeply about subjects is a pivotal part of learning. Educators have always wanted their students to think about what is being taught, but the way they encourage that process is changing. Teachers no longer tell students what to think. Instead, they teach them how to think.

Today’s instructors seek to build student leadership through their teaching techniques. Student leaders go on to become independent thinkers who understand how to work as part of teams and have positive effects on organizations and communities.

What is Student Leadership?

Student leadership means students take active roles in their education and develop positive skills in the process. The goal of inspiring student leaders is to create a culture of ownership , collaboration and community in the classroom. Student leadership development helps create skills that the students can carry over to adulthood.

In the classroom, teachers can foster student leadership qualities through a process called Project-Based Learning or PBL. The Buck Institute for Education explained Project-Based Learning is a teaching process in which students learn through hands-on work on a project that addresses a complex question or challenge over a period of time.

Teacher, podcaster, public speaker and blogger Vicki Davis works to cultivate student leadership in her classroom and among fellow teachers. She writes about her methods on her award-winning website Cool Cat Teacher . She’s also written two books called “Reinventing Writing” and “Flattening Classrooms, Engaging Minds.” She believes PBL and other student-led initiatives can shape minds in unique ways and said:

Project-Based Learning and student leadership building, when done well, add meaning and relevance. They start students on a path to success and give them opportunities for leadership while in school, so they can speak the language of negotiation cooperation, esprit-de-corps and teamwork. One cannot start too soon helping students lead.

Educators work hard to motivate students to lead in their classrooms. How that looks can vary by class type and age, but the end goal is inspiring confident individuals ready to take on challenges using real-world skills.

How Teachers Facilitate Student Leadership Development

Davis has a lot of advice when it comes to facilitating student leadership in the classroom. Most of it comes down to listening to students and helping them communicate and shine in ways that feels comfortable to them.

As teachers, we must constantly be sensitive to the inclusion of everyone in class conversations. For example, when I have some students that dominate conversations, I’ll give each student three tokens as they enter class. I offer participation grades for the day based upon their “spending” of each token with meaningful additions to class conversation. Once their three tokens are spent, they must wait until everyone has spent their tokens in the conversation. This encourages students who are quieter to join the conversation while keeping one student from monopolizing it.

Other times, I may include a back-channel chat so students can participate via message as well as verbally. There are many meaningful ways to encourage conversation, but the best ways are not gimmicks are tricks. It is simply using a student’s name and asking him or her to join the conversation.

Grow as an Educator

It’s also incredibly important to consider different personality types when encouraging student leadership. Differences and insecurities shouldn’t keep students from emerging as leaders in the classroom when inclusivity is encouraged.

While working with teams, I discuss the natural tendencies of introverts and extroverts but stress the importance of getting everyone involved in discussions because teams are more successful when people are included.

To encourage this in a team environment, I point out when I notice one person successfully including another. The best way to include people is to build habits of being inclusive in students. That is the kind of leadership we’re looking to nurture!

Cultivating a passion in students is a great way to bring out their innate leadership qualities. Project-Based Learning activities should be meaningful to the students and the community so classes can see the true effects of their hard work.

The best way to spark students’ belief in themselves is giving them the opportunity to do projects of worth. When a student can be successful in smaller projects and see impacts, they’ll proceed to larger projects of their own.

When students pitch project ideas to me, I’ll watch them to see if they’re passionate. If I don’t see passion, I’ll ask them why they are doing this project. If they answer something like, “It’s easy,” we’ll engage in authentic conversation about what matters and work to find a topic that matters to the student or students. The right project is the key to unlocking students’ excitement.

Giving students ownership of their education and true responsibility helps build accountable, confident individuals. It also provides them with marketable skills that they can apply to future endeavors. Student leadership in the classroom and PBL help students develop skills they might not have otherwise had the opportunity to grow.

Project-Based Learning is not learning something and then making a poster to demonstrate what was already learned. Students are learning as part of the process of creating the project. Therefore, they often take a variety of roles just as people take a variety of roles in a business.

For example, if students are creating an application, there are various roles for students, including project manager. For graphic design and websites, we’ll have an art director. Editors work to proofread and bring continuity to applications, websites and blog posts. Different projects may have different leaders, but when the project is completed, students not only have a sense of accomplishment, but a valuable skill and title for their future resume that represents an authentic learning experience.

Educators must adapt their teaching to bring out the best in their students and help them learn through meaningful work. This helps build true student leadership qualities that will benefit students throughout their lifetimes.

Student Leadership Qualities Teachers Cultivate

Student leadership qualities look different student-to-student. It’s important that all students, regardless of personality traits or learning types, get the opportunity to grow their leadership qualities in their learning environment.

Everyone has influence. Each person can lead in their own way . In many schools, most leadership positions are by election or appointment. Students who aren’t interested in clubs or extracurriculars may graduate from high school without appreciating or developing their leadership ability.

Teamwork is an essential part of real-world success. Therefore, it should be part of a real-world classroom environment. Every school should have at least one class, if not more, that brings to the forefront each student’s leadership ability and helps to improve and develop it.

Building student leadership is about a classroom mirroring and affecting the real world. Only then do students build the skills they need to be leaders inside and outside of school.

Examples of Student Leadership

In her time in the classroom, Davis has witnessed many students discover their leadership skills and apply those skills to meaningful work and learning.

I had three girls design an app called iCare, which gave students ideas for ways to be kind to one another. Those young ladies have each gone on to lead in ways that show people they care. One became a camp counselor each summer to help girls know they matter. Another one, who was the art director on iCare, was hired by a company for a virtual internship to make movies in Atlanta.

One of my students learned Adobe Premier in a movie making class and went on to job shadow a local company that makes movies for businesses. She had already managed film shoots and edited film through her Project-Based Learning activities. She was offered a summer internship.

Davis takes great pride in seeing her students grow in a changing world. She believes that their ability to lead in the classroom helps them succeed in their future endeavors.

A tenth-grade student named Casey Cox partnered with another student in Bangladesh. They co-created a video and studied trends in Thomas Friedman’s book The World is Flat. These two young ladies won a top award for that project. Casey is now in her 20s and is a leader in the Georgia-Florida-Alabama Water Rights negotiations. She was recently inducted into Leadership Georgia 2019. She blogs for Intel and has been to the White House. She was even on a recent episode of Sesame Street! All because she understands and uses 21st century skills and leadership techniques. It is a new world, and she was ready!

It’s easy to see that given the right opportunities, students will blossom to be leaders in fields that interest them, making a positive impact on society.

Impact Student Leadership in Your Career

Are you an educator inspired to make a true difference in the lives of your students by developing their leadership skills? Teacher leadership may be the route for you. In fact, it’s the route Davis took.

My job is a hybrid role. I teach four classes and have three classes dedicated to instructional technology leadership. When an educator is allowed to teach and lead, I believe it brings out the best in education. Teacher leadership is a valuable education path for many teachers.

Many teachers are stepping outside of the classroom to help their fellow educators inspire their students through new instructional practices, including Project-Based Learning. If you want to expand your education and become a teacher leader, consider an online master’s in education leadership . Campbellsville University’s Master of Arts in Education Teacher Leader program prepares you to lead and mentor fellow teachers and students.

If your passion lies with helping special education students, Campbellsville University offers a program specifically for you. Our online master’s in special education with a focus in teacher leadership will help you prepare to meet the unique challenges of students with emotional, behavioral and learning disorders and the educators working with them.

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15 Leadership Activities for High School Students

School Leadership

Introduction:

Leadership is an essential skill for personal and professional growth. High school is an ideal time to develop and cultivate leadership qualities, as students are beginning to discover their passions and interests. In this article, we present 15 leadership activities that can help high school students enhance their skills and become better leaders.

1.Team Building Exercises: Organize team-building activities such as group projects, scavenger hunts, or problem-solving tasks to encourage collaboration and communication among students.

2.Leadership Workshops: Host workshops or seminars on essential leadership qualities such as decision-making, time management, delegation, and conflict resolution.

3.Volunteer Work: Participate in community service projects to learn the importance of giving back and taking responsibility for one’s community.

4.Model UN: Join or start a Model United Nations club in your school to develop diplomatic skills, global awareness, and public speaking abilities.

5.Student Government: Run for a position in your school’s student government to gain experience in decision-making, negotiation, and team management.

6.Peer Mentoring Programs: Establish a peer mentoring program where older students guide younger ones through schoolwork or extracurricular challenges, fostering teamwork and empathy.

7.Debate Club: Participate in a debate club to hone persuasive communication skills and develop critical thinking abilities.

8.Leadership Books and Discussions: Form a book club to read and discuss books about leadership or influential leaders from various fields.

9.Group Presentations: Encourage students to work together on group presentations, promoting collaboration, accountability, and public speaking skills.

10.Guest Speakers: Invite local leaders or professionals to speak about their experiences, providing invaluable insights into leadership in different contexts.

11.Problem-Solving Activities: Engage in activities that require creative problem-solving techniques like brainstorming sessions or mock business scenarios.

12.Role-Playing Scenarios: Use role-playing games or simulations to practice leadership skills in a fun and interactive environment.

13.Sports and Fitness : Participate in team sports for both physical and mental development, as well as instilling the value of teamwork and discipline.

14.Clubs and Organizations: Join or start clubs that focus on your interests, allowing you to develop your leadership skills while expanding your knowledge in a particular area.

15.Leadership Retreats: Organize or attend leadership retreats to further enhance students’ skills by immersing them in an environment dedicated to personal growth and development.

Conclusion:

High school students can benefit significantly from engaging in these 15 leadership activities. Participating in these activities will not only help students develop crucial skills for their future careers but also imbue them with the confidence and empathy necessary to become effective leaders. Fostering leadership qualities at a young age can lead to all-around personal growth and open doors to great opportunities in the future.

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5 Most Engaging Student Leadership Activities

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Students should take these leadership activities as opportunities for acting out different roles. Titles matter little and might sometimes be a matter of popularity. However, the combination of commitment, skill, and willingness to do what it takes to see the team succeed, will quickly lead to valuable abilities that look good on a college application and translate seamlessly into the workplace.

Parents can assist their students by giving them room to explore. Going into a program because it is perceived to be prestigious does not help the learner if they have no interest. In the long run, doing so might lead to token participation that will not impress anyone. However, when a learner is passionate about something, they can bring others along in their excitement. This is what parents want to support.

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5 Tips for Creating Effective Student Leadership Groups

Prioritizing student voice and inclusion in middle school gives students an opportunity to make a difference in their school community.

Middle students making posters in school

Middle school, with all of the changes that accompany those formative years, sets the stage for emerging leaders to do just that—lead. And a school’s social and emotional climate can in part be measured by the opportunities that exist for students to lead positively and have their voices heard. Many schools have a student government or leadership group, but at times, that becomes a club that primarily coordinates adult-initiated events.

Ideally, student leadership groups prioritize student voice and support the natural energy and creativity that arise when students have an opportunity to be heard and trusted to make a difference. Developmentally, middle school students are finding their voices and exploring their own ideals, and when they’re given an opportunity to advocate and lead positively, their peers will follow, which contributes to a positive school culture and climate.

At my school, a leadership group was created in 2013 with just eight students who were unsure of how to go about building a student leadership group. We held a leadership workshop and allowed space for awkward silences as they learned how to use their voices and share their ideas. We watched the sparks of what would evolve into our Student Leadership Coalition (SLC).

Today, nearly 30 percent of our students participate in the SLC, and it has become a place where everyone belongs and has a voice. We asked our student leaders to share what makes the SLC so impactful at our school, and they summarized five tips for creating a leadership group that makes a difference.

1. Formalize the Recruitment Process and Promote Inclusivity

An SLC member recommended, “Find a group of kids who are passionate about leading. Passion sparks passion, so having those few kids can lead to many more excited future members.” Being a leader is more than just signing up for a club. Make sure that the application process encourages students to highlight their leadership and how their individual strengths can contribute to a collective impact. Asking participants to complete an application and adhere to a deadline also attracts students who are joining the group for the right reasons and is a crucial first step in personal accountability.

In our experience, we learned early on that inclusivity for all applicants sets the expectation that all are welcome. Ideally, ask interested students to create the application , and focus on questions that they feel are important to the group’s purpose.

2. Keep Student Voice as the Top Priority

Another SLC member shared, “My favorite part of being in SLC is that it’s almost entirely student run. Teachers are there for supervision, obviously, but the meetings are run by the officers and students.”

Student leadership groups will likely attract students who want to have a voice, so encourage them to use it by having them develop meeting agendas and plan various events. They’ll also learn a lot through the implementation process. Staff who oversee this group should be prepared to take a back seat and act as a support system rather than direct events.

Also, avoid telling students to carry out plans that staff or administration would like to see happen, and ask students to take the lead on naming their group, communicating with staff, and creating a meeting structure. It’s pretty amazing to see what students can do collectively when given the trust and freedom to lead.

3. Ask Students to Develop Individual and Collective Expectations

“Be an upstander.” “Make things happen.” “Make everyone feel like a star.” “Help people come out of their shells.” “Listen to people—everyone has ideas to share.” “Help others as much as possible.” These are some excerpts of our Code of Conduct. Our SLC group kicks off each year with a leadership summit before school starts, where the students answer the prompt, “What is a leader?” to develop a collective agreement.

Students decided that if members repeatedly violate the code of conduct, they will be asked to take a break from the group, reflect on their personal actions, and how they can be a leader both in and out of SLC activities. Our SLC president shared, “I think we inspire a lot of kids outside our group to be better leaders, and we inspire kids to be better and do better.”

4. Develop Clearly Defined Roles and a Process for Selecting Officers

While membership in SLC is open to all middle school students, SLC members have decided that officer positions should be voted upon by the group. Officers include a president, vice president, treasurer, secretary, and communications manager. Students prepare speeches and run for office, and I’ve witnessed a tremendous amount of positive sportsmanship during the voting process.

The expectation of inclusivity is fulfilled; officers congratulate their opponents and respect the fact that they had the courage to step up and attempt to win a position. Any student who runs for an officer position is considered an alternate and may be called upon to help in the absence of an officer.

5. Have Fun

As another SLC member said, “Finally, have fun! If it’s not fun, students won’t join.” Allow students to plan activities, and avoid asking them to just carry out plans that have been handed to them. Challenge student leaders to create social opportunities that include all students in your school, not just students who belong to the club. Our school is a K–8 building, so the SLC members often participate in mentoring our younger students or create activities that bring everyone together.

Last year, our students planned a “Fun in the Sun” event, in which they led games after school with younger students. This year, our fifth- and sixth-grade SLC members volunteered at the book fair to help the kindergarten students navigate their book choices.

Our group has hosted luncheons for senior citizens, planned themed dances, and implemented fundraising events to benefit nonprofit organizations that the students chose. Fun and participation is the common theme in all of those events. One SLC member stated, “SLC causes our community to come together.”

Student leadership groups that truly reflect and celebrate student voices can positively impact the climate in your school. A group designed and led by student leaders fosters inclusivity and accountability and makes it cool to be kind. Kindness is at the center of what SLC members believe, practice, and model. Leading with kindness has an intangible and powerful impact on a school and community.

5 Ways To Promote Student Leadership

by Maggie O'Scanaill | Mar 25, 2021 | DyKnow News & Events

In the classroom, the leadership role is typically filled by the teacher or adult in the room. As educators guide students to make decisions for themselves and develop their overall intellect and self-confidence, some leeway has to be made for students to be able to step into leadership roles. We recently sat down with Todd Nesloney to discuss how educators can promote student leadership in their classrooms.

1. Student choice

One example of giving students control over how they learn. Choices can be given through the level of learning, the topic of interest, or an actual way of learning. These choices can be digital or handwritten and students can choose what activity they do and what objective they want to master at certain times. They have control over choosing what is interesting to them and determine what objectives they might have already mastered. This way, students are able to learn how to become decisive and self-aware while becoming a leader in their own learning journey.

2. Lead by example

Be an example for your students. Eight to nine hours of the day are spent inside the classroom and students are watching and trusting you, as their educator. Show them how to be leaders, how to make decisions, how to lead by example for their peers, brothers, and sisters.

3. Collaborative activities

Allowing students to work together automatically enables students to assign themselves roles within the group. Many times one or more students will step up and take the lead role without even realizing it. This allows students to gain confidence within group activities while also understanding the role they tend to be most comfortable in within a group.

4. Encourage risk-taking

Risk-taking is a hard task for even adults to accomplish and manage. Encouraging students to take risks, fail, make mistakes, and learn from them builds up their likelihood to succeed in the future. If students are able to understand that success will not come easy nor the first time they try, usually, they are more willing to make mistakes, take risks, and excel in any environment.

5. Leadership Workshops

Take some time out of the typical class day to work on student leadership as a whole. Some students are not as willing or excited about taking a leadership role in their everyday lives, but if they are able to practice and gain confidence in a no-judgment zone, then they may be able to gain crucial skills that can help them outside of the classroom. Give students the opportunity to be leaders in the classroom in all sorts of capacities.

Student leadership is incredibly important for a student’s development, especially when entering the real world. To take ownership of not only tasks that are school or work-related, but in their own lives can help them to meet great amounts of potential in the future.

Listen to the full conversation with Todd Nesloney on our Tackling Tech Podcast!

On this episode of Tackling Tech, Tierra Leustig interviews Todd Nesloney about leadership and his newest book, When Kids Lead. Todd Nesloney is the Director of Culture and Strategic Leadership for the Texas Elementary Principals and Supervisors Association (TEPSA) and is a former Teacher and Principal. Todd believes everyone has leadership qualities, regardless of age, gender, background, or being an extravert or introvert.

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10 Leadership Activities for High School Students

As many universities go test-optional, the way that selective universities choose students has become increasingly qualitative. Leadership has become an ever-important metric for evaluating an applicant’s candidacy for admission.

Here’s why.

Leadership is often viewed by students as something reserved for adults, but positively taking charge of an activity, a group, or even a project is a step very few teens take. Admissions officers are looking for students who take the initiative to work on new projects, or band people together and learn new skills.

Note that your application should include a good mix of leadership activities, research, extracurricular activities, and a strong passion for the subject you’re applying for!

In this blog, we present different ways that students in high school can develop leadership skills both inside and outside of the classroom.

If you are interested in showcasing leadership through university-level research, then you could also consider applying to the Lumiere Research Scholar Program , a selective online high school program for high school students. Last year, we had over 4000 students apply for 500 spots in the program! You can find the application form here.

Here are 10 different leadership activities for high school students to get involved in!

1. Run for Student Government / Class Council

Also referred to as student government or governing council, high school class councils are front-facing, amazing ways to become involved as a leader within your school environment. Planning activities and managing budgets are some of the many responsibilities that come with being an officer …plus it can be a lot of fun! It is also an impressive commitment to demonstrate in your college application.

Personally, my time as treasurer for my class council, and my later role as Class President taught me a great deal about the type of leader I am and how I operate in the face of pressure. Managing a large team to plan school-wide events like Homecoming and graduation were impressive components to my applications and ultimately played a significant role in getting me to Princeton. Even the experience of running for elected office demonstrates a commitment to leadership and a passion for serving your local community.

