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10 Presentation Ideas For Leadership Teams and Training

Leadership teams shape organizations for better or for worse. They’re responsible for guiding teams and moving things— big or small— forward. So what makes a great leader versus one that causes employees to leave a company?

When you think of a great leader, it’s probably a specific characteristic that comes to mind. Qualities like respect, self-awareness, trust, influence, collaboration, and strong communication skills can set extraordinary managers apart from mediocre ones. But how leaders listen, learn, and communicate with their employees is just as important. Because of that, leaders— regardless of the industry— need to hold themselves accountable and continuously seek out ways to grow as a manager.   

It’s not uncommon for companies to host offsites or retreats to bring the leadership team together for brainstorming, planning, and training. This helps align leaders across various departments, teams, and offices, while offering them the tools they need to be more successful in their role. 

When preparing a presentation for leadership teams and training, it's crucial to focus on content that resonates with the audience's strategic mindset and their role in guiding the organization. Here are some leadership presentation ideas to help inspire your own content.

Leadership presentation ideas

Presentations can act as a platform to encourage learning and collaboration among different leaders. Do you have a leadership retreat coming up? Here are 10 leadership presentation ideas to help train and motivate your own leadership team. 

Effective leadership strategies

As a recurring training, you might share effective leadership strategies with your executive team. This presentation would act as a refresher of the latest trends and best practices in leadership. This could include insights on empathetic leadership, fostering a positive company culture, and embracing diversity and inclusion.

Change management

How should managers and leadership teams address the challenges and opportunities associated with change within the organization? A change management presentation would provide strategies for how leaders can navigate transitions successfully, with the least amount of disruption to the team.

Strategic planning and decision-making

A strategic planning and decision making presentation will offer insights into the process of setting achievable goals and making informed decisions. Organizations might also use a strategic planning presentation to lead their own company brainstorming sessions at a leadership all-hands meeting. 

Team development and engagement

Team development and engagement is important for the overall success of the team. In this presentation you might share techniques for fostering a high-performing and engaged team, including methods for providing feedback, coaching, and creating a supportive work environment.

Communication skills

Communication skills can make or break a leader. A training session on effective communication in leadership roles could be beneficial for both managers and executives of all levels. Here you could offer practical tips for clear, transparent, and empowering communication.

Leading through uncertainty

Given the current business landscape and layoffs happening across various industries, leadership teams need to know how to handle hard situations. This presentation idea for leadership teams would discuss strategies for navigating uncertainty and ambiguity, including how to maintain resilience and inspire confidence in a team concerned about job security. 

Embracing innovation and creativity

It’s no secret that AI is here to stay, and teams are having to pivot to accommodate new technology. Use a thoughtful presentation to encourage leaders to embrace innovation and promote a culture of creativity within the organization. The slides in this deck could showcase the benefits of adopting innovative approaches and thinking outside the box.

Building high-performance teams

Leaders need the right tools and knowledge to be able to guide positive performance. Employers might offer a training “how-to” on best practices for assembling and nurturing high-performance teams. This deck should include strategies for fostering collaboration, trust, and accountability among teammates. 

Data-driven decision making

As a leader, leveraging data to make more informed decisions should be top of mind. This leadership presentation idea can highlight the importance of leveraging data and analytics in decision-making processes, and offer guidance on how to incorporate data-driven insights into leadership strategies. This could include ways to implement KPIs, OKRs, or other effective ways to track the performance of individual contributors and campaigns. 

Ethical leadership

A wildly important leadership topic is ethics. Upper management should be well-educated in ethical leadership, and how that impacts the success of the team. An ethical leadership presentation could include the significance of ethics, the impact it has on organizational culture, employee morale, and long-term success, and how to ensure it’s top of mind in each department on a daily basis.

Beautiful presentations to drive your message home

You have a presentation topic, now what? The hardest part of presentation design is going from idea to deck with little design skills to back you up. Thankfully, there's a presentation software for that. Insert: Beautiful.ai. Beautiful.ai helps leadership teams create beautiful presentations so they can pack a bigger punch with their message and inspire their audience. Presenters can use one of Beautiful.ai's customizable pre-built presentation templates — like the training presentation — or leverage our AI-assistant to create a presentation from scratch specific to their topic. By creating beautiful decks you can engage your audience, drive your message home, and leave your leadership team feeling inspired to make a difference.

Jordan Turner

Jordan is a Bay Area writer, social media manager, and content strategist.

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30 of the best ted talks on leadership that every great leader should watch – 2nd edition.

Last updated: 4 March 2020

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Love inspiring Ted Talks on leadership? So do we!

That’s why we put together this list of our  crème de la crème TED Talks on leadership.

So next time you’re needing a little boost, take a 20-minute break to listen to one of these and learn from some of the most forward-thinking and innovative experts to discover what’s given them their little-known edge.

1.  How Great Leaders Inspire Action , by Simon Sinek

With more than 29 million views , Simon Sinek is now on the A-List of leadership gurus, after he gave this incredible talk.

As Sinek himself says, “As it turns out, all the great inspiring leaders and organizations in the world, whether it’s Apple or Martin Luther King, Jr. or the Wright brothers, they all think, act and communicate the exact same way. And it’s the complete opposite to everyone else. All I did was codify it, and it’s probably the world’s simplest idea. I call it the Golden Circle.”

For Sinek, the difference between these inspirational leaders and everyone else is they start with “why,” which is the core concept of his Golden Circle . By asking why, how and what, you can set yourself on a trajectory of tremendous success that, statistically speaking, very few people attain.

2.  The Puzzle of Motivation , by Dan Pink

To be an effective leader, you need to know what makes people “tick,” and especially what motivates them in the workplace to give you their best. Interestingly enough, money only takes you so far.

In this compelling video –which has clocked over 13 million views – Pink (author of  Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us ) untangles the web of motivation in a way that makes sense for leaders. Here’s a hint : traditional rewards aren’t always as motivating as we think.

3.  Why We Have Too Few Women Leaders , by Sheryl Sandberg

Sandberg left Google to become Facebook’s COO in 2008. In this video, she looks at why so few women make it to the C-suite, and offers up three important pieces of advice to women who want to buck the trend and get there. The key, in Sandberg’s view, is ensuring women remain in the workforce.

As it turns out, having more women remain in the workforce has other positive benefits on society and households, such as equal earning and equal responsibility between partners. As Sandberg notes, households that demonstrate this equality also have half the divorce rate.

4.  The Difference Between Winning and Succeeding , by John Wooden

To be a successful leader, what better place to start than by defining exactly what you mean by success? The man affectionately known as “Coach” redefines success to be much more than merely winning. Coach James Wooden explains this difference with profound simplicity, and urges everyone to pursue the best in themselves. The Coach’s 17-minute talk is uplifting as much as it is inspiring.

5.  What Makes us Feel Good About Our Work ? By Dan Ariely

Dan Ariely is a behavioral economist who has gained a deeper understanding of human motivation than most economists could ever hope for. He even designed experiments that would help solve the mystery of motivation, which is what this video is all about.

As it turns out, money isn’t the only thing that motivates us to work. It isn’t exactly joy, either. The real motivation for going to work every day is to make constant progress and lead a life of purpose . Strong leaders care about the bottom line, but are about much more than that. They have a sense of purpose, and get out of bed every single day to fulfill it.

6.  Why Good Leaders Make You Feel Safe , by Simon Sinek

Simon Sinek’s material is so good that he’s the only one to appear twice on this list. You know building trust among your followers is important, but actually doing it is another thing entirely.

Sinek’s video on the topic will take your understanding of trust to a whole new level. After all, humans are emotional species who struggle with insecurities and vulnerabilities. A good leader brings his or her employees into a circle of trust. This is especially important in today’s economy, where jobs are destroyed as fast as they are created. Leaders have a responsibility to make their workers feel safe.

7.  Dare to Disagree , by Margaret Heffernan

When it comes to forming your dream team, the last thing you should do is surround yourself with what Heffernan calls “echo chambers” who only tell you what they think you want to hear. Mastering the art of disagreement is essential to effective leadership. Leaders must also be willing to cope with others disagreeing with them. Only through disagreement are ideas challenged.

Hefferman outlines a rubric for avoiding echo chambers and allowing ourselves to experience what she calls constructive conflict.

“So what does that kind of constructive conflict require? Well, first of all, it requires that we find people who are very different from ourselves. That means we have to resist the neurobiological drive, which means that we really prefer people mostly like ourselves, and it means we have to seek out people with different backgrounds, different disciplines, different ways of thinking and different experience, and find ways to engage with them. That requires a lot of patience and a lot of energy.”