2. Join the board of a student organization

Most schools offer a wide variety of extracurricular clubs for their students to get involved in. They can be service-oriented, related to hobbies, or academic in nature. Whether it's your school’s National Honor Society or Rocketry Club, finding an organization that you are interested in and joining their executive board is one of the simplest and most effective ways to enhance your leadership skills in high school. Or, if there isn’t one you are particularly interested in, start your own club!

3. Start a Club

If there is a subject area or hobby that you are particularly fond of, start a student organization for it at your school! Taking the initiative to start a club and encouraging other students to join is a sure way to stand out on your college applications. Typically, the Activities Office of your school should be a helpful guide towards navigating the process of beginning a club. Involving a teacher of yours as an advisor is simultaneously a great way to exhibit leadership externally to faculty at school who could serve as recommenders for applications and scholarships. Potential examples for clubs to start include “ Girls Who Code ,” a chapter of an Honor Society, or Key Club . Alternatively, if there is a club that has long been inactive at your school, restarting it is another great idea!

4. Get a job or an internship

Many high school students take on jobs after school or on weekends, and these are excellent ways to demonstrate an ability for leadership! Acquiring a job that requires responsibility and strategic commitment is especially impressive and can teach you a lot about yourself and your career priorities. You can consider internships that allow you to work on a personal project under expert mentorship, or offer you the position of an assistant to a research project. These demonstrate initiative, skill, and professional maturity - skills admissions officers are looking for. Taking up babysitting jobs once and a while or a weekly shift at your local library are valuable ways to create an impact on your community in a novel way. Internships for high school students are offered across the country, and across multiple subjects and fields. It is a good idea to read up about the opportunities available for each subject, and then shortlist opportunities that you’d like to apply for! To assist you, we’ve written a few great blogs on internships that you can check out -

22 Internships for High School Students

10 Engineering Internships for High School Students

10 Business Internships for High School Students

12 Summer Internships For High School Students

10 Online Internships for High School Students

5. Serve as a volunteer

Community service has increasingly become a very important metric by which colleges evaluate applicants. Beyond being personally fulfilling, volunteering is so important for practicing commitment, problem-solving, and for learning more about your community - all skills critical to being a good leader. Volunteering can come in a myriad of forms, both unstructured and structured, to adapt to your schedule and individual needs as a student. Popular forms of volunteering for high school students occur at hospitals, museums, animal shelters, and parks, among others.

If you are interested in volunteering opportunities, you can look at our blog here !

6. Join a sports team

Joining an athletic team in high school can do wonders for your physical health and for your development as a leader. Students who are athletes in high school are regarded to demonstrate important qualities such as teamwork, initiative and exercising a goal-based mentality. Most high schools offer sports teams via their athletics department, or you can get involved in a rec team outside of school extracurricularly! This is an especially noteworthy form of demonstrating leadership if the team performs well at competitions or perhaps if the sport is a more unique one. Not only participating as a member for a team at your school, but assuming a role of leadership within the team is a way to demonstrate leadership skills outside of the classroom.

7. Pursue a Passion Project

As a break from the academic pressures of school, pursuing a passion project is a great way to gain leadership experience in your high school years. During my sophomore year, for example, I began a podcast that I used to share my experiences with identity and culture. Had it not been for the podcast, I wouldn’t have discovered my passion for public speaking and for podcasting as a whole! The great thing about passion projects is that they truly can be anything– it’s a great way to stand out in your college application! Some other examples can include an art project, a fashion show, or writing a book!

8. Participate in Competitions

Involvement in competitions is a fun and exciting way to make friends and showcase your skills as a leader. They help cultivate one’s ability to communicate and strategize with a team, as well as grow skills in problem-solving . Competitions range widely in both subject and in scale, with many existing on a local, national, and even international level. See what competition teams exist at your high school and if there is one that doesn’t, you can start it! Popular ones include Olympiads for different subjects, FBA, and HOSA. Other programs that we have covered include National Student Leadership Conference , Boys State & Boys Nation , and Girls State & Girls Nation !

9. Start a small business or join business programs

Love jewelry making? Seem to always be crocheting in your free time? Transforming your ideas into a small business is a great way to take your passions one step further. You don’t need a business degree or a fancy title to get started! Online platforms like Etsy and Redbubble offer ways for individual entrepreneurs to market their products to a wide audience at a low cost (or for free!) Owning a business, however small, demonstrates to colleges that you possess: responsibility, creativity, and flexibility in the face of change. Additionally, you can participate in leadership/business programs and internships such as Bank of America Student Leaders , Ladder Internships , or Brown University’s Leadership Institute , and competitions such as The Blue Ocean Competition , Diamond Challenge , or Genius Olympiad .

10. Get involved with research

Participating in a research project in high school is a great opportunity for many reasons. You can find opportunities for research virtually or through connections with local universities in your area. Research comes in a variety of forms, from qualitative to quantitative, there’s something for everyone! Whether you’re passionate about biology or the social sciences, research demonstrates discipline, self-driven initiative, and commitment– all of which are important attributes in a rising young professional. Many universities offer research programs for high school students which you can apply for. Research programs such as Lumiere Research Scholar and Veritas AI offer flexible, mentored, and fully remote research programs. Here’s a little more information -

1. Lumiere Research Scholar Program

Founded by Harvard and Oxford researchers, Lumiere offers its own structured research programs in which ambitious high school students work 1-1 with top PhDs and develop an independent research paper.

Student researchers have had the opportunity to work on customized research projects across STEM, social sciences, AI and business. Lumiere’s growing network of mentors currently has over 700, carefully selected PhDs from top universities. You can find the application form here .

Also check out the Lumiere Research inclusion Foundation , a non-profit research program for talented, low-income students.

2. Veritas AI’s Summer Fellowship Program

Veritas AI has a range of AI programs for ambitious high school students , starting from close-group, collaborative learning to customized project pathways with 1:1 mentorship .

The programs have been designed and run by Harvard graduate students & alumni.

In the AI Fellowship, you will create a novel AI project independently with the support of a mentor over 12-15 weeks. Examples of past projects can be found here .

Apply now !

Additionally, here are a few blogs that can guide you on your research journey as a high school student!

How to do Research in High School: Everything You Need to Know

The Complete Guide To Publishing Your Research In High School

How to Write About Research in Your College Application

How College Admission Officers Evaluate Research in Applications

Aisha is a student at Princeton University, studying Anthropology and Global Health. On campus, she is involved with student groups centered around health equity and cultural affinity. In her free time, she enjoys podcasting, learning languages, and trying new recipes.

Image Source: Veritas AI logo

83 Leadership Activities, Building Games, and Exercises

Leadership activities are associated with benefits to business, including increased performance and productivity.

However, perhaps the sign of a truly successful leader is a happy, healthy workplace. Interested in what leadership activities can do for your workplace or school? Read on.

With the activities below, there may be some overlap with activities found under certain headings – for example, activities suitable for adults may also be useful for groups, or with employees.

Before you continue, we thought you might like to download our three Positive Leadership Exercises for free . These detailed, science-based exercises will help you or others adopt positive leadership practices and help organizations thrive.

This Article Contains:

What are leadership activities, what are they used for, 8 examples of leadership activities, 4 leadership workshop ideas, 2 activities that showcase different leadership styles, 3 situational leadership activities and scenarios, 8 games and activities for kids to learn leadership skills, 6 leadership development activities for teens and youth (pdf), 3 classroom leadership activities for students in elementary and middle school, 6 leadership activities and games for high school students, 3 activities and exercises for college students (pdf), 7 leadership games and activities for adults, 5 leadership group and team activities, 8 leadership training activities for employees, 5 leadership building exercises for managers, 11 leadership exercises for team building in the workplace, a take-home message.

Increasingly, people are assuming positions of leadership in the workplace (Cserti, 2018). However, the journey to becoming a leader is lengthy (Cserti, 2018). Leadership activities are valuable on the journey to becoming an effective leader , and also develop confidence in leadership teams (Cserti, 2018; Stepshift, 2016).

Leadership activities may be conducted on or off site, and be physical or sedentary (Stepshift, 2016). Leadership activities can either be performed by a leader in their own team, or with an external facilitator (Cserti, 2018). They may take the form of specially organized themed events, such as scavenger hunts (Stepshift, 2016). Or, they may be smaller, office-based tasks built into an ordinary workday.

For example, leadership activities could consist of meeting openers or conference break activities (Stepshift, 2016).

Leadership activities can be an effective way for individuals to practice and strengthen their leadership and team-building skills (Cserti, 2018). They can also be fun!

The structure of leadership activities is essential. It is important that the participants can relate the activity to the workplace setting (Stepshift, 2016).

The 10 Skills Every Leadership Coach Should Teach

The working style, principles, and values of a leader is a crucial aspect in determining the behavior within an organization (Cserti, 2018). Leadership training can help leaders become role-models (Cserti, 2018). The behavior of leaders and what they consider the “norm” determines which behaviors are enforced and those which are punished (Cserti, 2018).

Given the importance of a leader’s behavior, it is also essential that they learn skills, such as:

Communication

Leaders need to develop the ability to clearly, succinctly explain to employees everything from the goals of a company to the details of specific work-tasks (Doyle, 2019). Many components are important for effective communication , including active listening, reading body language and written communication such as emails (Doyle, 2019).

Leaders need to inspire employees. They may do this by increasing worker’s self-esteem , by recognizing effort and achievement, or by giving a worker new responsibilities to further their investment in the business (Doyle, 2019).

Leaders can achieve this by identifying the skills that workers have, and as such assign tasks to each worker based on the skills they have (Doyle, 2019).

Being positive helps develop a happy , healthy work environment, even when the workplace is busy or stressful (Doyle, 2019).

Trustworthiness

By demonstrating integrity , workers will feel at ease to approach their leader with questions or concerns (Doyle, 2019). Building trust is one of the most essential leadership skills.

Good leaders are willing to try novel solutions or to approach problems in a non-traditional way (Doyle, 2019).

Leaders are constantly on the lookout for opportunities to provide team members with information about their performance, without ‘micromanaging’ their work (Doyle, 2019).

Responsibility

A good leader accepts mistakes or failures and instead look for solutions for improvement of a situation (Doyle, 2019). This skill also includes being reflective and being open to feedback (Doyle, 2019).

A leader should strive to follow through with everything that they agree to do (Doyle, 2019). It also involves applying appropriate feedback and keeping promises (Doyle, 2019).

Flexibility

Leaders need to be able to accept changes and creatively problem-solve, as well as being open to suggestions and feedback (Doyle, 2019).

While these skills are explained in a workplace context, they can easily be applied to other leadership situations such as sports or community groups.

Now that you have more clarity as to what leadership activities are, and what they are used for, let us look at a wide selection of activities. While some of the activities and games may not immediately appear to be ‘leadership activities,’ the chosen activities might develop and promote the leadership skills outlined above.

7 Ways to Practice Leadership Without Actually Being a Leader

Here are eight such activities:

Sports Sports provide the experience of being a team member and developing leadership skills (Flavin, 2018).
Cross-cultural experience Experiences with a different culture provide new, potentially uncomfortable situations and help develop communication skills that may not be learned elsewhere (Flavin, 2018). Overseas travel, or working with a different cultural group within your community can provide an opportunity to learn new skills, or may involve barriers that must be overcome – all teaching leadership (Flavin, 2018).
Social groups Involvement in social activities helps potential leaders develop a well-rounded, confident personality which enhances their capacity to lead a team (Flavin, 2018).
Internships Taking an internship position demonstrates initiative in finding opportunities to learn and seeking practical work – valuable skills in leadership (Flavin, 2018).
Volunteering As well as showing ambition, volunteering shows that you are willing to commit yourself to something that you are passionate about (Flavin, 2018).
Student government and organizations Specifically considering students, being involved in co-curricular organizations help individuals develop leadership (Flavin, 2018). Being involved in student government or organizations can provide opportunities to demonstrate leadership and have an impact on those around you (Flavin, 2018).
‘Passion projects’ Showing commitment to a passion for better communities; for example, mentoring shows that you are likely to focus on the greater good for a team (Flavin, 2018).
‘Teamwork’ This can be anything at all, from helping out with planning a family event or participating in a volunteer day, will demonstrate and develop leadership skills (Flavin, 2018).

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Effective leaders are aware that continuing professional and personal development is the key to ongoing success (Higgins, 2018). As such, they recognize that leadership workshops are important (Higgins, 2018). What activities can be used in such a workshop?

Here are four suggestions:

Idea 1: ‘Tallest Tower’ (from Stepshift, 2016)

Participants are provided with everyday items such as toothpicks, wooden blocks, uncooked pasta and so on. The task is to build the tallest possible free-standing structure from the materials provided. This activity is designed to encourage creative problem-solving and developing collaboration skills.

Idea 2: ‘Centre Stage’ (from Higgins, 2018)

Select four team members as volunteers. One team member plays the role of an employee who has missed meetings or been late to work in recent times. Each of the other three participants demonstrates a different style of leader (to save time, nominate the particular personality trait). Ask all participants to form a circle, and put two chairs in the middle of the circle.

After each demonstration of how to deal with the employee, ask the whole group to reflect on the different leadership approaches. For example, the group could consider what worked and what did not. Finally, to conclude this activity, ask the group to consider what the ‘ideal’ leader would do in the scenario.

Idea 3: ‘Minefield’ (from Stepshift, 2016)

This activity helps build trust and improve communication skills. It involves participants working in pairs, with one team member being blindfolded. Then, using only specified communication techniques, the pair negotiate their way around or over a ‘minefield’ of obstacles.

So, for example, the participants may be told they are only able to use commands such as the words ‘left’ or ‘right,’ ‘forwards’ or ‘backwards.’ The aim is to help the blindfolded team member to navigate the ‘minefield’.

Idea 4: ‘Magic Carpet’ (from Higgins, 2018)

Provide a small tarp or rug, which has enough room for all workshop participants to stand within its boundaries. Then, inform the group that their task is to work together to flip the rug or tarp over without any participant stepping off. If (or when) a participant steps off the teams have discussed all of the paragraphs or tarp, the team must begin again.

These are: autocratic (also known as authoritarian), delegative (also called ‘free reign)’ and democratic (which is also called participative) (Clark, 2015; Johnson-Gerard, 2017).

An autocratic leader makes decisions without first consulting others, while a delegative leader allows the staff to make the decisions (Johnson-Gerard, 2017). Finally, a democratic leader consults with the staff in making workplace decisions (Johnson-Gerard, 2017).

Here is an excellent resource for exploring different leadership styles.

The workbook also provides some helpful worksheets.

The following two activities help participants think more deeply about styles of leadership. The group should be divided into small groups of 3 – 4 participants. The participants work in groups for the first activity, and then they work individually on the second activity.

Activity One (Clark, 2015)

Provide a list of approximately 10 – 12 scenarios displaying the three different leadership styles. For example, “a new supervisor has just been put in charge of the production line. He immediately starts by telling the crew what change needs to be made. When some suggestions are made, he tells them he does not have time to consider them”.

The group then works together to figure out which leadership style is used in each scenario and to talk about whether it is effective, or if a different style could work better.

Encourage participants to think about themselves in a similar situation and their reaction to the particular leadership style.

Activity Two (Clark, 2015)

Provide participants with the statement ‘consider a time when you, or another leader, used the authoritarian (autocratic), participative (democratic) or delegative (free reign) style of leadership’.

Ask participants to reflect on the statement and make a few comments, such as: was it effective? Would a different leadership style have worked better? What were the employees’ experiences? Did they learn from the leadership style? What was it they learned? Which style is easiest to use (and why)? Alternatively, nominate the style which the participant prefers (and why).

To conclude these two activities, come together as a whole group and discuss what was learned about the three styles of leadership.

Leadership building activities – Project management training – ProjectManager

Situational leadership is when a leader is flexible in their approach and uses different leadership strategies depending on the situation (Johnson-Gerard, 2017). The following three games, from Johnson-Gerard (2017) provide an opportunity to explore situational leadership:

1. ‘Jumping Ship’

The aim of this game is for participants to reflect upon different leadership styles and come up with a list of actual workplace scenarios which would need a leader to abandon a natural leadership style for one that is more effective (i.e., to ‘jump ship’).

Each group is given three large pieces of paper. Ask the teams to write one style of leadership on each (i.e., autocratic, delegative, democratic). Then, allow the groups 45 minutes to come up with real work situations for which employing the particular leadership style would be disastrous.

Ask the groups to place the sheets of paper up on the wall, and to discuss the sheets as a team. As a whole group, review the posters.

2. ‘Who Ya Gonna Call’

Each participant begins by writing a one-paragraph description of a work situation that is not going well. Collect these, and at the top of each page, number them in consecutive order. Then, divide the participants into two teams.

Give each team half of the paragraphs. Then, ask the teams to choose the style of leadership that would be the least and the most effective in solving the problem. Have the teams note their answers on a piece of paper, being sure to identify the paragraph number on the top of each page, and their choices.

Then, ask the teams to swap paragraphs and repeat the activity.

When the teams have discussed all the paragraphs, discuss the scenarios and review the choices as a group. Where the team’s choices are different, discuss as a group.

3. ‘Ducks in a Row’

This particular activity enables participants to devise a 3-to-5 step decision-making process they can use when challenging leadership situations occur.

Ask participants to form pairs. Then, ask them to come up with the steps that an effective leader goes through in order to work out how to manage a difficult situation. After about 30 minutes, ask each pair to review the steps they have come up with for the group, and to write them on a large piece of paper.

Ask every pair to review their process, and after all the pairs have done so, have a group discussion that enables a consensus to be reached about the three to five most effective steps to take in a difficult leadership situation.

Edsys (2016) provides eight suggested activities for children to learn leadership skills:

1. ‘Create a New You’

Provide children with materials such as textas, crayons, poster/construction paper, magazines, and scissors. Then, ask them to draw themselves, using things that clearly show that the picture is theirs – such as using cut-outs of their most favorite things to do, foods they like, pets, and whatever else makes them unique.

Once the children have finished their posters, they can show their completed work to the other children – helping kids to improve their confidence to lead.

2. ‘Same or Different’

The children sit in a circle. Ask the first child to point to another child in the circle who is similar to them, either in appearance, hair-style or clothing color. Then, when the child has chosen someone, ask them to note other differences and similarities they have with the child they have chosen.

3. ‘Move the Egg’

Ask children to form groups of four or five. Then, have the children select a leader for their team. Each participant is given a spoon and an egg. The leader has the task of finding an effective way to move the eggs from one point to another. For example, one option may be for children to form a line to pass each egg along.

Another leader may suggest forgetting about the spoons altogether and merely tell their group to make a run for it. The winner of the game is the group that can get their egg safely across the finish in the most creative way.

4. ‘Lead the Blindfolded’

This game requires a large indoor or outdoor area. Divide the children into two groups and give them enough blindfolds for everyone except one member to put on. The teams are placed at opposite sides of the space. The child who is not blindfolded is required to lead their team to the other side of the designated space, using clear commands.

Ensure that each member of the team has an opportunity to lead their team. The winner is the team that sees its members successfully cross the finish line.

5. ‘Charity Support’

Help children support a charity by organizing a fundraiser. Each child can have a different task. For example, one child may select the charity, another may find a suitable space to hold the fundraising activity, and another child can collect donations.

6. ‘Planning Strategies’

Teach children to divide a large task into smaller steps. Set the children a large task, such as holding a class function. Show the children a plan that enables them to achieve the task step by step. This activity can involve a number of children sharing tasks. Suggest to the children how they may be able to improve.

7. ‘Volunteer Roles’

Volunteering plays a role in leadership. Discuss with children how they would like to help someone in need. Older children may be interested in taking a role in an organization in their community. The children should be helped to select a volunteer opportunity that gives them a chance to practice leadership and work with other children.

8. ‘A Quick Quiz’

In this task, ask students to be prepared to evaluate an experience when it is over. Then, after the experience, ask the child questions. For example, inquire “Do you remember the name of the dog we saw?”, “What was it?”, “Did you touch the dog?”, “What is the owner’s name?” and so on.

This is an excellent introduction to leadership for kids in grades 4 – 6 (children aged approximately 9 – 12 years).

The following resources are appropriate for helping teens and youth to develop leadership:

1. “Leaders are, can, and think”

This looks at what a leader is, and what their role can and should be.

2. “Who do you admire and why?”

This worksheet examines leadership role models and the qualities we see in them that we want to develop in ourselves.

3. “4 Ways leaders approach tasks: Leaders Motivation”

This handout focuses on leadership attitude.

4. “Lesson Planet”

Links to 45+ reviewed resources for teen leadership which can be accessed free by registering your details.

5. The Women’s Learning Partnership

This partnership has created a comprehensive manual for promoting leadership for teens aged 13 – 17 years. The manual outlines a number of sessions which guide leadership development activities.

6. “I Care Values Activity”

This is a fun, engaging and introspective activity . It is suitable for students aged 13 and upwards, so it can be used with older students or adults too.

Examples of such activities are:

1. ‘Just Listen’ (Edsys, 2016)

Make an agreement that you and the student(s) will refrain from talking about yourselves for a whole day. Ask them, rather, to listen to others, and if they do talk to another person, it should be about the person whom they are talking to. This game helps children to learn how important it is to focus on other people rather than themselves, which forms the basis of ‘relational leadership’.

2. Silence Classroom Leadership Game (Stapleton, 2018).

To begin the activity, the teacher divides students into two teams, and the teams move to either side of the classroom. The desks may be pushed aside to create more space. The teacher instructs the students to, for example, ‘line up according to the first letter of your surname’ or ‘arrange yourselves into age order by the month your birthday is in’. The students then follow the directions without speaking a word to one another.

Students are permitted to use hand signals, or even write instructions down on paper. The teacher’s instruction to the students is that they are not allowed to talk. The winning team is the one that completes the task successfully.

3. ‘The Cup Game’ (Tony, 2018)

Divide students into pairs and select one student to be the leader. Each team should face each other standing up, with a plastic cup in the middle. The leader calls out simple directions, such as ‘touch your knee’, ‘close one eye’ and so on.

When the leader calls out “cup” the students should try and be the first to grab the cup. The player who successfully grabs the cup should pair up with another player who also got the cup. Those without a cup sit down and watch.

Once the new teams of two have formed, the cup is put in between the players and the game begins again. This process continues until only one person is left standing – and the resulting winner becomes the new leader… and play can begin all over again.

By high school, students are more sophisticated. Here are some interesting activities for high school students to develop leadership.

1. Brainstorming for change (Stapleton, 2018)

The teacher puts students into groups of 4 or 5. The goal is for students to come up with possible solutions to social, political or economic problems. Working together, students brainstorm both small- and large-scale solutions to a given problem topic.

Once the groups have finalized their list of detailed solutions, the teacher facilitates a discussion with the whole class, and together they examine which of the identified solutions could be a viable option and why.

2. Leadership characteristics (Stapleton, 2018)

The teacher puts students into pairs or groups of three. Then, each group member shares a story about someone whom they consider to be an influential leader. After each story has been shared, students discuss the characteristics that they think made the person in the story an effective leader.

Once each student has shared a story, students compile a list of all the characteristics of an influential leader they identified. Post these characteristics on the walls around the classroom.

3. Blindfold leader game (Stapleton, 2018)

The teacher arranges the students into a single line, and comes up with a starting point and finishing point. Then, the teacher places a blindfold on every student except for the student who is at the front of the line.

The teacher tells each student to put their left hand on the left shoulder of the person in front of them. Next, the teacher says “go”. The aim is for the leader (who is not blindfolded) to walk towards the finishing point, providing instructions to students behind, who are blindfolded.

An extra challenging game sees the teacher putting obstacles in the path – the leader must direct followers on how to avoid the obstacles and successfully reach the finish line. When this goal is achieved, a different student takes a turn of being the leader.

4. Buckets and balls (Cohen, 2017)

This game aims to move all the balls from one box to another. The catch is, team members cannot use their hands or arms. In equal-sized teams, players choose one ‘handler’ per team. This is the only person who can touch the balls with their hands.

The handler must remain behind the start line throughout the game. Team members attempt to get balls from their bucket at the finish line, and get them to the team’s handler without the ball touching their hands or arms.

The handler places the balls into the empty bucket at the start line. If a team member touches the ball, they are disqualified and can no longer participate. Give teams a 5-minute time limit. All teams play at the same time, and the team that has the most balls in the handler’s bucket at the end of the game wins.

5. Team jigsaw (Cohen, 2017)

Two teams have to complete a jigsaw puzzle within a 20 – 30-minute time limit. Give each team a box containing a puzzle. At first, A body will assume that their task is to complete the puzzle. As they work on it, however, teams will realize that the puzzle is missing some of its pieces and has some additional pieces that do not fit their puzzle.

Teams then have the task to communicate with one another, and they will eventually realize that they need to work together to complete the puzzle. Teams are only allowed to exchange pieces of the puzzle one at a time.

6. ‘Sneak-a-peak’ (Cohen, 2017)

Divide participants into two teams. Build a structure out of Lego. Make it complicated, but able to be replicated. Ensure that there is sufficient Lego left to build two similar copies of the structure.

Make sure that this structure is kept out of eyesight.

A player from each team is allowed to see the structure for 10 seconds. Then, the players will return to their respective teams and have 25 seconds in which to give his/her team instruction as to how to build the structure. Then, the teams have 1 minute to build the structure.

When that minute is up, another team member takes a look at the structure for 10 seconds and has a further 25 seconds to deliver their instructions to their team.

This process continues until all the team members have had a chance to examine the structure and provide instructions. The team that successfully built the structure is the winner.

Leadership and team building exercised for students

“ The Leadership Training Activity Book ” by Lois. B. Hart and Charlotte S. Waisman (2005) contains 50 handouts for leadership activities that would be suitable for college students. Find it on Amazon .
This resource provides helpful leadership tip sheets that are suitable for college students. Examples of tip sheets are “ten keys to effective listening” and “basic confrontation guidelines”.
Another valuable resource that can be used to develop team-building – an aspect of leadership.

A wide range of leadership activities are suitable for adults:

1. The Marshmallow Challenge

In this activity , teams use spaghetti sticks, tape and string to construct the tallest free-standing structure. They are given one marshmallow, which must be placed at the top of the structure. Devised by Tom Wujec.

2. ‘Stand up’ (Landau, 2018)

This game is convenient in that it requires no materials. It involves two people. They sit on the floor, facing one another. They hold hands, and the soles of their feet are placed together. Then, the task is for both people to stand up at the same time. This game builds trust and teamwork, and also develops skills in problem solving and collaboration.

3. Zoom (Stepshift, 2016)

A set of randomly provided sequential pictures are given to the participants. The task requires participants to put the pictures in the correct order to recreate the story, without knowing which pictures the other participants have. This activity can be an effective way to improve communication, patience, and tolerance.

4. ‘You’re a Poet’ (Landau, 2018)

To harness creativity and reflect on leadership concepts, one activity for adults is to write a poem. This activity can be done individually or in small groups. The aim is to consider leadership in creative ways to find new perspectives.

5. ‘Leadership Pizza’ (Cserti, 2018)

This activity can help adults develop leadership. It does so by providing a self-assessment tool. People begin by identifying the skills, attitudes, and attributes that they consider being important for successful leadership. The individual then rates their own development in the defined areas. The framework can also provide a helpful tool in assisting adults in identifying their leadership development goals in a coaching session.

6. Leadership advice from your role model (Cserti, 2018)

Each participant considers a role model who they admire. They then think about a young person they know. If the young person was to ask the role model for leadership advice, what kind of advice would the role model give?

In groups, discuss and share the sort of advice identified and talk about contradicting points and how they can be reconciled. This sharing discussion may be a practical introduction to the idea of situational leadership.

7. ‘Crocodile River’ (Cserti, 2018)

This outdoor activity challenges a group to physically provide support to the group members’ behavior move from one end of a designated space to the other.

Participants are told to pretend that the whole team must cross a wide river which contains dangerous crocodiles. Magic stones (which are represented by wooden planks) provide the only supports to be used to cross the river (which has ‘banks’ that are marked out by two ropes).

These ‘stones’ only float on the water if there is constant body contact. These ‘stones’ (i.e., the wooden planks) are placed next to the ‘river bank’ – there should be one less plank than the total number of participants. As part of the game, if a participant’s hand or foot touches the ‘water’, it will be bitten off (if this happens during the challenge, the participant must hold the hand behind their back).

The facilitator then pretends to be the ‘crocodile’, keeping a close eye on the group as they attempt to cross the river. When one of the stones (the planks) is not in body contact, it is removed. When participants mistakenly touch the ground with their hands or feet, tell them that the limb has therefore been bitten off and the player must continue without using it.

This activity continues until the group succeeds in getting all group members to the other side of the ‘river’. If anyone falls in, the group is deemed to have failed, and they must begin the river crossing attempt again.

1. ‘Feedback: Start, Stop, Continue’ (Cserti, 2018)

Openness creates trust, which then promotes further openness. This activity is designed to be used by a group that has spent sufficient time together in order to have a range of shared experiences they can draw from when they are providing feedback.

Each participant takes a post-it and writes the name of the person who they are addressing on it. Then, they write on the post-it:

“To…. Something I would like you to START doing is…. something I would like you to STOP doing is…. something I would like you to CONTINUE doing is……Signed: ___________”

In groups of around 4 to 6 people, participants complete these sentences on one post-it for the other participants in their group.

If they cannot think of relevant feedback for one of the prompts (i.e., start, stop, continue), they do not need to include it. Once the group has finished writing, they provide the feedback verbally, one at a time, and afterward hand the post-it to the relevant person.

2. Round Tables (Stepshift, 2016)

Four tables are set up with different tasks. Each task has separate steps that participants can be responsible for carrying out. The group select a team member, who is only allowed to communicate and delegate tasks but not take a part in the task. Each table is timed to record how long the task takes to be completed. Round Tables improves leadership and delegation skills.

3. ‘Pass the hoop’ (Landau, 2018)

This game requires participants to stand in a circle and hold hands. One person in the group has a hula hoop around their arm. The game aims to pass the hula hoop the whole way around the circle.

As well as promoting teamwork and problem-solving, this game develops communication skills. Being able to communicate effectively is a crucial skill for any successful leader to have.

4. ‘Improv night’ (Landau, 2018)

One key responsibility of the leader of a team is to encourage team bonding. One way to facilitate bonding is improvisation. ‘Improv’ develops skills in communication – helping teams to listen and pay attention. It also builds self-awareness, self-confidence, and creativity.

Arrange the group into ‘audience’ and ‘performers’. Then, members of the audience take turns in calling out the specified location, profession, and scenario (e.g., coffeehouse, cop, and purchasing a donut). Chosen suggestions are fun and should promote creativity.

5. ‘Shape-Shifting’ (Landau, 2018)

This game requires a rope that is tied at both ends to form a loop. The loop needs to be big enough for all group members to hold onto with both hands as they stand in a circle. The group is instructed to make a chosen shape (e.g., circle, square, triangle). The group attempts to create the shape on the floor.

Progressively, ask the group to make more complex shapes – e.g., a dog, or a tree. To add another layer of difficulty, instruct the team to communicate without talking – i.e., to rely on hand gestures. Afterward, have the group reflect on their experience and discuss the importance of communication.

Leadership is an integral feature of any workplace. Here are some activities to promote leadership in employees:

1. Your favorite manager (Cserti, 2018)

To begin this activity, employees individually take the role of three different people and brainstorm the particular behaviors that each person’s most favorite and least favorite managers demonstrate, from the chosen person’s perspective. After the employees have had the chance to reflect, the participants compare their list of behaviors – in pairs, and then subsequently, in groups.

The teams then prepare a list of ‘dos and don’ts’ for developing better employee perceptions of the leader’s style.

2. Explore your values (Cserti, 2018)

The values of a leader are reflected in their organization. In this activity, each participant writes ten things that they value most in their lives, each one on a post-it. Then, ask the employees to spread the Post-its in a way in which they can see them all clearly. Then, explain to them that they will have 30 seconds to select the three Post-its that are of least importance to them.

It is essential to time strictly, so that the participants rely on their gut feelings.

Repeat the process, this time allowing participants to have 20 seconds to discard two more values. Finally, give the participants a further 20 seconds to throw another two away. Participants should have three Post-its in front of them, showing their top three important values.

Following the activity, have participants reflect individually for about 15 minutes about what was found, and then to discuss reflection questions in pairs or groups of three.

Because this activity is done quickly, participants are encouraged to follow their own intuition – rather than over-thinking and finding what they perceive to be the ‘right’ values.

3. ‘Leadership Coat of Arms’ (Cserti, 2018; Landau, 2018).

Each leader has their own values and the things that they consider valuable and important. These values guide the behavior of the leader and make up a person’s unique leadership philosophy.

This activity sees participants drawing their own ‘leadership coat of arms’ embodying their leadership philosophy.

Individuals have 10 – 15 minutes to draw their coat of arms. They can divide the coat of arms (or ‘crest’) into four sections. To fill each section, consider the categories of leadership skills, values that help influence others, recent achievements/accomplishments and what you like most about your current work.

They should be encouraged not to be overly concerned with how visually appealing their picture is but rather that it expressed what they personally believe to be important aspects of a leader.

Once the drawings are complete, the participants can show their drawings to the others in the group and explain their unique coat of arms. It is also helpful to reflect on the activity – consider which section was easiest to complete and whether your crest reflects your company’s values.

4. Communication: Coach the Builder (Goyette, 2016)

Divide employees into groups of four to seven people. Each group should be given two sets of blocks (such as Lego). Each set should have a minimum of 10 blocks.

Beforehand, you should construct a sample object (e.g., a house) from one of the sets of blocks. In each group, select a leader, a delegator, a builder and a note-taker. The note-taker watches and records the group’s behavior during the task. They take note of what appeared to be done well and how employees could improve.

The leader is given the item that you built – however, they are the only group member to see the object. Set a timer for ten minutes. To begin with, the leader describes to the delegator how the builder should build a replica of the item. However, the delegator does not see the object, and at this stage of the activity, the builder should not hear the instructions.

The delegator can speak with the leader as often as necessary during the 10 minutes. The builder attempts to build the same item that the leader can see. However, they are only relying on the delegator’s instructions. At this stage, the delegator should not see the object that the builder is constructing.

When the time is up, reveal both objects to all participants and see how closely they match. Finally, to wrap up the activity, employees can discuss what was either frustrating or easy about the process and discuss how they may do things differently in order to achieve better results.

5. Accountability (Goyette, 2016)

Begin a meeting by saying to the group – “the seating arrangement is totally wrong for today’s meeting. You have 60 seconds to improve it”. If the employees ask further questions, only repeat the instructions. While some employees may continue asking questions, others may start moving the furniture around straight away. Observe the team and what they do without giving any further information, feedback, or instructions.

After 1 minute, let the employees know to stop. Then, ask them whether the objective was achieved, and how. Discuss with employees how and why a lack of clarity makes it challenging to complete a task.

Then, discuss who asked for clarification and how they felt when the leader refused to give further details. Use this opportunity to highlight to employees how if they fail to ask questions, and when the person in charge of a project doesn’t provide the necessary clarification, the whole team is at risk of making mistakes or even not completing a task.

Finally, ask how the time pressure affected behavior. Discuss how employees may be more likely to respond to pressure, or stress, by taking action without first confirming a plan and the significant problems this approach can lead to.

6. The “what if” game (Deputy, 2018)

Present different hypothetical problematic scenarios to employees. Either individually or by providing a document that requires written answers, present situations such as “you didn’t follow the rules, and subsequently lost an important client. You have lost a lot of money for the company. How do you justify this? What is your solution?”.

The questions only need to be rough, and employees should only receive a short time with which to think of their responses. If there is a particularly challenging question, provide a time limit of five minutes.

7. ‘Silver Lining’ (Cohen, 2017)

Employees form teams of at least two people who have shared a work experience – e.g., working on a project together. One person shares an experience from working together that was negative for them.

Then, the second person reflects on the same experience but instead reflects on the positive aspects of the experience (i.e., the ‘ silver lining ’). Then this same person shares their own negative experience, and this time it is up to the other person to focus on the positive aspects of it.

Often, when people reflect on an experience, they do so with a particular perspective . By looking at the positive aspects of a ‘negative’ experience, this helps individuals shift perspectives. Furthermore, by sharing experiences, employees develop deeper relationships, and team bonding is promoted.

8. My favorite brand (Training Course Material, n.d.).

Ask employees to bring three or four printed logos/brands that they use regularly or admire most. Then, form groups of 3 – 4 people. Teams have a period of ten minutes to share and discuss their chosen logos.

Their task is to agree upon the team’s top 2 logos or brands which is their team’s choice. The team also selects a team spokesperson who will report to the bigger group about why the team chose the specific brands/logos.

Participants are encouraged to share personal experiences or stories that they had with their chosen brand. After the ten minutes elapses, each spokesperson presents the logos that the team began with as well as their two top chosen logos/brands. It is their role to explain to the group why the team voted on their top brand/logo.

1. Manager or leader? (Training Course Material, n.d.)

Small groups of managers work together to create two tables, one titled ‘leader’ and one titled ‘manager’. In each table, the group writes statements describing either management behavior or leadership behavior.

For example, the ‘manager’ table may contain statements such as “schedules work to be done” or “delegates tasks”. On the other hand, statements in the ‘leader’ table could be “motivating staff” and “creating culture”.

The purpose of this activity is to demonstrate to managers the difference between management versus leadership, and show that while ‘every leader can be a manager, not every manager can be a leader’. However, by brainstorming leadership behaviors, managers begin the process of becoming a successful leader.

2. The race of the leaders (Deputy, 2018)

This activity encourages leadership behaviors. To begin with, write a list of leadership qualities – approximately 10 – 20 statements – on a piece of paper. Describe the qualities – e.g., ‘I determine everything that happens to me’, and ‘I will not blame others for my problems’.

Read these statements out loud, and participants take a step forward if they believe a statement describes them. They must be prepared to give reasons as to why they think they possess each quality. Continue reading the statements until there is a definite ‘winner’.

3. The best team member (Training Course Material, n.d.).

Divide the group into teams of about 4 – 5 participants. Give each team a large, blank piece of paper and markers. Each group has the task to come up with as many characteristics of their ‘ideal’ team member as they can. Teams should consider what this ‘best team member ever’ would be like.