8.  Lead Like The Great Conductors , by Itay Talgam

You’ve no doubt heard leadership described through the metaphor of conducting an orchestra. Itay Talgam operationalizes that metaphor by sharing what leaders can learn from 6 different 20th-century conductors. Don’t worry, this TED Talk requires no formal background (or interest) in the symphony.

Talgam describes the “magical moment” when a conductor turns chaos into blissful music. It’s a very small gesture, “not very pomp, not very sophisticated.” And suddenly, out of the chaos, noise becomes music.

9.  As Work Gets More Complex, Six Rules to Simplify , by Yves Morieux

Everyone knows that a staggering number of people are disengaged from their work. Yves Morieux argues that our reaction to the unfathomable complexity of modern work has a lot to do with that disengagement. Traditional organizational management certainly doesn’t help, either. His antidote includes 6 refreshing ways to engage in what he calls “smart simplicity.” The first rule is understand what your colleagues actually do. This is especially important for business leaders if they wish to simply the workplace and boost employee engagement.

10.  What It Takes To Be A Great Leader , by Roselinde Torres

Roselinde Torres has developed a deep understanding of what makes leaders effective. She poses 3 laser-like questions that will spur your own thinking on what it takes to be a great leader.

In a world filled with executive leadership programs and expensive seminars, Torres argues the best way to learn leadership might be right under your nose. Torres’ 9-minute talk is candid and to the point.

11.  A Life of Purpose , by Rick Warren

His book, Purpose-Driven Life, has sold more than 30 million copies. The church he pastors, Saddleback Church, has more than 22,000 members. Clearly, Rick Warren understands a few things about leadership.

This video is an intimate presentation of his own thoughts and crises around leadership. For anyone who’s ever looked at their existence and said, “There’s got to be more to life than this” will certainly find solace in Warren’s 21-minute talk.

12.  Listen, Learn… Then Lead , by Stanley McChrystal

Stanley McChrystal is a 4-star general who spent decades in the military. What he gleaned about leadership that can build a shared sense of purpose among an incredibly diverse set of followers boils down to how well you listen and learn, as well as how you position failure.

McChrystal’s view of leadership can be summarized with the following quote:

“[A] leader isn’t good because they’re right; they’re good because they’re willing to learn and to trust. This isn’t easy stuff.”

13.  Got a Wicked Problem to Solve? First, Tell me How you Make Toast , by Tom Wujec

Making toast is simple, right? But what happens when someone asks you to draw how you make toast? Suddenly things get interesting, and complicated.

This simple exercise reveals much about leading solutions to complex problems. Tom Wujec invites listeners to run the exercise themselves while explaining what he’s learned from observing thousands of people draw toast. From this talk, leaders will learn some important truths about how to handle real-world challenges .

14.  Everyday Leadership , by Drew Dudley

Drew Dudley’s whole approach is to make sure everyone understands how to bring out the leader within. Too many people think great leadership is reserved for extraordinary people.

His humorous take will remind you of all the little things leaders do each day. Leadership may be self-taught, but certainly isn’t reserved to a special segment of society. Dudley reminds us that leadership is an everyday act that should be celebrated.

15.  Tribal Leadership , by David Logan

It’s easy to think that as a species we have evolved far beyond the days of tribalism, but management consultant David Logan argues that effective leaders understand the 5 kinds of tribes that still crop up naturally in nearly any setting. Logan’s talk takes you through the 5 tribes, or stages, beginning with “Life sucks” and ending with “Life is great.”

16. Learning From Leadership’s Missing Manual , by Fields Wicker-Miurin

If you missed the opening line of this article, Fields Wicker-Miurin will remind you that leadership is self-taught. People who are looking for the holy grail leadership manual will wait forever in vain.

Leadership comes from within , but that shouldn’t stop you from developing the qualities that people admire in a great leader. Instead of looking for a how-to manual, learn the inspiring story of a local leader in your community. They’re not as far away or elusive as you might think.

17. How To Make Work-Life Balance Work , by Nigel Marsh

Leaders may be workaholics, but they also value work-life balance. That’s Nigel Marsh’s main thrust in this 2010 talk. Marsh shows you how to share a balance lifestyle between family, personal time and productivity. He also drops some inspiration from his books Fit, Fifty, and Fired Up and Overworked and Underlaid (yes, he has a great sense of humor).