After ten minutes, the groups should examine the characteristics that they have written and work out the portion which are ‘technical’ skills and those which are ‘interpersonal’. The aim is to work out whether most of the traits can be classified as technical or interpersonal skills.

Teams usually come to realize that interpersonal skills in employees are especially critical and that these have a tremendous impact on the quality and quantity of workplace performance.

This activity can be adapted according to the setting. For example, if the focus is on leadership development, teams could discuss their ideal leader/supervisor.

4. The importance of feedback (Training Course Material, n.d.).

Divide the group into three teams. Provide each team with poster paper and markers or pens.

Team A is required to consider as many reasons as they can that would make them apprehensive to provide feedback to another person.

Team B is asked to consider what feedback can help them so, i.e., what feedback will help them accomplish.

Team C comes up with as many things as they can that would make a feedback session effective.

Each team has 15 minutes to brainstorm their ideas, then, each team can present their ideas.

Point out to Team A that the hurdles they suggested are self-imposed ideas that will lead to the manager fearing the worst. Instead, managers should be encouraged to share feedback on a more regular basis to gain the necessary experience in having such conversations. Furthermore, by having an awareness of the most effective way to prepare and deliver feedback can help a manager conquer the issues holding them back.

Point out to Team B that providing constructive feedback as needed is imperative for developing a productive work environment. A feedback discussion that is well-planned and thought out delivers an opportunity to share what you have noticed about another person’s job performance and bring about productive change.

Finally, after Team C has shared their ideas, point out that effective feedback is specific, honest, and backed up with evidence. The feedback will help others to come up with goals, make and reinforce positive changes, promote self-confidence and encourage action in the workplace.

Thank all the teams for their participation and input.

5. ‘Shark Tank’ (Deputy, 2018).

This activity is derived from a famous TV show that gives people a chance to show their entrepreneurial skills. Managers may work individually or in groups. The aim of this activity is for employees to come up with a business plan that outlines the steps of how to build a successful company from ‘startup’.

Once the managers have a plan, they can create a ‘pitch’, which should contain the brand’s name, its’ tagline (or slogan), a detailed business plan, a detailed marketing plan, financial predictions (sales, profits and market) and potential problems (competition, lack of resources).

In a role play, appoint a few chosen managers to be the ‘sharks’ (the ones who consider the projects’ merit and offer imaginary ‘investments’). The winning group, or individual, is the one who raised the most money from the ‘shark’.

17 Exercises To Build Positive Leaders

Use these 17 Positive Leadership Exercises [PDF] to help others inspire, motivate, and guide employees in ways that enrich workplace performance and satisfaction. Created by Experts. 100% Science-based.

1. The Human Icebreaker (Stepshift, 2016).

This is a simple activity that can alleviate tension and promote discussion and contribution. Participants devise a list of questions that relate to people generally – for example, “who is left-handed?”. Participants then discover which team members meet the question’s criteria. After 10 minutes, the participant who has the most answers wins. This activity promotes communication and helps team members build inter-personal skills.

2. ‘Office trivia’ (Cohen, 2017)

This quick activity can help as an ice-breaker and provides a flexible option for team building. Create a list of trivia questions that are related to the workplace. For example, “how many people named ‘John’ work in the accounting department?” or, “how many people work in the IT department?”. Read the questions out loud to the whole group. The employee with the most correct answers at the end is the winner.

3. Plane crash (Stepshift, 2016)

The participants imagine that they are on a plane which has crashed on a deserted island. They are allowed to select a specified number of items from around the workplace that would help the group to survive. Each chosen item is ranked in importance. The whole group must agree on their decision. This activity helps with creative problem solving and collaboration.

4. ‘Magazine story’ (Cohen, 2017)

Each team works together to come up with an imaginary cover story of a magazine, about a successful project or business achievement. The team designs the images, headlines, and come up with quotes.

5. The Human Knot (Stepshift, 2016)

Relying on cooperation, this is a good problem-solving and communication activity. Participants stand shoulder to shoulder in a circle. Then, they put their right hand in the hand of a person who stands across from them. They then put their left hand in the hand of another different person (but not someone standing directly next to them).

Participants are required to untangle the human knot without breaking the chain. If the chain is broken, the participants must start over.

6. Make your own movie (Cohen, 2017)

This is a fun activity that is suitable for both indoors and outdoors. Although it requires the necessary equipment (i.e., camera, tripod, and microphone), teams enjoy it. Employees should work in large groups (more than eight people) and divide responsibilities. Teams work together to come up with scripts for a 5 – 7-minute movie.

7. Radio Play (Cohen, 2017)

This activity can provide an alternative to making a movie. Employees work together, spending about one-hour planning and writing a play and taking a further 15 – 20 minutes to ‘perform’ it, keeping in mind that it is designed for radio.

Each participant places their chair, in no particular order, around the room. The room should be cleared of tables and other furniture. Each person should sit on their chair, pointing in a different direction. Then, request one manager to volunteer and come to the front of the room. Their task is to walk slowly back to their empty chair and sit down.

If their chair is occupied, they can move to the next empty chair available and sit on it. However, everyone else has the task of stopping the volunteer from sitting down.

Only one person at a time can stand and move. No one can make two consecutive moves. A person cannot sit on the chair that they have just left. Once the activity begins, the room is required to be silent. No one is allowed to touch the volunteer.

Give the managers 2 minutes to come up with their strategy. After every round, the participants should discuss what happened and select a new volunteer for the next round. The team is given 2 minutes preparation time each round. It is important that the volunteer’s movement is kept at a slow walk.

At the conclusion of the activity, it is beneficial for the team to discuss the activity. They may reflect upon whether they need a leader, what made planning difficult, whether everyone agreed on the plan, and what would make the task easier.

9. Back to back drawing (Cohen, 2017)

Provide vector shapes on separate pieces of paper (they can be shapes of signs, objects or merely abstract shapes). Participants sit in pairs, back-to-back. Employee A is given a sheet of paper and a pen, and employee B is provided with one of the printed shapes.

The aim of the activity is for employee A to draw the shape relying only on verbal instructions from employee B. Person B cannot only tell the other person what the shape is – he/she is only able to provide directions about how to draw it, or to describe its uses. Each team has two 2 minutes to draw the shape.

10. ‘All Aboard’ (Stepshift, 2016).

Teams use various materials, for example, pieces of wood or mats, to build a pretend ‘boat’. All the participants must stand on the ‘boat’ at once. Then, pieces of the ‘boat’ should be removed. The team should still strive to stand in the diminished space on the ‘boat’. All Aboard can promote communication, problem-solving and critical thinking.

11. Body of words (Cohen, 2017)

Participants are divided into teams of between four and eight people, and each team elects one leader. To prepare the activity, record words that have one less letter than the number of people in the team (i.e., if there are five people in the team, a suitable word could be ‘book’ which has four letters). Randomly select a word, and then the teams have the task of making the word using only their bodies.

Each team member moves and bends their body to form a letter. The team leader can direct their team.

What stands out to me from this article is the complexity of leadership. This article demonstrates that even if one is not a ‘natural’ leader, there are plenty of activities that can promote leadership skills. Even children can develop leadership, and what’s more, have fun with activities at the same time.

What do you think espouses leadership? Do you think that there are people who might tend to be leaders more than others? Perhaps you have a story about a leadership activity you have participated in or delivered – I would dearly like to hear about your experiences.

Thank you for reading.

We hope you enjoyed reading this article. Don’t forget to download our three Positive Leadership Exercises for free .

‘tony’ (2018). Leadership games and activities for middle school students . Retrieved from https://www.kidsactivties.net/leadership-games-activities-for-middle-school-students/
Clark, Donald (2015). Leadership Styles Activity . Retrieved from www.nwlink.com/~donclark/leader/styles.html
Cohen, Esther (2017). 31 Team building activities your team will actually love . Retrieved from https://www.workamajig.com/blog/team-building-activities
Cserti, Robert (2018). 12 Effective leadership activities and games . Retrieved from https://www.sessionlab.com/blog/leadership-activities/
Deputy (2018). 6 Impactful leadership activities to try at work . Retrieved from https://www.deputy.com/blog/6-impactful-leadership-activities-to-try-at-work
Doyle, A. (2019). Top 10 leadership skills employers look for . Retrieved from https://www.thebalancecareers.com/top-leadership-skills-2063782
Edsys (2016). 1 0 Activities for teachers to grow leadership skills in children . Retrieved from https://www.edsys.in/10-activities-for-teachers-to-grow-leadership-skills-in-children/
Flavin, B. (2018). 8 Leadership Experiences You Didn’t Know You Already Have . Retrieved from https://www.rasmussen.edu/student-experience/college-life/leadership-experience-you-didnt-know-you-already-have/
Goyette, P.(2016). 3 Leadership activities that improve employee performance at all levels . Retrieved from https://www.eaglesflight.com/blog/3-leadership-activities-that-improve-employee-performance-at-all-levels
Higgins, R. (2018). 5 Fun and Inspirational Leadership Workshop Ideas . Retrieved from https://www.eventbrite.com.au/blog/leadership-workshop-ideas-ds00
Johnson-Gerard, M. (2017). Situational Leadership Games . Retrieved from https://bizfluent.com/list-6762581-situational-leadership-games.html
Landau, P. (2018). The 9 best leadership games for skill development . Retrieved from https://www.projectmanager.com/blog/the-9-best-leadership-games
Stapleton, S. (2018). Leadership activities for High School classrooms . Retrieved from https://classroom.synonym.com/leadership-activities-high-school-classrooms-7855904.html
Stepshift (2016). Leadership Training Activities . Retrieved from https://www.stepshift.co.nz/blog/developing-team-performance-with-senior-leadership-teams/strategic-planning-with-an-independent-facilitator/leadership-training-activities.html
The Pennsylvania State University (2012). I can be a leader! Leadership fun for children . Retrieved from https://extension.psu.edu/programs/betterkidcare/knowledge-areas/environment-curriculum/activities/all-activities/i-can-be-a-leader-leadership-fun-for-children
Training Course Material (n.d.). Leadership and management activities . Retrieved from https://www.trainingcoursematerial.com/free-games-activities/leadership-and-management-activities

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This great. Thank you

Great ideas, thank you!

Thank you so much for providing such a useful list of activities to demonstrate and for such a varied target population. Innovative and attention-seeking exercises yet practical.

Thank you for posting this informative blog. keep sharing.

Too interesting for me to try all.

Great article! Having group activities Melbourne helps the team to enhance working together. I love how it brings people together and motivates employees to learn from each other.

Great activities. Thank you.

This is an excellent article for every manager and leader tn build successful leadership. Thank you.

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How to Nurture Student Leadership

by Gordana | Aug 12, 2020 | Student Leadership | 0 comments

Table of Contents

Unleash the Potential of Student Leadership

When most people in education think about school leaders, they think about administrators, such as principals and assistant principals, and, of course, the teachers themselves who work on the frontlines of preparing students to face the world on their own someday. With so much on educators’ plates, the work of creating and maintaining a culture of learning and social development can be enhanced by finding and utilizing student leaders.

What is Student Leadership?

Student leadership is when students are given the opportunity to take significant responsibility for their learning and experiences. When students understand that they have the most to gain from their learning, they begin to realize the vested interest they have in their education and how important it is for them to put forth their best efforts.

Student leadership isn’t just relegated to the classroom, however, because the entire school experience is one of the most formative of a student’s life. From extracurricular activities to the opportunities for social development, school should be a place where students flourish and learn to be responsible adults.

Student leadership supports educators in achieving one of their primary goals to equip students with the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in college, their careers, and anywhere life takes them. You can create a culture that fosters student leadership using the following strategies:

Treat students as active participants in their own learning journeys.
Encourage student ownership of their education whenever possible.
Find opportunities to amplify student voice.
Utilize students to pave the way for their fellow students. Treat students as active participants in their own learning journeys.

Treat students as active participants in their own learning journeys

Students have a way of rising to the expectations we set for them. If students have the most to gain from their education, they will benefit from teachers and administrators treating them like humans with hopes and goals. Students will strive to achieve these goals because they see that the adults in their lives believe they can.

Encourage student ownership of their education whenever possible

Not only do students need to influence the decisions that are made about them in regard to their education, they need to take an active role in making decisions about their education. Students will grow up to be adults who have to make important decisions about what career to pursue, who to marry, how to be a parent, where to live, and many others. High school is an important time for students to begin to develop the skills to make informed decisions that will benefit both them and the people around them. Educators can facilitate this by having students track their own learning data and setting achievable goals for themselves.

Find opportunities to amplify student voice

In addition to encouraging students to chart their own journeys, healthy school culture is one in which student voice is valued and commonplace. Empowering student voice helps students build their identities as learners and develop the capacity for agency and autonomy—all skills necessary to succeed in the real world.

Utilize students to pave the way for their fellow students

The most powerful influence in a student’s life is often another student. Teachers and administrators can utilize this influence to help all students succeed.

How to Develop Student Leaders

Leaders are often considered responsible, honest, hard-working, personable, loyal, and decisive. And you can use the these learner goals to develop student leaders who are deeply invested in their own learning:

Masters of all fundamental literacies

Holders of foundational knowledge, original thinkers for an uncertain world, generous collaborators, learners for life.

Student leaders work toward becoming critical readers, compelling writers, mathematical and numeric thinkers, and data and visual thinkers.

Effective student leaders are relentlessly curious people, who strive to become knowledgeable about the world, so that they can help create a better world for all people.

Student leaders look at problems from a variety of perspectives and generate multiple ideas for solving them. As original thinkers, they’re incredibly adaptive to new situations.

Student leaders practice self-awareness and social awareness of their own abilities and those of others, seeking out and respecting diverse points of view in solving problems.

Student leaders are self-driven and self-directed, forging their own learning paths and never moving beyond the malleable mindset of a learner.

If we want students to develop into the kind of people who take initiative to choose their own path, we have to give them opportunities to make authentic choices. And choices, in our often unpredictable world, mean the possibility of failure. People tend to view failure as a bad thing. We see it as something to avoid if we can help it. But avoiding failure often means students avoiding risks that could benefit them.

Let’s say a high school student named Kara wants to become a writer when she graduates. She has the opportunity to submit an article to her local newspaper for publication, and she’s excited about the opportunity. But with that opportunity comes the possibility of failure. What if the editor doesn’t like what she’s written? What if her piece gets published and readers find it boring? Plagued by these worries, she decides she’d rather avoid the failure and lets other students she deems more qualified to take a chance at publication instead. By avoiding failure, she avoided the opportunity to grow through an experience .

Student leaders need to see the value of failure and taking risks. Dustin Hensley, a teacher at Elizabethton High School in Elizabethton, Tenn. shares the story of visiting Iowa Big in Cedar Rapids, Iowa to see their approach to project-based learning . Students at Iowa BIG pitch their project ideas to teachers. Because of the passion they have in the projects they take on, such as community improvement, the students are fully engaged. Failure is commonplace, but the students see failure as an opportunity to learn valuable lessons going forward. Lessons that wouldn’t be learned without the experience of failure.

Furthermore, student leaders would benefit from targeted training opportunities for developing the traits embodied in the learner goals. Schools can create training programs to supplement the learning happening in the classroom to help students develop the ability to think critically in new situations, for example. Internships can also be a valuable way to give students the opportunity to learn through experience. Students can learn valuable skills, such as the ability to interview with a potential employer , how to collaborate with others, and how to learn from a mentor, while getting paid .

Building Relationships with Student Leaders

What do you remember most about high school? Chances are, it’s not the subjects or lessons that stand out in your memory. Instead, it’s the relationships that teachers built with you that stay with you long after you leave high school. For student leadership to thrive, a relational foundation is vital. This can be done two ways:

Create a climate of respect. When educators encourage students to speak up and they genuinely listen to what students have to say, this communicates a deep and powerful respect that makes a difference in students’ lives. Students begin to feel confident in their own voices. Additionally, when respect is given, it is often rewarded with respect in return. When educators create space for students’s voices to be heard, it also communicates that they believe in students, which has been shown to be a powerful motivator in student success.
Practice culturally responsive teaching. Create learning environments that empower students to develop a clear sense of identity. For example, this school located in South Central L.A. and Hawthorne, focuses on prioritizing the social-emotional needs and holistic identities of students , which became especially important for the school’s economically disadvantaged student population when COVID-19 forced the school to transition to remote learning . The school created targeted support networks for its students to help keep students connected even when away from the school campus.

Empowering Student Leaders

We want student leaders to be ambitious and to use that ambition to carry them forward while also benefiting those around them. There are a few ways we can empower student leaders.

Teach students their rights.
Highlight the importance of asking questions.
Utilize student leaders in school improvement planning.
Create opportunities for student ownership of learning.
Student-led culture change.
Elevate student voices.

Teach students their rights

A powerful way to treat students as responsible adults is by teaching them the rights that are theirs as citizens. For example, students “have the right to speak out, hand out flyers and petitions, and wear expressive clothing in school — as long as [they] don’t disrupt the functioning of the school or violate school policies that don’t hinge on the message expressed.” When students realize that their voices are important and that they have the same rights as adults, they are empowered to use their voices to make positive contributions to their schools and communities.

Highlight the importance of asking questions

Student leaders can learn to advocate for themselves by learning to be comfortable with asking questions. Questions have a way of exposing inadequacies in information, so we shouldn’t be afraid of the questions students ask. Instead, questions give us the opportunity to discover their perspective and adapt our approach to best serve their needs. Students can also ask themselves hard and important questions in order to challenge themselves to grow and develop as leaders.

Utilize student leaders in school improvement planning

School improvement is a priority for many schools across the nation, but it doesn’t have to be solely an endeavor for the adults in the school. Students, as we’ve already mentioned, have the most to gain from being successful in their learning. Therefore, students likely have ideas about how to improve the schools they’re a part of. In fact, students may be in the best position to see the problems that need to be addressed.

Create opportunities for student ownership of learning

Encourage students to be involved in challenging projects that seek to solve real-world problems. The students at this school in Tennessee were focused on designing a school that subverted the traditional educational system, which they studied extensively to understand. By deciding how and what they would learn, these students took control of their learning.

Student-led culture change

Shukella Price, a high school assistant principal in Conroe, TX., describes to Edutopia the importance of using the protege effect, or peer-to-peer student learning, to help build a more student-centered school culture. Since students are the focus of our schools, it only makes sense to bring them into our efforts to promote positive change in our schools. When students see their classmates actively advocating for themselves, they feel empowered to add their voices to the conversations that will bring about positive change in their schools.

Elevate student voices

A 2013 iNACOL survey of the K-12 blended and online education field identified student agency, including student voice , as one of the top ten essential components of differentiated instruction. It’s important for educators to show students that they recognize that they have voices, and making space for their voices to be heard is a powerful way to battle the challenges associated with equity and transformation . Educators can challenge inequity by elevating all student voices, regardless of background or personality bent. When all students are valued for their contributions, they develop confidence to continue to make their voices heard.

Examples of Student Leadership

Below is a list of students across the country leading the change, making a real difference in their schools and communities.

Alliyah Logan is an 18-year-old Jamaican-American activist from the Bronx. As a student leader, Alliyah has used her voice to fight for equality and equity in New York schools. In the future, she hopes to work at the United Nations advocating for the humanitarian rights of marginalized communities.
Vera Brown is a junior at Crosstown High School in Memphis, Tenn. In addition to being an active member of Students Demand Action, which advocates for gun safety, Vera has used her voice to write to her local and state representatives about the Black Lives Matter movement, gun violence, and other issues.
Josh Stern is a junior at Beacon High School in New York City. Josh has used his voice to advocate for students with disabilities in remote learning environments as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jerome Foster II is a 17-year-old climate activist from Washington, D.C. who used his voice to help pass the Clean Energy DC Act, a comprehensive and aggressive decarbonization bill. He is also the founder and executive director of OneMillionOfUs, an international organization dedicated to youth voting rights.
Deja Foxx is a 19-year-old Columbia University student from Tucson, Ariz., who used her voice to help pass a comprehensive sex education system in her city’s largest school district. Raised by a single mother, Deja found herself homeless at 15, but her tireless hard work and ability to balance home, work, and school responsibilities led to a full-ride scholarship to Columbia, making her the first person in her family to attend college.
Malala Yousafzai is a human rights activist, who has used her voice to fight for the education of women and children in her native Swat Valley in Pakistan. In 2014, she was the youngest person to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Her efforts have grown into an international movement to give girls access to free education through the Malala Fund.
Tiana Day recently graduated from Dougherty Valley High School in San Ramon, Cali. Tiana used her voice to connect with thousands of other students to organize a peaceful protest against police brutality as a part of the Black Lives Matter movement. Seeking to empower others to continue their education, she also started a Go Fund Me campaign to create scholarships for black students.
Milah Gammon is a recent graduate of Oakland Technical High School in Cali. She used her voice to peacefully protest racist police practices and call for police reform in a march with other students from their high school to Oakland City Hall. Demonstrating the powerful influence teachers can have on their students, Milah credits her honors English and history teacher, Jah-Yee Woo, as her inspiration for fighting injustice.
Carlos Hinojosa , a recent graduate of Laurel High School in Maryland. used his voice to organize a rally and march in his hometown of Laurel in response to the tragic police killing of George Floyd. Drawing over 2,000 protesters, the event was highly praised by Laurel’s police chief Russell Hamill III, who was impressed with Carlos’s ability to rally so many people together to fight systemic injustice.
Ava Motarjeme is a senior at Northfield High School in Denver, Colo. She used her voice to organize a march for Black Lives Matter in her Denver neighborhood of Colfax, and she was pleasantly surprised when the event drew three times the maybe 1,000 people she expected to attend. The event was marked by her and her classmates sharing and listening to and giving speeches about the need for drastic change in the way the black community is treated.

Leadership Activities for High School Students

A great way to empower students is to give them ideas for how they can serve as leaders in their school and community. Here are a few ideas from Positive Psychology .

Student government

Joining or starting a club, sports teams, volunteering, internships, passion projects.

Student government, such as student council, gives students the opportunity to serve their classmates by promoting positivity and highlighting their school’s bright spots. As representatives of their classmates, student government leaders listen to student concerns and seek to find solutions, serving as examples of how leadership can make a difference.

Students can create connections with other students through common interests by joining or starting a club. Examples include poker club, comedy club, or creative writing club. Though these clubs will often have a teacher as sponsor, they’re primarily student-led and are often organized by an elected leadership team. Serving as a club leader is a low-stakes opportunity for students to develop leadership skills.

Sports give students the opportunity to be a team member and learn to collaborate to achieve a goal. When a football team is on the field facing a team that outplays them in almost every way, for example, the strategies they come up with by sharing observations about the opposing team and ideas for how to rise above setbacks might lead them to victory. But even if they don’t, this collaboration is a valuable experience for developing the leadership skills that are vital to success.

Volunteering demonstrates a student’s initiative and ambition, which are powerful leadership traits, as well as a commitment to something the student is passionate about. Students can serve people who are homeless through local missions organizations or they can organize food drives.

Internships give students valuable work experience, as well as showing potential future employers they have the initiative to find opportunities to learn and develop as a leader. When students participate in internships, they also demonstrate intentionality in building toward their desired future.

As was demonstrated with the examples of student leaders in the previous section, when students pursue their passions, they often encounter ways to make a positive difference in their schools and communities. Mentoring is an example of a passion project that benefits students as older more experienced students take younger students under their wings and help guide them through the complexities of life.

How Student Leaders Help Build Stronger Schools

Vast potential for initiating change rests inside of the students who walk in and out of our schools each day. When teachers and administrators create a school environment in which student leadership naturally emerges, the often confrontational dynamic between adults and students fades away. Instead, staff and students aim toward the same goals and students become the ones on the frontlines of their own learning and development.

When student leaders are nurtured, students abandon the approach of being passive recipients of their education and instead become active participants in their learning. This fosters an environment in which more learning happens on a daily basis. And schools become stronger places of learning as a result.

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Home > Blog > Student > Tips & Hacks > 6 Leadership Activities For Students To Boost Their Career

6 Leadership Activities For Students To Boost Their Career

University is an amazing time to explore, discover who you are, and unlock your hidden potential. It is about more than just books and tests! Sure, your studies are important, but so is getting creative and trying new things. Doing fun career activities outside of class can make your whole university experience way richer and also help you learn stuff that doesn’t fit in a textbook.

Being a student isn’t just about hitting the books – it’s also about preparing for your future career. While good grades are essential, developing leadership skills can truly set you apart from the crowd. Here are some of the benefits of leadership activities for students .

Benefits Of Leadership Activities For Students

Communication and presentation
Teamwork and collaboration
Conflict resolution and decision-making
Problem-solving and critical thinking
Empathy and emotional intelligence
Self-confidence and assertiveness
Motivation and initiative

But how do you gain leadership experience as a student? Don’t worry, you don’t need a formal title or position. Here are 6 leadership activities for students you can participate in right now to cultivate your leadership potential and impress future employers:

1. Join Student Clubs And Organisations:

Student clubs and organisations offer various opportunities to step up and lead. Start by actively participating, then seek leadership roles like committee memberships or officer positions. You’ll learn collaboration, communication, and decision-making while organising events, managing budgets, and motivating others.

Getting involved in student clubs and organisations is a great way to build leadership skills and make connections with like-minded peers. From political clubs to sports teams, there are countless options to explore. Participating in clubs and organisations are more likely to have a higher GPA and graduate on time. A few students led the research at Michigan University and were able to conclude that students who participate in clubs and organisations are more likely to have a higher GPA and graduate on time.

If the nerd in you is amazed by the facilities and the libraries, then take advantage of the many available Academic Resources

2. Volunteer in Your Community:

Volunteering allows you to make a difference while developing vital leadership skills. Take initiative by organising donation drives, leading workshops, or coordinating volunteers. You’ll gain valuable experience in project management, team building, and communication, demonstrating social responsibility and initiative.

As one of the best leadership activities for students , volunteering isn’t just about good deeds; it’s a hidden training ground for essential skills employers crave. Imagine tutoring kids, boosting your communication and patience. Or organising a fundraiser, sharpening your leadership and teamwork. Whether it’s event planning, data analysis, or even public speaking, volunteering hands you real-world experience that builds skills you can proudly showcase on your resume.

Research by Johns Hopkins University and others indicates that volunteering can improve mental and physical health . It can reduce stress and anxiety, increase happiness and self-esteem, and even lead to longer lifespans.

So, ditch the textbook for a bit and find a cause that lights your fire. Tutor kids, clean up beaches, mentor at-risk youth – the possibilities are endless! Volunteering isn’t just about creative extracurricular activities for students ; it’s about building yourself, brick by empathetic brick, into the future you’ve always dreamed of. Go forth, spread kindness, and watch your awesome future rise!

3. Participate in Student Research Programs and Research Efforts

Many universities and research institutions offer opportunities for students to participate in ongoing research projects. This isn’t just about grunt work; you can contribute by analysing data, writing reports, presenting findings, and even co-authoring research papers. This develops your critical thinking, analytical, and communication skills in a collaborative environment, showcasing your intellectual curiosity and ability to contribute to meaningful projects. According to a study by the Council on Undergraduate Research , students who participate in research programs are more likely to graduate on time and go on to earn higher degrees.

For the senior folks amongst us, stepping into the role of a Teaching Assistant (TA) is like unlocking a whole new level of opportunities in a US college. With this opportunity as a TA, you can work closely with professors, assist in grading assignments, facilitate discussions, and even lead your class sessions. It not only deepens your understanding of the subject but also hones your communication and leadership skills with students . Being a TA offers a unique perspective on the teaching and learning process, allowing you to make a positive impact on your peers’ academic journey while gaining invaluable experience in education.

4. Lead a Study Group or Class Project:

Leading a study group or class project might seem like just another academic responsibility, but it’s actually a goldmine for career awareness and leadership skill development.

Take charge of group projects or organise study sessions for your classmates. Facilitate discussions, delegate tasks, and ensure everyone contributes effectively. This develops your communication, organisational, and conflict resolution skills, showcasing your ability to lead and motivate others towards a common goal. Delegate tasks, resolve conflicts, and motivate your group to work together effectively. You’ll learn to appreciate individual strengths, foster collaboration, and achieve common goals – all essential leadership qualities. Organise study sessions, create schedules and ensure everyone stays on track. Develop your planning, time management, and organisational skills, which are valuable assets for any future project-based role.

5. Apply For Internships and Work-Study Programs:

Applying in internships and work-study programs offers practical leadership opportunities in real-world settings. Students can take on responsibilities, manage projects, and lead teams, gaining valuable experience that translates directly into the professional realm. Applying in internships provides a bridge between academic knowledge and practical application, fostering leadership growth.

Applying for internships gives you practical experience applying your academic knowledge to actual projects and tasks. According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers , more than 65% of bachelor’s degree students participate in internships. You’ll learn industry-specific skills, use professional tools and technologies, and understand the daily workings of an organisation. This hands-on experience looks fantastic on your resume, showcasing that you’re not just book-smart but also street-smart and adaptable.

Beyond technical skills, internships help you develop crucial soft skills like communication, teamwork, problem-solving, and time management. You’ll learn to collaborate with diverse teams, meet deadlines, handle pressure, and adapt to new situations.

6. Mentor Younger Students or Peers:

Sharing your knowledge and guiding others is a rewarding and great leadership activity for students . Participate in school mentorship student programs , tutor younger students, or offer workshops on your expertise. You’ll hone your communication, empathy, and coaching skills while giving back to the community. As a mentor, you’ll encounter diverse challenges faced by your mentees. Guide them through academic hurdles, offer support during personal struggles, and help navigate social dynamics. By fostering their problem-solving abilities and mediating conflicts constructively, you’ll refine your own coaching and conflict resolution skills – highly sought-after qualities in future leadership positions.

Remember, leadership isn’t about titles or positions; it’s about taking initiative, inspiring others, and driving positive change. By actively participating in these activities, you’ll not only gain valuable skills but also build a well-rounded resume and demonstrate your leadership potential to future employers. So, step outside your comfort zone, embrace leadership opportunities, and watch your career take flight!

Career Awareness for Students

Knowing about different careers is really important for students. It helps them make good decisions about their education and sets them up for success in the long run. As students figure out what to study, it’s crucial to learn about different jobs, industries, and the skills needed for success in today’s working world.

Why is Career Awareness for Students Important?

Career awareness empowers students to make informed decisions about their educational paths and future careers. Understanding the range of professions available and the associated skill sets allows students to align their interests and abilities with suitable career options. Knowing the potential outcomes of their academic pursuits motivates students to set clear goals. Career awareness helps them connect their studies to real-world applications, fostering a sense of purpose and direction in their educational journey.

Career Growth Tips For Students: How To Build Your Career

Whether you’re just starting out or aiming for the next level, career growth is an ongoing journey. By incorporating these career growth tips into your educational journey, you can set a strong foundation for a successful and fulfilling career.

Set Clear Goals: Define your short-term and long-term career goals. Knowing where you want to go will guide your decisions and actions.
Seek Guidance: Talk to teachers, counsellors, and professionals in fields of interest. Seeking advice from experienced individuals can provide valuable insights into potential career paths.
Participate in Internships: Gain practical experience through internships or part-time jobs. Real-world exposure helps you apply theoretical knowledge and build a network within the industry.
Attend Career Development Workshops: Participate in workshops focused on resume building, interview skills, and job search strategies. These workshops can provide practical tips for entering the job market.
Develop soft skills: Communication, teamwork, critical thinking, and problem-solving are invaluable across all fields. Invest in honing these valuable assets.
Update your resume and online profiles: Highlight your skills, experiences, and achievements. Tailor these materials to each opportunity you pursue.

Participating in leadership activities for students during one’s academic journey is an investment in personal and professional development. These activities not only enhance a student’s skill set in their career growth but also provide tangible experiences to showcase on resumes and during job interviews. As students engage in leadership roles, they develop the confidence, adaptability, and strategic thinking necessary to excel in their future careers. By embracing these leadership activities, students can set themselves on a path to becoming effective leaders and making a meaningful impact in their chosen fields.

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13 Fun Leadership Activities for College Students

WhatToGetMy Instructional Article

Do you think your students could use more than the “knowledge from the books”? Do you want to teach them valuable life skills? Then, you could surely use these fun leadership activities for college students ! You’ll refresh this year’s curriculum and help your students develop much-needed leadership abilities.

Every student has the potential to be a good leader. As an educator, you should nurture that potential and inspire your students. Progress is something that requires effort, both from students themselves and from their professors. Leadership development is a part of personal growth but it’s essential in today’s world. When people are working in teams, they need high communication and collaborative skills, which leaders often have. A lot of activities can be added to leadership lesson plans for college students and we’re going to give you some of the best leadership game ideas .

Before we get further down the article, we’d just like to note a few things:

You should bring an enthusiastic spirit when engaging in these activities. Otherwise, your students might not be motivated to participate.
The most important thing about these activities is keeping an open mind. Ask your students for feedback, let them suggest some changes. This can only improve the learning experience.

What are the leadership skills for college students ?

Table of Contents

Source Link: https://whattogetmy.com/leadership-activities-for-college-students/

Leadership development underlines those activities that help you improve skills and abilities necessary in the corporate world. Some of the most positive leaders are honest, hard-working, encouraging, goal-oriented, etc. Leaders also need to be good listeners and have high communication skills.

To become better leaders, first, you need to choose the type of leader you want to be. There are so many different types of leadership, from democratic and laissez-faire styles to autocratic and authoritative leadership. Different activities put the accent on a different aspect of leadership, so think about what types of leadership qualities you want to inspire in your students.

As we said, good leaders know how to encourage people to work together towards a common goal. That’s why a lot of leadership development activities focus on team-building games that improve communication skills. Activities below can be used as a bonding experience between students, so they can learn how to work in a team efficiently.

Creative thinking

Leaders need to be suspicious about “common knowledge” and not take things for granted. They should be open-minded and imaginative, so they can find a creative solution to the problems. That’s why college students’ leadership activities should focus on developing creative thinking.

Scavenger hunt

This classic game has a lot to offer. Riddles and puzzles are great tools for improving problem-solving skills while also encouraging creativity and leadership traits. To find the treasure, students need to think outside the box and rely on each other’s knowledge.

This activity requires a lot of preparation to be the most effective. You need to scatter clues and riddles to the locations, ask persons on the different locations for help (let’s say a librarian can be the guardian of one riddle), and secure the “treasures”. Of course, rewards should be motivating, so students would be more engaged. Perhaps extending the deadline on that assignment can be a large boost.

Finding the treasure shouldn’t be easy. You need to inspire students to plan a strategy, communicate, and collaborate. To put more pressure, set a time limit in which they need to find as many items as possible. This will teach the students the importance of prioritizing tasks, delegating, decision-making, etc. You can also divide students into teams and let them choose the “leaders” of each team. Adapt the game as you like, but be sure to encourage an enthusiastic spirit in your students.

Inspired by the popular TV show, this activity can be used in the classroom with some adaptation. Choose the students that will be “entrepreneurs” and the ones that will be “investors”. Several teams of entrepreneurs will pitch their ideas, so they must come up with a product, brand name, logo, marketing strategy, etc. The investors then need to decide what team will get the funding for their project.

As you can guess, students will develop presentation and public speaking skills while they are pitching. They will also engage their creative thinking in order to come up with ideas. Feedback and group discussions are essential afterward. Try to point out the positive example together, so you can encourage good leadership behavior in the future.

Newspaper fashion show

This isn’t a game just for design students – everyone should try it at least once! It’s an opportunity to pull your students out of their comfort zones and into the productivity zone. Creating clothing items with just newspapers, tape, and scissors requires a lot of imagination.

Students can be divided into teams, so they can brainstorm ideas, or you can make this activity individual competition between students. Make sure to choose “models” for finished products and have a little fashion show in the end.

Classify this

What’s a better way to engage creativity than finding a connection between random objects? Display around 30 items on the desk. Choose various items, from notebooks to the water bottles, that can’t be connected in any obvious way. Divide students into teams and ask them to categorize the items. After some time ask them to present their lists and explain the logic behind their choices.

Problem-solving activities

The main purpose of these activities is to engage your students’ problem-solving skills. However, most of the activities below are performed in groups, so the students will get the extra benefit of developing communication and collaboration skills.

Water carry

Give students paper cups filled with ¾ of water and instruct them to carry the cups of water across the room without spilling them. Simple, right? However, adding challenges such as “you can only use one leg and one arm” makes things a bit more difficult.

Students will first try hopping on one leg but they’ll quickly realize that would spill the water. To reach a common goal, the students need to work as a team and come up with a solution. The best way to carry the cups is, of course, forming a chain of people that can pass the cups to each other.

Marshmallow tower

This is not just a leadership game for managers and big companies, everyone can play it! Building spaghetti towers with a marshmallow on top is an activity that requires collaboration, innovation, and problem-solving abilities. Students need to build the tallest structure out of set materials that can hold the weight of one marshmallow. Usual materials are dry spaghetti, string, and duck tape but you can add toothpicks, blocks, and other stuff you can think of.

Deserted island

Divide students into teams and let them imagine a scenario of getting lost on a deserted island. After you give them a bulleted list, ask them “How can you survive by only using 5 items on this list?” Students need to prioritize and rank those items, individually, and as a group. This will test their problem-solving abilities and also improve their communication skills.

Idea building blocks

Divide the students into teams and present a problem they need to solve. You can pose a problem related to the class subject. Ask team members to work together by writing their solution on a piece of paper that gets passed along the group.

One team member writes down an idea and others build upon that idea. The paper is passed around until every team member gives his/her input. You can choose a spokesperson who will present the solution of each team to the rest of the class. This activity will teach the students about the importance of team-work when solving problems.

Cooperation activities for college students

There are so many team-building activities you can try in your classroom. You can even ask the students if they would like to play some particular game. We’ll give you some examples of team building activities for college students and you just need to try the ones you like.

All tied up

Challenge the students to achieve a common goal when they’re tied up. Start by instructing them to form a circle and use a string to tie the neighbors together. After they’re all tied up, give them various tasks to complete. That can be anything really, from eating a snack to writing a few sentences in their notebooks. Keep in mind that more difficult tasks will require more effort and team-work.