Achieving an ideal work-life balance may seem like a jigsaw puzzle, but isn’t nearly as hard as our productivity-obsessed culture makes it out to be. Through small changes, you can have a big impact on work, relationships and life in general.

18. The Key To Success? Grit , by Angela Lee Duckworth

Successful consultant-turned-teacher Angela Lee Duckworth reminds us that success requires hard work and grit. While this is nothing we don’t know, why are these characteristics so difficult to apply? As Duckworth says, “as much as talent counts, effort counts twice.”

Duckworth’s quick talk is an essential listen for anyone getting suckered into taking shortcuts. As it turns out, all the old adages about success and hard work are true.

19. The Secret Structure Of Great Talks , by Nancy Duarte

The ability to move others through motivational speech is one of the greatest qualities of a true leader. Author and CEO Nancy Duarte gets it, and that’s why she developed this 18-minute talk to help aspiring leaders take their presentation skills to the next level.

Duarte dissects the speeches of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Steve Jobs to uncover the essential qualities of a great presentation. If leadership is your passion, be prepared to spend a lot of time talking in front of people.

20. How To Start A Movement , by Derek Sivers

Don’t let the name of this short TED Talk fool you – Derek Sivers isn’t calling for revolution or political anarchy. Using interesting footage, Sivers shows you how surprisingly easy it is to start a movement. As they say, it takes two to tango. That’s all that’s needed for leaders to inspire a movement.

21. Got A Meeting? Take A Walk , by Nilofer Merchant

“Sitting has become the smoking of our generation.” – Nilofer Merchant

In her TED Talk, business innovator Nilofer Merchant offers a simple message about the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle . Leaders spend a lot of time in meetings. Merchant suggests you turn your next one-on-one meeting into a “walking meeting.” Not only do you hit two birds with one stone – by meeting and elevating your heart rate – the simple act of walking allows your ideas to flow much better than they otherwise would sitting in a cramped office.

22. The Leaders Who Ruined Africa, And The Generation Who Can Fix It , Fred Swaniker

Africa has struggled to live up to its development goals, and its leaders are to blame, says TED Fellow and founder of the African Leadership Network Fred Swaniker.

Having lived throughout Africa, Swaniker highlights the vital role true leaders play in building a society, and what can happen in their absence. Swaniker’s description of the next great African leaders is anybody who wants to make a difference in their society, especially where strong institutions are lacking.

23. The Happy Secret To Better Work , by Shawn Achor

It’s generally assumed we have to work to be happy, but what if we have it backwards? That’s the argument psychologist and CEO Shawn Achor makes in this 2012 talk. Achor says we need to be happy independently of work , and only then will we be able to increase productivity and success in the workplace.

Searching for happiness in the workplace can be a deep rabbit hole that often leads to less happiness overall. This is an important message for leaders, who seek to inspire other people in their line of work. It just so happens that developing happiness outside the 9-5 hours is the most important for our health and success.

24. How to Fix a Broken School? Lead Fearlessly, Love Hard , by Linda Cliatt-Wayman

You don’t have to be a teacher to appreciate Linda Cliatt-Wayman’s inspirational talk about her time as principal at a failing school in Philadelphia. It didn’t take long for her to realize that leadership was more than just “laying down the law.” We won’t spoil it for you, but let’s just say she managed to turn around her struggling school. There were 3 key principles that helped her get there.

25. Trial, Error and the God Complex , by Tim Harford

If the title of Tim Harford’s TED Talk doesn’t pique your interest, nothing will. Harford, an economics writer who studies complex systems, talks about the importance of trial and error in achieving success. Except he doesn’t just “talk” about it, but presents the findings of his studies on complex systems.

As the title suggests, Harford’s talk centres on the concept of a God complex – refusing to admit the possibility of being wrong regardless of the complexity of the situation – and the importance of trial and error in achieving better results.  Go down the list, virtually every successful business leader used trial and error to perfect their craft.

26. The Surprising Habits Of Original Thinkers , by Adam Grant

“The greatest originals are the ones who fail the most, because they’re the ones who try the most.” – Adam Grant

Suffice it to say, all aspiring leaders want to be recognized for their creativity and originality. While creativity often lies within, psychologist Adam Grant studies the lives of “originals” – thinkers whose ideas transform the world. Over the course of 15 minutes, Grant explains the unexpected habits of original thinkers, and their fearlessness in the face of failure.