Blind counting

A quick activity that doesn’t need preparation is blind counting . Arrange the group in a circle and have them stand with their backs facing the middle of the circle. Give them the task of counting to 30 (50,70,100). The goal is to count out loud with only one person saying one number at a time. If two persons say the same number at the same time, the group must start over.

You know how difficult it is to untangle a knot. It gets even harder to untie a human knot! Form small groups of students (up to ten people) and instruct them to form a circle and hold the hand of two people that are not next to them. The goal is to untangle the knot without letting go of each other. If the chain is broken, start over.

This is a problem-solving activity based on communication and trust, so students need to collaborate in order to succeed. If you think the activity is “too easy” for them, try setting a time limit, blindfolding participants, or limiting words they can use.

Do your students trust each other? It’s not easy to put faith and allow someone to lead you, so this activity is perfect for freshmen and the groups that just met. They need to build trust and learn how to collaborate towards a common goal.

The game is simple: blindfold one student, and asks the other to lead using simple words such as left, right, forward, etc. Once you blindfold one student, arrange an obstacle course with class furniture. The partner who leads will get blindfolded next time, etc.

This would actually be a class version of the pub quizzes . Mimic trivia pub night with the questions from your subject materials. Choose a host and participants, set rules, and the competition can start! The question can be multiple-choice and teams can discuss the question for 30 seconds before answering. You can, of course, change the rules to fit your group’s dynamic. For example, give more time if needed. The point is to encourage teams to work together to come up with the best answers.

Frequently asked questions

What are the ways to practice leadership?

Start by thinking positively and proactively. Socialize and build strong networks. Listen and learn from other people. Work on self-growth and try to look at the bigger picture. You can also find a mentor that can help you achieve your goals.

What is a good leader?

A good leader is someone who encourages and listens to others, has a clear vision, and takes pride in his/her accomplishments. He/she is courageous, honest, humble, trustworthy, responsible, confident, knowledgeable, and empathetic.

How can you teach leadership?

As an educator, you can offer leadership opportunities to your students by putting them in charge, giving them good examples, encouraging them to participate in extracurricular activities, etc. You can also perform some of the activities mentioned in the article above, to boost their confidence and team-spirit.

We hope that our list of fun leadership activities for college students inspired you to shake things up in your class. Students need encouragement, so they can grow and become successful. Sometimes they need an additional boost from their professors and the best way to engage them is with leadership and team building activities? If your students need more motivation, check out our article on Motivational activities for college students .

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Tips, Tricks, and Tools to Measure Leadership Development

Assessing competencies does not have to be overwhelming, intimidating, or time-consuming. There are many pre-designed measurements, best practices, and instructions on data interpretation that can help you in measuring competency development and proficiency.

The following are resources and ideas to help you in leadership competency assessment.

Resources for Assessment

Click here to get the Student Leadership Competencies Toolkit

Please refer to the Terms and Conditions page before purchasing access to the Toolkit.

What Do You Want To Know?

There are so many ways to assess student learning and development that it can be hard to figure out what the best method is. The first thing to do is to try to figure out what you want to know. The Student Leadership Competencies® have been divided into six domains.

Competency Domains

The original competency dimensions from 2013 included Knowledge, Value, Ability, and Behavior, but those dimensions have been updated to domains and include the following:

Significance: Value of utilizing the competency
Motivation: Motivation to utilize the competency
Efficacy: Belief in one’s own ability to utilize the competency
Cognition: Understanding of the competency
Proficiency: Skills to utilize the competency
Performance: Utilizing the competency

It is important to distinguish between these domains as they are taught and measured differently from each other. For example, knowing how to engage in a competency (knowledge) is different than believing that competency is important (Significance) which is different from having the skills to engage in that competency (Proficiency) which is different from actually engaging in that competency (Performance). Because of this, it is essential to use different types of methods to measure competency learning and development.

Student Leadership Competencies Assessments

Interpreting the Data

If you use the Student Leadership Competencies Self-Evaluation Measurements , consider using the Evaluation Database, available in the Toolkit, to interpret the quantitative elements of the data. The spreadsheet is pre-set with formulas to help you see averages and frequency of responses. A description of how to use this is available in the Student Leadership Competencies® Implementation Handbook, available in the Toolkit.

Both the quantitative data and qualitative data collected from all Student Leadership Competencies assessment tools can be interpreted at the individual, subgroup, whole group, and between group levels. To find out more about interpreting Student Leadership Competencies® assessment data, refer to the Student Leadership Competencies® Implementation Handbook, available in the Toolkit.

Program Evaluation

In addition to assessment being useful in understanding student learning and development, the data you collect can provide important information in evaluating your program, event, role, or experience as a whole. Findings can be used specifically to inform your program structure, curriculum, policies, and processes. And, by using the same assessment methods year to year, you can also look for trends that can help you understand if, and to what extent, any changes you make yield the results you want. Find out more in the Student Leadership Competencies® Implementation Handbook, available in the Toolkit.

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Promoting Student Leadership on Campus- Creating a Culture of Engagement

• by Rosana G. Rodríguez , Ph.D., and Abelardo Villarreal , Ph.D. • IDRA Newsletter • May 2003

Student leadership is the ability of the student body to influence major decisions about its quality of education and learning environment. Influencing major decisions requires a “listening” and a “valuing” and the incorporation of the ideas that students propose.

This article provides a set of principles and ideas on how to incorporate the voices of students in the planning and decision-making processes of educational institutions.

Student Leadership Helps Students Succeed

Educators, families, and communities often focus on new efforts at mutual collaboration, engagement, and accountability but fail to include student perspectives in this dialogue. It is not surprising that students interpret the landscape within schools and colleges as void of opportunities for engaging them as key members of the planning process.

What is needed to complete our picture of engagement is recognition and commitment to support emerging student leadership in the process of improving school holding power and broadening access and success from K-12 through higher education.

Long-term research from the Harvard Assessment Project is revealing that building connections between school and community life contributes to more fulfilled college graduates (Light, 2001). This is a powerful message to people who run schools and colleges (deans, presidents, chancellors, academic vice presidents, principals and faculty) that students who find ways of connecting their curricular and extracurricular activities are the most satisfied.

Another important message is the need to create opportunities that encourage students to engage internally in dialogues about improving institutions and externally in activities within their communities. This can begin in elementary school and continue through high school and into higher education.

Youth and educational institutions must each do their part to ensure effective leadership development. Youth can be more effective in the planning and decision-making processes when they are informed and base their pro-activity on a clear vision of their role and their commitment to a more inclusive and humane world. Youth must exhibit a genuine desire to make a difference in this world. Youth must insist on a strong educational background that prepares them for a demanding and difficult world. Youth must acquire the skills to lead and be effective team players in a more interdependent world.

Educational institutions that are genuine in their desire for student input must make an investment to nurture and enhance the wisdom of their youth. They must provide opportunities for students to become leaders with the skills to advocate inclusiveness and equality that leads to a strong and united country.

Student Leadership Helps Schools Succeed

Emerging student leadership is an invaluable resource to our educational institutions and communities. We should ask ourselves whether we are opting to keep students invisible and quiet on campus or are we advocating their involvement in decision-making and supporting meaningful student leadership.

Students can help us keep the focus clear in our planning by asking the key question regarding any educational environment – is this relevant preparation for my future life?

Yet students are seldom asked to join in the discussion about improving schools and colleges. Students interviewed in some of the current research reported that they are seldom, if ever, consulted about issues, and that time with advisers is too short or non-existent.

Guiding Principles

While there are no cookie-cutter practices that ensure student leadership for all settings, there are some guiding principles that underlie a commitment on the part of educational institutions to support emerging youth leadership and youth engagement with community.

What can schools and campuses do? Below are seven guiding principles and some practices that can create educational environments that foster emerging student leadership and strengthen ties with families and communities.

Schools Must Acknowledge the Role of Family and the Extended Community

For many minority students, especially those who are the first in their families to attend formal schooling or college, the role of family and extended community is vital to student success and leadership development. It is an important source of motivation and achievement because many of these students recognize that their achievement reflects the extended family (Fries-Britt, 2002).

Many Hispanic students and Black students are vitally aware that they are underrepresented in many fields. This can naturally inspire them to do better and to be conscious of the need to be engaged with their communities.

Research shows that family and community involvement are critical for all students. To the extent that parents and families are encouraged to become familiar with and engaged in the activities of campus, they are able to be more effective in their support of leadership development from elementary school through college. Campuses can support and encourage student contacts with their families and extended communities. Likewise, they should encourage participation of family members and community in the activities on campus.

Schools Must Recognize and Value Students for their Contributions

Below are ways schools and colleges can recognize students.

Begin by establishing relationships with students, student-led campus groups, and youth organizations to invite and listen to student voices.
Involve students in identifying needs and assessing opportunities for leadership development.
Offer a diverse menu of opportunities to receive input from youth on a variety of educational issues.
Formalize the importance of student input through student representation on committees.
Encourage student participation during the school day as well as after school and on weekends.
Host meetings during flexible hours to allow for student schedules.
Publicize the work of students and their ideas as a regular part of school and college newsletters and bulletin boards.
Offer space to student organizations for performances, art shows, youth leadership symposia and other activities, create local funds to advocate student leadership activities, and invite multi-generational opportunities to talk about leadership from many perspectives that honor and incorporate local leadership, values, culture and diversity.

Schools Must Support Extracurricular Youth Activities in Communities

Young people working in their community, volunteering, or lobbying for support for their organizations learn political skills and valuable lessons about how to move through and with the “system.”

With their peers and with others, they learn to assess their products and their activities, youth come to understand that quality evolves, and they can learn leadership skills about the importance of revision, attention to detail, and pride of individual and group effort (McLaughlin, 2002).

Emerging student leaders learn about the joy of giving back and civic responsibility. Their unique perspectives can energize efforts and bring greater clarity and new dimensions of accountability to planning efforts. Campuses can increase opportunities for students to work with faculty and with other students in problem solving, policy review and planning.

Schools Must Collaborate with Effective Community-Based Organizations Supporting Youth

It is important to consider which community-based organizations or clubs are the most effective partners for schools and colleges in fostering youth leadership. In making your selection, consider that high quality youth organizations are youth-centered and respond to diverse skills, talents and interests of students. They build on strengths and choose appropriate materials and activities that reinforce a positive approach. They reach out to all youth and provide personal attention through focused activities.

Embedded within the organization’s programs are activities that build a range of life skills. The adults within effective youth organizations recognize the many kinds of knowledge and skills youth need to succeed in school and life, and they deliberately try to provide them. Effective community-based organizations focus on building relationships among youth, adults, and the broader community. They are sensitive in honoring the diversity of race, language and culture within the broader community.

Schools and Campuses Must Make Youth a Line Item in the Budget

In order to seek out and underwrite committed individuals and enable their work supporting student leadership, sufficient funds must be in place. Students quickly learn about the support and constraints of their schools and colleges. If this is a priority for a campus, financial support for leadership fostering activities and student groups must be evident in the budget.

Given the current climate of limited funding, students have ineffective voice and claim upon educational resources, and therefore organizations need to make this commitment evident.

Implicit is the erroneous assumption that youth leadership is the responsibility of families and communities rather than educational institutions. Effective campuses recognize that student leadership development is school and community development.

Schools Must Support Student-Led Campus Groups

Many student-led clubs, organizations, and campus groups provide a platform to support emerging student leadership as well as focus on engagement with community. An example is Movimiento Estudiantil Chicana/o de Aztlan (MEChA).

Recent research by Anthony Antonio (2001) and Daryl Smith et. al (1997) find in reviews of the literature that organizing and supporting student groups with attention to race and ethnicity can have educational benefits.

For example, student organizations that are specifically designed to support students of color appear to contribute to those students’ retention, adjustment, and attachment to their institutions. Schools and colleges can encourage students to use their social support groups as academic support groups and provide counseling and advisors to help foster and fund these activities.

Schools Must Create a Shared Vision of Student Engagement

In order to create an “intentional” environment that supports youth leadership, a shared vision and commitment to do so must first be in place. Leadership and passion often go hand in hand, therefore, the commitment and enthusiasm of everyone, especially key administrators involved, brings essential elements of stability and momentum necessary to sustain campus efforts.

Supporting student leadership needs to be seen as a shared mission to achieve and be held accountable for. To accomplish this, policies and practices need to be in place to support youth leadership. Ongoing assessment of progress toward that mission needs to occur, with adjustments toward that goal made regularly and progress reports to that end shared among all stakeholders, including students.

Thinking and Doing

In his book On Organizational Learning , Chris Argyris speaks to the dichotomy of thinking and doing as theories of beliefs versus action (1999). Basically, students would say that educational institutions need to “walk their talk” – they cannot purport to be about student success and not involve students in the dialogue.

In order to do this, the theories of beliefs can be helpful in closing the gaps between our talk and our action. If we can think out loud in a safe environment, we can begin to understand the scope of how things really work in our educational environments through the eyes and ears of students, and we can take appropriate and effective actions to move toward our desired results.

Through honest dialogue with students, we can know where we are and plan together with them where we want to go in supporting leadership. A positive approach usually follows this pattern:

Be open and honest to promote healthy exploration of the topic at hand.
Allow everyone to contribute their best thinking and respect their ideas.
Continuously check-in to see what is working.
Create a reward system that values student leadership and shared decision-making.
Follow through with actions – only make promises you can keep.

As educators, community members and families, we must ask ourselves what support systems our students need to develop leadership for the future. The answer will require many perspectives coming together to move beyond our traditional approaches. Involving students now will help foster the kind of leadership for transformation that is needed, not only for our educational systems, but for our communities and for the world.

What do you think? We welcome feedback about our article and invite you to share your success stories about what your school or campus is doing to foster student leadership. Let us know through our Lazos technical assistance web page at www.idra.org/enlace.

Antonio, A.L. “Diversity and the Influence of Friendship Groups in College,” Review of Higher Education (2001).

Argyris, C. On Organizational Learning (Cambridge, Mass.: Blackwell, 1999).

Chang, M. “Racial Dynamics on Campus – What Student Organizations Can Tell Us,” About Campus (March-April, 2002).

Fries-Britt, S. “High Achieving Black Collegians,” About Campus (July-August, 2002).

Isaacs, W. Dialogue: The Art of Thinking Together (New York, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1999).

Klein, K. “Dialogue – The Key to Moving Beyond Structural Conflict,” About Campus (March-April, 2002).

Light, R.J. Making the Most of College (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2001).

McLaughlin, M. Community Counts – How Youth Organizations Matter for Youth Development (Washington, D.C.: Public Education Network, spring 2000).

Rodriguez, R., and A. Villarreal. “Transformative Leadership in Latino Communities: A Critical Element in Successful and Sustainable Educational Change,” IDRA Newsletter (San Antonio, Texas: Intercultural Development Research Association, June-July 2001).

Rodriguez, R., and A. Villarreal. “Engaged Accountability: Practices and Policies to Open Doors to High Education,” IDRA Newsletter (San Antonio, Texas: Intercultural Development Research Association, January 2002).

Rodriguez, R., and Villarreal, A. “The Home as a Significant Source for Developing Language and Study Skills: Fifteen Tips for Families,” IDRA Newsletter (San Antonio, Texas: Intercultural Development Research Association, February 2003).

Schroeder, Charles. “Listening to Students,” About Campus (July-August, 2002).

Senge, P. The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization (New York, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1990).

Smith, D.G., et al. Diversity Works: The Emerging Picture of How Students Benefit (Washington, D.C.: Association of American Colleges and Universities, 1997).

Rosana G. Rodríguez, Ph.D., is the director of the IDRA Division of Community and Public Engagement. Abelardo Villarreal, Ph.D., is the director of the IDRA Division of Professional Development. Comments and questions may be directed to them via e-mail at [email protected] .

[©2003, IDRA. This article originally appeared in the May 2003 IDRA Newsletter by the Intercultural Development Research Association. Permission to reproduce this article is granted provided the article is reprinted in its entirety and proper credit is given to IDRA and the author.]

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A ceremony to honor outstanding students, faculty and staff for achievements in academic endeavors and exceptional leadership through involvement in campus life, student governance and community service.

2024 Student Activities & Leadership Awards

THE EARL SLOCUM BAND AWARD

Recipient: andrew kuntz.

This award honoring Earl Slocum, Director of Bands from 1935 to 1956, is given annually to the senior member of University Bands who has demonstrated meritorious achievement with regard to musicianship, leadership, and academic excellence, and who also has made a significant contribution to the growth and success of the University Band program.

“Andrew has been very involved in the UNC Bands program during his time at Carolina. He is a four-year member of the Marching Tar Heels, Pep Bands, Basketball Bands, Wind Ensemble, and has played in other ensembles as well. He is a fantastic musician and a wonderful student.”

THE CLASS OF ’56 GEORGE LIVAS AWARD

Recipient: miller williamson.

This award was established by friends of George Livas to recognize the most outstanding senior in the School of Nursing. The recipient, chosen by the faculty of the School, is the member of the senior class who best demonstrates scholarship, leadership, and nursing excellence.

“Miller embodies the core values of a Carolina Nurse through leadership, scholarship, and nursing excellence, evident in his roles as lab manager and volunteer at SHAC and Nursing Assistant at the Emergency Department at Rex. His dedication to combating sepsis includes involvement in research and scholarship, spreading awareness during World Sepsis Day, and advocating for prompt treatment and interventions.”

THE EDWARD McGOWAN HEDGPETH AWARD

Recipient: mason murray.

Established in 1964, this award is given by the Beta Chapter of Alpha Epsilon Delta, International Premedical Honor Society. It is named for a charter member and advisor of Beta Chapter, a physician who served for thirty years as director of the Student Health Service and for fifteen years as chairman of the admissions committee of the Medical School. The award is given annually to two undergraduate members of Alpha Epsilon Delta who are voted most outstanding in service to the campus and community through the society.

“Mason’s exceptional dedication to leadership and service within the UNC campus and community through her roles in Alpha Epsilon Delta have earned her this award. As Service Chair and President, she advocates tirelessly for diverse, accessible service opportunities, solidifying her role as a pillar of AED and demonstrating unwavering support to those around her.”

Recipient: Hari Kiran Pinapaka

“Hari is recognized for his outstanding commitment and service to Alpha Epsilon Delta and the broader UNC community. His dedication to serving others along with his cheerful spirit, render him an invaluable asset to many organizations, including Carolina Cupboard and UNC Hearts for the Homeless.”

THE INTERFRATERNITY COUNCIL MAN OF THE YEAR AWARD

Recipient: luke louis.

Established by the Interfraternity Council, this award is presented annually to an undergraduate member who has made the most significant contributions in the areas of leadership, scholarship, and service to their chapter, council, and The Carolina/Chapel Hill community.

“Luke was selected for this award due to his exemplary leadership qualities, fearlessly standing up for his beliefs, and prioritizing diplomatic solutions. Luke’s dedication extends beyond the Council, as he spearheaded new philanthropy events and fostered improved relations with campus offices.”

PANHELLENIC COUNCIL WOMAN OF THE YEAR AWARD

Recipient: cameron somerville.

Established by the Panhellenic Council, this award is presented annually to an undergraduate member who has made the most significant contributions in the areas of leadership, scholarship, and service to their chapter, council and the Carolina/Chapel Hill community.

“Cameron, a hard working leader and role model, initiated positive changes within the Panhellenic community and provided encouragement and support to members. She has persistently advocated for important initiatives and causes raised by Panhellenic members.”

NATIONAL PAN-HELLENIC COUNCIL AWARD

Recipient: hala ballard.

Established by the National Pan-Hellenic Council, this award is presented annually to an undergraduate member who has made the most significant contributions in the areas of leadership, scholarship, and service to their chapter, council and the Carolina/Chapel Hill community.

“Hala exemplifies resilience and dedication as she seamlessly took over leadership of the NPHC in the midst of the year, overcoming adversity with grace and determination. Despite the unexpected challenges, Hala approached her role with unwavering commitment, diligently working to uphold the organization’s values and objectives.”

MULTICULTURAL GREEK COUNCIL AWARD

Recipient: asucena vargas.

Established by the Panhellenic Council, the National Pan-Hellenic Council, the Interfraternity Council, and the Multicultural Greek Council Award, these awards are presented annually to undergraduates who have made the most significant contributions in the areas of leadership, scholarship, service to their individual chapters, and Greek and University Communities.

“Asucena served as the president of the Multicultural Greek Council this year and it’s through her leadership that the council had a successful year of unity and growth. She is a member of Latinas Promoviendo Comunidad/Lambda Pi Chi Sorority, Inc. where she also served as treasurer.”

THE MARTY POMERANTZ SPORT CLUBS COUNCIL ACHIEVEMENT

Recipient: ryann breslin.

Established in 1979, this award is named in honor of Marty Pomerantz, who served as the Director of Campus Recreation for 22 years. It is given annually to the undergraduate who demonstrates leadership, commitment, and makes the greatest positive contribution to the strength and vitality of the sport clubs program.

“As President of the Golf Club, Ryann’s genuine care and commitment have fostered a welcoming environment and trust among members, earning her praise for her motivating leadership and exceptional organization skills. Her dedication is contagious, fostering a supportive community within the club and contributing positively to the Sport Clubs program as a whole.”

THE J. MARYON SAUNDERS AWARD

Recipient: andrew spratley.

The J. Maryon Saunders Award was established by the UNC General Alumni Association (GAA), this award is presented to the member of the graduating class who, as an undergraduate student, has contributed most to the preservation and enhancement of loyalty and goodwill between The University of North Carolina and its students, alumni and friends. This award is in honor of J. Maryon “Spike” Saunders (class of 1925) who led the GAA for 43 years.

“Andrew consistently upholds his commitment to serve UNC in big and small ways. In Feb 2021, Andrew joined Order of the Bell Tower and now serves as its president. He also held roles as a 2024 Senior Class Marshal and worked with Residence Life, Student Government and even the Admissions Office where he was an ambassador and training leader.”

THE ROGER A. DAVIS MEMORIAL AWARD

Recipient: karl suszynsky.

This award, established in 1966, is given in memory of Roger A. Davis who, as a student, was active in the formation of the residence colleges. It is given by the Residence Hall Association to the undergraduate judged to have given outstanding service to the University, especially through residence hall leadership. The recipient will receive a framed certificate and a monetary award.

“Karl was chosen for this award due to his ongoing commitment to the residential student life experience. Starting as Craige Community Governor over two years ago, now as NRHH president, while also previously holding almost every possible position in between, Karl has captured what it means to serve the residence hall community.”

THE WILLIE P. MANGUM MEDAL IN ORATORY

Recipient: valerie argentina calvo.

This oldest student award was established in 1877 in memory of Willie Person Mangum, Class of 1815, who had a distinguished career in politics including three terms in the U.S. Senate and a leading role in the Whig Party. It is continued by the family of Mangum Turner, Class of 1900. A gold medal is awarded to the member of the senior class who, in the opinion of a group of judges, gives the best oration at an annual contest. The award is administered by the Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies.

“Valerie won this award for the excellent speech she gave in competition where she combined knowledge from both her majors, English and Physics, in an interesting and unique way. An experienced speaker, Valerie’s captivating speech spoke on the quote “He understood that men were forever strangers to one another, that no one ever comes to really know any one” from Thomas Wolfe’s Look Homeward, Angel.”

THE ERNEST H. ABERNETHY PRIZE IN STUDENT PUBLICATION WORK

Recipient: emmy martin.

Ernest H. Abernethy, Class of 1922, established this award in 1941. A plaque and monetary award are presented annually to the undergraduate judged by a special committee to have done the most distinctive work during the current year in the field of student publications.

“As editor-in-chief of The Daily Tar Heel, Emmy Martin’s print cover after the August 28, 2023 UNC-Chapel Hill shooting garnered national attention, leading to invitations to the White House and speaking engagements at Columbia and a College Media Association conference. Emmy’s professionalism, poise, and integrity have transformed The Daily Tar Heel into a more impactful newspaper, demonstrating her exceptional skill and maturity as a student journalist.”

THE JIM TATUM MEMORIAL AWARD

Recipient: alyssa ustby.

This award was established in 1959 in honor of James M. Tatum, head football coach in 1942 and 1956 through 1958. It is presented under the sponsorship of The University of North Carolina Athletic Association to the varsity intercollegiate athlete who has performed with distinction in their sport and who has contributed to the University community through constructive participation in co-curricular activities.

“Alyssa, a Media and Journalism major with a minor in Business Administration, stands out both academically and athletically, recognized as the women’s basketball team captain for the 2023-24 season and named to prestigious awards such as the Cheryl Miller Award Top 10 list and the All-ACC Academic Team. Her achievements extend beyond athletics, as she made the Dean’s List in Fall 2022 and contributes significantly through service and leadership in the Carolina community.”

THE ALGERNON SYDNEY SULLIVAN AWARD

Recipient: malak dridi.

Established in 1928, this award is bestowed annually upon one man and one woman of the senior class who has best demonstrated unselfish interest in human welfare. The emphasis of the award is on humanitarian contributions.

“Malak feels an obligation to be a catalyst for visible change, and she has accomplished this through her work with multiple organizations both on and off campus. There is nothing that can deter Malak when it comes to social justice and advocacy. Her work, dedication, and personality make her one of the most sincere agents of change on UNC’s campus, as well as nationally.”

Recipient: Alisha Rehman

“Alisha is dedicated to effecting positive change through service. In her involvement with organizations like the American Red Cross and her commitment to medical volunteering, Alisha demonstrates a profound capacity for empathy and care, underscoring her unwavering commitment to serving others.”

THE CORNELIUS O. CATHEY AWARD

Recipient: matthew tweden.

This award was established in 1987 in memory of Cornelius O. Cathey, Professor of History from 1947 to 1974 and Dean of Student Affairs from 1963 to 1972. It is given annually to the student who has made the greatest contribution to the quality of campus life through sustained, constructive participation in established student programs, or through creative, persistent effort in development of new student programs.

“Matthew is focused on cultivating a positive experience for current students, while also laying the groundwork for a bright future for the student leaders of tomorrow. Matthew showcased his dedication through his work on the Joint Governance Council, Undergraduate Executive Branch, Provost’s Advisory Council, and other involvements that outlined his care and thought for embracing working within an institutional system.”

THE ROBERT WHITE LINKER AWARD

This award was established in 1960 in honor of Professor Robert White Linker, who helped to organize the Society of Janus Chapter of the National Residence Hall Honorary. It is given annually by the Society to the most outstanding undergraduate residence hall officer. This award is based on leadership criteria of initiative, creativity and effectiveness, and on lasting contributions to residence hall living.

“Instrumental in the expansion of the National Residence Hall Honorary, Karl has exemplified leadership, grace, and poise throughout his tenure. His willingness to lend expertise to Carolina Housing initiatives, including the Residence Hall Association, underscores Karl’s invaluable contributions to fostering a vibrant and inclusive community within our residential community.”

THE FEREBEE TAYLOR AWARD

Recipient: matthew koenigshofer.

Inaugurated by the Class of 1982 as its gift to the University, this award recognizes the principle of honor as one of the University’s most hallowed ideals. It is given in honor of Ferebee Taylor, Chancellor of the University, 1972-1980, under whose leadership and commitment the judicial reform movement and the revitalization of the Honor Code were brought to fruition. The award is given annually to the member of the senior class who has made the greatest contribution to the continued vitality and strength of the Honor Code in the community.

“Matthew is the student Attorney General within the Honor System. His leadership has progressed the Honor System to support student development, education, and growth in a timely and impartial manner. Through his role, he has upheld the values and the integrity of the Honor Code.”

THE BOKA W. HADZIJA AWARD FOR DISTINGUISHED UNIVERSITY SERVICE

Recipient: janay franklin.

Professor Boka Hadzija exemplified excellence in scholarship, leadership and service to Carolina, earning the 2005 C. Knox Massey Distinguished Award and no fewer than 39 awards for teaching excellence from the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy and the University. Dr. Hadzija, who passed away unexpectedly in 2013, is remembered for her strong mentorship, her generous support of students and her outstanding leadership. In her memory, this award recognizes the graduate or professional student who has been judged most outstanding in character, scholarship and leadership.

“Janay has demonstrated remarkable service to the University and community, including founding the Maximizing Exposure to Biomedical Research (MEBR) program for underrepresented students. Her outstanding character is evident through participation in the Chancellor’s student advisory committee and as a Graduate and Professional Student Government senator, alongside receiving numerous research and academic awards.”

Recipient: Kendall Hatch Winter

“Kendall is pursuing a PhD in musicology and actively engages in advocacy projects for both the music department and the university at large through her involvement in Graduate and Professional Student Government.”

THE ALBERT AND GLADYS HALL COATES AWARD

Recipient: andrew gary.

This award recognizes the distinguished history of Student Government in this University, long championed by Albert and Gladys Hall Coates. It honors the Coates for their 70 years of involvement with and contributions to the University and to Student Government. Established in 1987, the award is given annually to the member of Student Congress whose service through the Student Congress is judged most outstanding on criteria of statesmanship, commitment and constructive involvement in issues affecting the quality of the University community.

“Andrew has made exceptional contributions to student self-governance at UNC-Chapel Hill, notably through his extensive revision of key student governance documents and leadership in advocating for student voices in local politics. His commitment to police reform, along with his roles in various advisory councils and governing bodies, has significantly enhanced transparency, efficacy, and professionalism within the Undergraduate Senate.”

THE E. EUGENE JACKSON AWARD

Recipient: mary miller.

This award was established by the Class of 1989 in honor of E. Eugene Jackson, whose contributions to the University were a model of selfless service. It is given annually to the member of the graduating class whose leadership and selfless dedication have strengthened class pride and University loyalty, enriched the lives of seniors, and made a significant contribution to the University.

“Mary’s commitment to serving her community shines through her diverse roles within the Residence Hall Association, notably as president, where she prioritized equity practices. Her impactful Menstrual Product Initiative, now implemented across all residential communities, exemplifies this dedication.”

THE IRENE F. LEE AWARD

Recipient: makayla a. key.

Irene F. Lee, who served as hostess and counselor in Cornelia Phillips Spencer Hall from 1925 to 1948, established this award in 1955. The award is presented annually to the woman of the senior class who is judged most outstanding in leadership, character and scholarship.

“Makayla has made her mark as an outstanding model of service, character, and leadership throughout her four years on campus. As president of the Theta Pi Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority and a Morehead-Cain Scholar, she has shown continuously that she is committed to improving herself and finding ways to improve the community, as well.”

THE JOHN JOHNSTON PARKER, JR. MEDAL FOR UNIQUE LEADERSHIP IN STUDENT GOVERNMENT

This award was established in 1941 by Judge and Mrs. John J. Parker in memory of their son, John Johnston Parker, Jr., Class of 1937, who served with distinction as president of the then Student Council. A medal is awarded annually to that member of the senior class who has demonstrated the highest qualities of leadership in perpetuating the spirit and honor of student self-government.

“It would be difficult to find a student who has contributed more to student government or worked more tirelessly on behalf of students during their time at Carolina than Andrew. He has been an exceptional force within student government, constantly advocating for the safety of the student body behind the scenes and broadening the Undergraduate Student Government Senate’s reach to the student body.”

THE FRANK PORTER GRAHAM AWARD

Recipient: colby taylor.

This award, established in 1963, is presented to the graduating senior who has made the most outstanding contribution to a realization of the human ideals of equality, dignity and community. The award is given in memory of Dr. Frank Porter Graham, past president of the Campus Y and past president of this University. Dr. Graham’s devotion to the improvement of the quality of human life continues, through generations, to inspire striving for the ideals here recognized.

“Colby exemplifies the essence of the human ideals of equality, dignity, and community through his tireless advocacy for indigenous populations, amplifying the voices of marginalized communities and emphasizing the importance of cultural preservation. His unwavering advocacy for social justice inspires those around him, extending far beyond his graduating class.”

THE EDWARD KIDDER GRAHAM AWARD

Recipient: manaal iqbal.

Named for Edward Kidder Graham (president of the University of North Carolina, 1914-1918), this award honors the graduating senior who has made the most outstanding contribution to the University through his or her work as a member of an officially recognized student organization. The recipient will have demonstrated consistent leadership, dedication, and innovation within the organization, contributed to the organization’s strength, vitality, and longevity, and assisted the organization in supporting the overall mission of the University.

“As president of the Muslim Students Association, Manaal has constantly advocated for the interaction of faith and community. While supporting the overall mission of the organization, she has helped to educate the campus community about the concerns and needs of Muslim students. Her dedication has contributed to the organization’s strength, vitality, and longevity.”

THE BRENDA W. KIRBY AWARD

Recipient: anna coley.

Brenda W. Kirby served as Secretary of the University from 1980 to 2012. In that role, Ms. Kirby was special assistant to six Chancellors, constantly bridging communication between students and the Chancellor, as well as other parts of the University. Acknowledging her unique gift of creating invaluable bonds of communication, this award, established in 2012, recognizes annually the student who has most effectively worked to establish a community of cooperation and service between students and constituents of the larger University that might include administrators, faculty, staff, students, trustees, and alumni

“Anna has devoted her college journey to supporting the campus community and fostering education through her endeavors in leadership, sustainability, and advocacy. Her significant contributions to Phi Sigma Pi National Gender Inclusive Honor Fraternity and other involvements across campus have been characterized by her commitment to community building and philanthropy, leaving a profound impact on those around her.”

THE KEITH SHAWN SMITH AWARD FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND MENTORSHIP

Recipient: alex haven.

The Department of Housing and Residential Education created this award in 2007 in remembrance of Keith Shawn Smith, who served as a Resident Advisor in Stacy Hall in the Old Campus Lower Quad Community. The award is granted to a Resident Advisor or Resident Advisor Mentor who has created a strong community, meaningful mentoring relationships, and campus connections. The recipient must have made a positive impact on the lives of the residents served, developing their community to an exemplary level and providing significant mentorship to the members of the community.

“Alex, the current RA for the Pride Place Residential Learning Program, received multiple nominations from community residents for this award, with praise centered around their dedication to fostering inclusivity and validation of individuals’ experiences within Pride Place. Their commitment to residents’ well-being and sense of belonging has been transformative, earning them recognition and gratitude from the community.”

WILLIAM S. CARLTON INTRAMURAL SPORTS EMPLOYEE AWARD

Recipient: parker jones.

The William S. Carlton Intramural Sports Employee Award recognizes a Sport Programs student employee at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill who officiates Intramural Sports and consistently exceeds expectations. This individual goes above and beyond their duties and responsibilities to provide a great service to participants and assist other staff members. The recipient of this award contributes significantly to the overall success and strength of UNC’s Campus Recreation Sport Programs through their leadership and dedication to Intramural Sports.

“Parker is an outstanding leader and exemplar of dedication within Sport Programs, consistently delivering excellent customer service and fostering a positive atmosphere.. Her reliability, willingness to assist others, and commitment to enhancing experiences for participants and peers reflect her embodiment of the mission of Sport Programs and Campus Rec.”

James O. Cansler Service Award

Recipient: juliette ruby palacios perez.

James Cansler served UNC students for 37 years, first as a Baptist Chaplain, and later as Dean of Men and Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs. He was dedicated to helping students strengthen their faith and enlarge their vision of service concurrent with their educational pursuits. This award is presented annually in his memory to a student whose faith has inspired outstanding service to the needs of humanity.

“Faith is a driving factor that inspires Juliette to take action for positive change within both her academic and social spheres. Her willingness to listen and to connect with diverse perspectives has helped to create an inclusive environment for all on campus. Her consistent ability to provide perspective and foster a supportive community underscores her character and reflects her unwavering dedication to others.”

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Student Leadership 4/18/2024 2:57:33 PM

Registration for CHSAA Summer Leadership Camp Closes April 22

University of Northern Iowa students receive 2024 Student Leadership Awards

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa - Each spring the University of Northern Iowa recognizes outstanding leaders through a series of awards presented to students and student organizations. Among the awards presented at the annual ceremony, the Office of the Dean of Students recognizes students who earn the Dr. Sue Follon Scholarship, the Beverly Funk Barnes Student Excellence Award, Outstanding Student Leaders Award and Servant Leadership Award.

Geneva Bell, a biology, biochemistry and Spanish triple major, is the 2024 recipient of the Dr. Sue Follon Scholarship for Leadership. As the winner of this $4,500 scholarship, Bell has positively impacted the experiences of others on a daily basis, going above and beyond what one may expect from a peer or college student. She has advocated for larger budgets for student groups and free and open-resource textbooks for UNI students.

Madelyn Stepanek, an elementary and middle level education dual major, is this year’s winner of the Beverly Funk Barnes Student Excellence Award. This award recognizes students who continually create new value through dedication, passion and creativity for the benefit of UNI. Stepanek is the extraordinary type of person who puts others before herself and looks for ways to improve the lives of those around her.

The Outstanding Student Leaders Award is given to graduating seniors who have demonstrated dedication and leadership through their involvement in one or more campus activities. Students receiving this recognition are:

Caroline Christensen
Hattie Dukes
Wyatt Heideman
Samantha Heyer
Jaylie Hicklin
Griffin Parker
Kate Rogers
Taylor Short
Tienna Trettin

Recipients of the Servant Leadership Award, which recognizes students who have worked for the common good while putting the needs of others first, include:

Jenna Becker
Allison Flanscha
Lizbeth Garcia Tellez
Will Krueger
Alondra Morteo Valenzuela
Cameron Opkis
Issabella Sullivan
Kimberly Walljasper
Sam Zimmerman

These award recipients are among several Student Leadership Awards distributed to students at this year’s ceremony, which was held Tuesday, April 16. More information about the Student Leadership Awards and recipients can be found at studentleadershipawards.uni.edu .

Media Contact: Adam Amdor

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UNI head football coach Mark Farley surprises Cedar Heights 4th Graders

“TC Day” gives UNI several things to celebrate

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LIVE RADAR: Tracking storms through NE Florida and SE Georgia

2 river flood warnings in effect for brantley and columbia counties, duval county program aimed at building character, leadership skills hopes to reach more students.

Aaron Farrar , News4Jax reporter

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A program offered in just a handful of Duval County public schools is hoping to expand to reach more students.

Elevate Jacksonville is a class focused on character-building, leadership skills and exposing students to options available to them after high school.