Fear of failure is one of the biggest inhibitors to success in all of life’s endeavors. While never easy, leaders must learn to overcome that fear. Studying the habits of original thinkers will teach aspiring leaders they “need a lot of bad ideas in order to get a few good ones.”

27. Your Body Language Shapes Who You Are , by Amy Cuddy

Four years and more than 38 million views later, Amy Cuddy’s powerful TED Talk has resonated with many aspiring leaders. As a social psychologist, Cuddy explains how “power posing” – showcasing a posture of confidence even when you don’t feel confident – can affect your brain chemistry and move you to positive action.

While some of the findings presented in the study are controversial among social scientists, Cuddy’s talk is a great reminder of the importance of projecting confidence in every situation . Whether that holds up to tests of academic rigor are less important.

28. How to Get Your Ideas To Spread , by Seth Godin

If you think the answer to Seth Godin’s talk is “social media,” try again. This TED Talk took place back in 2007, a few years before social media became as ubiquitous as it is today. As a leader, getting your ideas to spread requires more than just a Twitter handle. Godin, himself an author and marketing guru, explains the importance of standing out, and why even the craziest ideas can become the most successful ones.

29. Secrets Of Success In 8 Words, 3 Minutes , by Richard St. John

Analyst and bestselling author, Richard St. John, managed to condense 7 years of interviews into an unforgettable 3-minute presentation about what it takes to be truly successful. Believe us, nobody is as cognizant of your time as St. John. This 3-minute talk is normally presented as a 2-hour presentation to high school students.

30. Why We Do What We Do , by Tony Robbins

No list of inspiring TED Talks is complete without Tony Robbins, the globally renowned life success coach who has spent decades helping people achieve their dreams. Robbins shattered many preconceived notions about his work a mere 36 seconds into his presentation.

“I’m not here to motivate you, you don’t need that, obviously. Often that’s what people think I do, and it’s the furthest thing from it. What happens, though, is people say to me, ‘I don’t need any motivation.’ But that’s not what I do. I’m the ‘why’ guy. I want to know why you do what you do.”

He then goes into detail explaining the “invisible forces” that make us do the things we do. He also high-fives Al Gore in the front row. With more than 18 million views, Robbins’ TED appearance is one of the most popular.

There you have it. More than 8 hours of pure leadership inspiration to help turn you into the type of leader others admire, respect and want to follow.

>>To discover more invaluable leadership lessons from some of the most successful and inspirational leaders and leadership experts, become a Leader’s Edge monthly member to receive practical tools on how to be a leader, run a business and live a successful, fulfilling life! Hurry, join now to take advantage of our 14-day FREE trial !

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7 brilliant ways successful leaders start presentations

.chakra .wef-1c7l3mo{-webkit-transition:all 0.15s ease-out;transition:all 0.15s ease-out;cursor:pointer;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;outline:none;color:inherit;}.chakra .wef-1c7l3mo:hover,.chakra .wef-1c7l3mo[data-hover]{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;}.chakra .wef-1c7l3mo:focus,.chakra .wef-1c7l3mo[data-focus]{box-shadow:0 0 0 3px rgba(168,203,251,0.5);} Jacquelyn Smith

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“The beginning is the most important part of the work.” —Plato

When we speak, we have about 60 seconds to capture our audience’s attention, establish credibility, orient them to our topic, and motivate them to listen, says Darlene Price, president of Well Said, Inc., and author of “Well Said! Presentations and Conversations That Get Results.”

If you waste those precious opening seconds with a joke, an agenda, an apology, housekeeping details, a string of thank-yous, or a rambling, pointless paragraph littered with “ums” and “uhs,” your audience’s minds are likely to drift, and you may not get them back. “You need to put the art in the start, the most important part of the work,” says Price.

That’s a tall order for any speaker — and it requires us to develop and rehearse a well-crafted, attention-getting opener.

Price offers seven options:

1. Tell a captivating story.

“Of all the starters in your toolkit, storytelling is among the most powerful and consistently successful,” Price says. “As humans, we’re hard-wired to enjoy and learn from stories. From bedtime stories and campfires, to Broadway theaters and boardrooms — heroes, villains, conflict, plots, dialogue, and lessons learned draw us in, remind us of our own lives, and hold our attention.”