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Aaron farrar.

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2024 Lawrence C. Nussdorf Student Award Winners Honored at Penn IUR 19th Annual Urban Leadership Forum

From Left to Right: Marielle Kang, Melanie Nussdorf, Khalid Mohieldin, and Joey Jung. Photo credit: Eric Sucar.

Three University of Pennsylvania undergraduate students claimed the 2024 Lawrence C. Nussdorf Student Award, presented by the Penn Institute for Urban Research (Penn IUR) at the 19th Annual Urban Leadership Forum April 5: Joey Jung, Marielle Kang, and Khalid Mohieldin.

The award is named for the late Lawrence C. Nussdorf, founding Penn IUR board member, who deeply valued the brilliance and enthusiasm of Penn's undergraduate students in Penn’s Undergraduate Urban Research Colloquium (UURC). The program seeks to enrich their exploration of cities and the urban landscape, both in the classroom and the field.

Penn IUR Co-Directors Eugenie Birch and Susan Wachter presented the Nussdorf Student Award to the three graduating students who have all exemplified the goals of the award:

The Nussdorf Student Award commends the work of “all of students serving as models, who seek out opportunities to better understand how cities work,” Wachter said. “Their work considers how we might address the critical issues cities face for a better future for all.”

The Lawrence C. Nussdorf Student Award is a complement to the Lawrence C. Nussdorf Urban Leadership Prize, which also recognizes urban leaders around the globe.

Eugénie L. Birch

First Presidency Announces 2024 Area Leadership Assignments

Changes are effective august 1.

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20.AreaPresidency.0424.chn_12.jpg

The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has announced the 2024–2025 area leadership assignments. The changes shown below affect area presidencies and the Presidency of the Seventy and will become effective on August 1, 2024.

The First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve preside over all affairs of the Church. Members of area presidencies are General Authority Seventies or Area Seventies . Area presidencies consist of a president and two counselors who operate from area offices in each assigned area.

There are 23 areas in the Church of Jesus Christ – six that span the United States and Canada and 17 additional areas outside of those two countries.

Beginning in 1984, areas were established to direct the work in geographic locations of the global Church. The area presidencies for the U.S. and Canada work from Church headquarters in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Church’s Middle East/Africa North Area is also administered from headquarters.

“The Seventy are to act in the name of the Lord, under the direction of the Twelve … in building up the Church and regulating all the affairs of the same in all nations” (see Doctrine and Covenants 107:34).

Presidency of the Seventy

The Presidency of the Seventy for 2024-2025, from left to right: Elder Carl B. Cook, Elder José A. Teixeira, Elder S. Mark Palmer, Elder Marcus B. Nash, Elder Michael T. Ringwood, Elder Arnulfo Valenzuela and Elder Edward Dube.

Area Presidencies — US and Canada

North america central.

The North America Central Area Presidency for 2024-2025, from left to right: Elder Steven R. Bangerter, First Counselor; Elder Randall K. Bennett, President; and Elder Ricardo P. Giménez, Second Counselor.

NORTH AMERICA NORTHEAST

The North America Northeast Area Presidency for 2024-2025, from left to right: Elder Mathias Held, First Counselor; Elder Allen D. Haynie, President; and Elder Robert M. Daines, Second Counselor.

NORTH AMERICA SOUTHEAST

The North America Southeast Area Presidency for 2024-2025, from left to right: Elder Ahmad S. Corbitt, First Counselor; Elder Craig C. Christensen, President; and Elder Massimo De Feo, Second Counselor.

NORTH AMERICA SOUTHWEST

The North America Southwest Area Presidency for 2024-2025, from left to right: Elder Michael A. Dunn, First Counselor; Elder Jose L. Alonso, President; and Elder Jonathan S. Schmitt, Second Counselor.

NORTH AMERICA WEST

The North America West Area Presidency for 2024-2025, from left to right: Elder Takashi Wada, First Counselor; Elder Mark A. Bragg, President; and Elder Peter M. Johnson, Second Counselor.

The Utah Area Presidency for 2024-2025, from left to right: Elder Hugo E. Martinez, First Counselor; Elder Kevin W. Pearson, President; and Elder Brian K. Taylor, Second Counselor.

Area Presidencies — Outside US and Canada

Africa central.

The Africa Central Area Presidency for 2024-2025, from left to right: Elder Paul B. Pieiper, First Counselor; Elder Thierry K. Mutombo, President; and Elder Christophe G. Giraud-Carrier, Second Counselor.

AFRICA SOUTH

The Africa South Area Presidency for 2024-2025, from left to right: Elder Denelson Silva, First Counselor; Elder Carlos A. Godoy, President; and Elder Vaiangina Sikahema, Second Counselor.

AFRICA WEST

The Africa West Area Presidency for 2024-2025, from left to right: Elder Adeyinka A. Ojediran, First Counselor; Elder Elder Alfred Kyungu, President; and Elder Isaac K. Morrison, Second Counselor.

The Asia Area Presidency for 2024-2025, from left to right: Elder Kelly R. Johnson, First Counselor; Elder Benjamin M. Z. Tai, President; and Elder Michael John U. Teh, Second Counselor.

The Asia North Area Presidency for 2024-2025, from left to right: Elder J. Kimo Esplin, First Counselor; Elder John A. McCune, President; and Elder Christopher H. Kim, Second Counselor.

The Brazil Area Presidency for 2024-2025, from left to right: Elder Ciro Schmeil, First Counselor; Elder Joni L. Koch, President; and Elder Mark D. Eddy, Second Counselor.

The Caribbean Area Presidency for 2024-2025, from left to right: Elder Valeri V. Cordón, First Counselor; Elder Jorge F. Zeballos, President; and Elder Vern P. Stanfill, Second Counselor.

CENTRAL AMERICA

The Central America Area Presidency for 2024-2025, from left to right: Elder Patricio M. Guiffra, First Counselor; Elder Taylor G. Godoy, President; and Elder Ryan K. Olsen, Second Counselor.

EUROPE CENTRAL

The Europe Central Area Presidency for 2024-2025, from left to right: Elder Jack N. Gerard, First Counselor; Elder Rubén V. Alliaud, President; and Elder James W. McConkie III, Second Counselor.

The Eurasian Area Presidency for 2024-2025, from left to right: Elder Nikolai Ustyuzahaninov, First Counselor; Elder Alexey V. Samaykin, President; and Elder Aleksandr A. Drachyov, Second Counselor. All are Area Seventies.

EUROPE NORTH

The Europe North Area Presidency for 2024-2025, from left to right: Elder Marcos A. Aidukaitis, First Counselor; Scott D. Whiting, President; and Elder Alan T. Phillips, Second Counselor.

At this time, Ukraine and Moldova are overseen by Elder Kyrylo Pokhylko, an Area Seventy, in his role as an assistant to the Europe North Area Presidency.

The Mexico Area Presidency for 2024-2025, from left to right: Elder Sean Douglas, First Counselor; Elder Hugo Montoya, President; and Elder Moisés Villanueva, Second Counselor.

MIDDLE EAST / AFRICA NORTH

The Middle East / Africa North Area Presidency for 2024-2025, from left to right: Elder Adilson de Paula Parrella, First Counselor; Elder Anthony D. Perkins, President; and Elder Roland J. Bäck, Second Counselor. Elder Bäck is an Area Seventy.

The Pacific Area Presidency for 2024-2025, from left to right: Elder Taniela B. Wakolo, First Counselor; Elder Peter F. Meurs, President; and Elder Jeremy R. Jaggi, Second Counselor.

PHILIPPINES

The Philippines Area Presidency for 2024-2025, from left to right: Elder Chi Hong (Sam) Wong, First Counselor; Elder Carlos G. Revillo Jr., President; and Elder Michael B. Strong, Second Counselor.

SOUTH AMERICA NORTHWEST

The South America Northwest Area Presidency for 2024-2025, from left to right: Elder Rafael E. Pino, First Counselor; Elder Jorge T. Becerra, President; and Elder Juan Pablo Villar, Second Counselor.

SOUTH AMERICA SOUTH

The South America South Area Presidency for 2024-2025, from left to right: Alan R. Walker, First Counselor; Elder Joaaquin E. Costa, President; and Elder Eduardo Gavarret, Second Counselor.

View or download a PDF of current area leadership assignments announced April 2023 that are in effect until August 1, 2024.
Learn more about the other leaders of the Church.

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IMAGES

Student-Led Leadership Skills Activity Day Project Print & Digital
How To Be A Good Student Leader In School
Bosses vs. Leaders Lesson + Freebies
Essay on Leadership Qualities
This Leadership Kit turns students into LEADERS! Students love making
Leadership Course Outline

VIDEO

LEADERSHIP ASSIGNMENTS 2.25.24
Student Leadership Week
My Sustainable luxury Manifesto
Have you experienced this form of leadership? #entrepreneur #business #podcast
Student Leadership Application Process 2024

COMMENTS

3 Great Worksheets to Focus Your Student Leaders
Downloadable Leadership Worksheets #2 & #3. The second worksheet is a more focused look at who we want to be as leaders. One of the best ways to find a starting point for any new leader is to look at leadership role models and extract the qualities we see in them which we want to develop in ourselves. This worksheet focuses on that approach ...
Developing Student Leadership Skills
Leadership training is the practical application of leadership education. It gives students the opportunity to apply theoretical concepts or styles from the classroom to real and immediate situations, both formal or informal, structured and unstructured. Leadership development is the combination of the two: the overall process of learning ...
38 Powerful Student Leadership Activities
Activity 38: Leadership Through Art and Expression. Students use various forms of art in this activity, such as visual art, music, dance, or writing, to express their thoughts and emotions. This activity promotes creativity, self-expression, and leadership. Procedure:
39 best leadership activities and games
Making decisions. Inspiring team members. Setting values for their team. Improving team spirit and cohesion. Being responsible for their team's communication and wellbeing. Developing leadership skills in other team members. There are a number of tools to help you with leadership development.
5 Fun Lessons Ideas that Teach Leadership Skills
Click to get more fun teambuilding lessons. 2. Practicing Microphone Speaking Skills. Plan this one right before the first assembly. Ahead of time, type up a bunch of questions that take just a few words or a sentence to answer. Just be sure the questions are ones every student can easily and comfortably answer.
10 Leadership Activities for High School Students
7. Sports and Gaming. Team sports are a great way for high school students to develop leadership skills. By leading a team, students must be able to organize others, train effectively, and adapt to rapidly changing situations, skills valued everywhere.
PDF Student Leadership Competencies
Included in this guide is a set of core leadership competencies that are vital for students to strengthen in order to be effective leaders as they engage with diverse communities. Descriptions of each competency are included as well as resources (readings, activities, and theories) to help reinforce each element.
Building Student Leadership in the Classroom
Project-Based Learning and student leadership building, when done well, add meaning and relevance. They start students on a path to success and give them opportunities for leadership while in school, so they can speak the language of negotiation cooperation, esprit-de-corps and teamwork. ... Project-Based Learning activities should be ...
15 Leadership Activities for High School Students
7.Debate Club: Participate in a debate club to hone persuasive communication skills and develop critical thinking abilities. 8.Leadership Books and Discussions: Form a book club to read and discuss books about leadership or influential leaders from various fields. 9.Group Presentations: Encourage students to work together on group presentations ...
5 Most Engaging Student Leadership Activities
Student leadership is the drive, willingness, and ability of learners to share their knowledge with others. It can take different forms, just as there are different personalities. For some, leadership projects consist of tutoring others and perhaps even seeking out younger pupils in need of help. For others, leadership achievements are found in problem-solving activities
5 Tips for Creating Effective Student Leadership Groups
3. Ask Students to Develop Individual and Collective Expectations. "Be an upstander." "Make things happen." "Make everyone feel like a star." "Help people come out of their shells." "Listen to people—everyone has ideas to share." "Help others as much as possible.". These are some excerpts of our Code of Conduct.
5 Ways To Promote Student Leadership
Eight to nine hours of the day are spent inside the classroom and students are watching and trusting you, as their educator. Show them how to be leaders, how to make decisions, how to lead by example for their peers, brothers, and sisters. 3. Collaborative activities. Allowing students to work together automatically enables students to assign ...
10 Leadership Activities for High School Students
Here are 10 different leadership activities for high school students to get involved in! 1. Run for Student Government / Class Council. Also referred to as student government or governing council, high school class councils are front-facing, amazing ways to become involved as a leader within your school environment.
Student Leadership Challenge
Impactful Activities Bring Learning to Life. The Student Leadership Challenge ® Workshop. The Student LPI ® 360 assessment comes to life in a powerful learning experience inspired by each student's personalized report that engages and educates with impactful activities and powerful discussions.. Our facilitation materials are designed specifically for educators to give you flexible building ...
83 Leadership Activities, Building Games, and Exercises
With kids' leadership games, the type of activities are not as important as discovering the leadership activities that children will find enjoyable and benefit from (Pennsylvania State University, 2012). Edsys (2016) provides eight suggested activities for children to learn leadership skills: 1. 'Create a New You'.
How to Nurture Student Leadership
Student leadership isn't just relegated to the classroom, however, because the entire school experience is one of the most formative of a student's life. From extracurricular activities to the opportunities for social development, school should be a place where students flourish and learn to be responsible adults.
PDF Student Leadership Training Booklet
Sadly, in college classes today, few students learn the leadership skills they need for their future jobs or to serve their communities. In most universities, the development of student leadership skills is not part of the academic curriculum but relegated to "extra-curricular" activities — i.e., it is regarded
Student Leadership Guides (Elementary)
Join students in learning, teaching, and applying the leadership principles found in this K-6 Leadership Series. An emphasis on leadership skills such as decision making, problem solving, public speaking, critical and creative thinking, and more. Direct teaching of key concepts associated with the 7 Habits®. A gradual release of content ...
6 Leadership Activities For Students To Boost Their Career
Here are 6 leadership activities for students you can participate in right now to cultivate your leadership potential and impress future employers: 1. Join Student Clubs And Organisations: Student clubs and organisations offer various opportunities to step up and lead. Start by actively participating, then seek leadership roles like committee ...
13 Fun Leadership Activities for College Students
That's why college students' leadership activities should focus on developing creative thinking. Scavenger hunt. This classic game has a lot to offer. Riddles and puzzles are great tools for improving problem-solving skills while also encouraging creativity and leadership traits. To find the treasure, students need to think outside the box ...
Assessment
Tips, Tricks, and Tools to Measure Leadership Development Assessing competencies does not have to be overwhelming, intimidating, or time-consuming. There are many pre-designed measurements, best practices, and instructions on data interpretation that can help you in measuring competency development and proficiency. The following are resources and ideas to help you in leadership competency ...
Promoting Student Leadership on Campus- Creating a Culture of ...
Student leadership is an integral part of student success. It should consist of more than just a student representative sitting in a meeting where student voices hold a low priority and sometimes get lost in the "wisdom" of experience. ... If this is a priority for a campus, financial support for leadership fostering activities and student ...
WashU embedding leadership ed into the student experience
A $20 million gift will fund a leadership development center for students at Washington University in St. Louis, creating new leadership trainings and funding research. A fall 2023 Student Voice survey by Inside Higher Ed and College Pulse found just over one-third (34 percent) of college students have held a leadership position within a sport, club or group, with an additional 9 percent ...
2024 Student Activities & Leadership Awards
This award was established by friends of George Livas to recognize the most outstanding senior in the School of Nursing. The recipient, chosen by the faculty of the School, is the member of the senior class who best demonstrates scholarship, leadership, and nursing excellence. "Miller embodies the core values of a Carolina Nurse through ...
Registration for CHSAA Summer Leadership Camp Closes April 22
Story Links. Register Now; AURORA - The Colorado High School Activities Association's Student Leadership Summer Camp is a unique event, and registration for this summer closes on Monday, April 22.
University of Northern Iowa students receive 2024 Student Leadership
Geneva Bell, a biology, biochemistry and Spanish triple major, is the 2024 recipient of the Dr. Sue Follon Scholarship for Leadership. As the winner of this $4,500 scholarship, Bell has positively impacted the experiences of others on a daily basis, going above and beyond what one may expect from a peer or college student.
Duval County program aimed at building character, leadership skills
Reciting core values is how every Elevate Jacksonville class starts at Ribault High School. Harlem Rogers, a student at Ribault High School, said the life skills she's learning are going a long way.
2024 Lawrence C. Nussdorf Student Award Winners Honored at Penn IUR
Three University of Pennsylvania undergraduate students claimed the 2024 Lawrence C. Nussdorf Student Award, presented by the Penn Institute for Urban Research (Penn IUR) at the 19th Annual Urban Leadership Forum April 5: Joey Jung, Marielle Kang, and Khalid Mohieldin. The award is named for the late Lawrence C. Nussdorf, founding Penn IUR board member, who deeply valued the brilliance and ...
First Presidency Announces 2024 Area Leadership Assignments
The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has announced the 2024-2025 area leadership assignments. The changes affect area presidencies and will become effective on August 1, 2024. The First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve preside over all affairs of the Church. Members of area presidencies are General ...

3 Great Worksheets to Focus Your Student Leaders

These Worksheets Will Help You Develop Student Leaders

FREE Student Leadership Worksheets

Downloadable Leadership Worksheets #2 & #3

Recent Posts

Download Our Free School Culture Book

38 Powerful Student Leadership Activities

Activity 1: Human Knot

Activity 2: Blindfolded Obstacle Course

Activity 3: Survival Scenario

Activity 4: Escape Room Challenge

Activity 5: Tower Building

Activity 6: Leadership in the Arts

Activity 7: Paper Airplane Challenge

Activity 8: Leadership in Crisis

Activity 9: Bridge Building

Activity 10: Treasure Hunt

Activity 11: Egg Drop Challenge

Activity 12: Leadership in Media Production

Activity 13: Trust Fall

Activity 14: Marshmallow Challenge

Activity 15: Minefield

Activity 16: Magic Carpet

Activity 17: Center Stage

Activity 18: Group Storytelling

Activity 19: Balloon Tower

Activity 20: Team-Based Board Games

Activity 21: Leadership in Debate

Activity 22: Leadership Through Mentorship

Activity 23: Role-Play Scenarios

Activity 24: Community Service

Activity 25: Leadership in Sports

Activity 26: Design Thinking Challenge

Activity 27: Environmental Conservation

Activity 28: Cultural Exchange

Activity 29: Leadership in Innovation

Activity 30: Leadership in Public Speaking

Activity 31: Leadership Through Peer Tutoring

Activity 32: Creative Arts Showcase

Activity 33: Problem-Solving Challenges

Activity 34: Technology Innovation

Activity 35: Mock Trials

Activity 36: Model United Nations (MUN)

Activity 37: Scientific Research

Activity 38: Leadership Through Art and Expression

Why are these Activities Important in Schools and Colleges?

Prerequisites for Students to Participate in Leadership Activities

Key Qualities or Skills Required for Successful Student Leadership

The Role of Student Leaders in Shaping the School or College Community

Impact of Student Leadership Activities on Academic Performance

Notable Alumni Who Started Their Leadership Journey Through Student Leadership Activities

Conclusion:

3 thoughts on “38 Powerful Student Leadership Activities”

39 best leadership activities and games

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