The story can be about you personally, which tells the audience first-hand why you’re invested in and passionate about the topic. Or you can tell a story about another person who the audience can learn from. “Another option: Tell a fable, wisdom tale, historic event, or anecdote,” Price says. “The idea is, start with a brief 60- to 90-second narrative that launches your speech and captivates your listeners, and make sure the story encapsulates the key point of your message.”

She suggests you consider these questions as you craft your version of “Once upon a time”: What challenges have you (or another) faced in relation to your topic? How did you (or another) overcome them? Who or what helped you or harmed you? What lessons were learned? What do you want your audience to gain, feel, or do as a result of the story?

2. Ask a rhetorical, thought-provoking question.

“As Shakespeare wrote in ‘The Merchant of Venice,’ ‘If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die? And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?'” says Price. “As a speaker, you ask rhetorical questions for persuasive effect; you don’t expect the audience to answer aloud, rather silently to themselves.

When crafted and delivered well, rhetorical questions influence an audience to believe in the position of the speaker. “Clearly, Shakespeare’s character Shylock is leading his listeners to think ‘yes’ four times in order to justify revenge against Antonio. What do you want your audience to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to?”

In addition to yes or no questions, you can also arouse curiosity and motivate your audience to think about the answer, she says.

3. State a shocking statistic or headline.

Price says the vice president of sales for America’s leading healthcare IT company successfully sells software solutions to hospitals by starting her presentations with the following:

“According to a new study in the Journal of Patient Safety, medical errors leading to patient death are much higher than previously thought. Preventable adverse events, known as PAEs, cause up to 400,000 deaths per year for patients who seek care at a hospital. That means medical errors are the third leading cause of death behind heart disease and cancer. Our vision is to create a world free of medical errors, and we need your help.”

“The statistic, bold claim, or headline needs to be directly related to the main purpose of your presentation,” Price explains. “Its impact ideally persuades the audience to listen and respond positively to your recommendation and next steps.”

4. Use a powerful quote.

“Employ the wise words of a well-known person, because the name allows you to tap into his or her credibility, likeability, and notoriety,” she says. The quote must have meaning and relevance to the audience.

Imagine you’re urging a group to reach consensus, or giving a talk on conflict management. You could open with: “Mark Twain once said, ‘If two people agree on everything, one of them is unnecessary.’ Even though some of us disagree on the xyz issue, each of us is necessary in reaching a resolution.”

5. Show a gripping photo.

A picture is worth a thousand words — “maybe even more,” Price says.

“Use photos instead of text, when possible,” she suggests. A quality photo adds aesthetic appeal, increases comprehension, engages the audience’s imagination, and makes the message more memorable.

Price offers the following example of an effective use of an image:

The president of an electronics equipment company needed his managers to cut costs. Rather than showing mundane charts, graphs, and spreadsheets, he opened the meeting by asking, “What sank the Titanic?” When everyone in unison replied, “an iceberg,” he displayed a beautiful high-definition image of an iceberg on the screen: the tip of the iceberg was clearly visible above the water; the much larger portion was dimly visible below the surface of the water.

“The same thing is about to happen to our company,” he continued. “Hidden costs — the dangers beneath the surface — are about to sink this company. I need your help.” This visual metaphor spawned a creative, productive brainstorming session that inspired every business unit manager to diligently hunt for what they labeled the “icebergs,” says Price. The result was saving millions and ultimately the company.

6. Use a prop or creative visual aid.

“A prop is a magnetic tool that hooks your audience and keeps them watching — or listening,” Price says. A visual aid can also help emphasize a point.

Price uses the example of a sales VP at a large insurance company, who happens to be an avid tennis player. She says he wanted to kick off his annual meeting with a bang — so he “brilliantly used his tennis racquet to emphasize ‘acing the competition,’ ‘rallying together as a team,’ and winning a ‘grand slam’ through great customer service.” Year after year, other speakers were compared to this leader’s creative ability to present a motivational message, she says.

“Think about how you could use items like a big wall clock, a colorful gift bag, juggling balls, a deck of cards, a bunch of carrots, or another prop, to introduce your topic, captivate the audience, inject humor, and drive home your message.”

7. Play a short video.

Imagine kicking off a product management meeting with a video of compelling customer testimonials, or opening a fundraising event for endangered species by showing an Amur Leopard playing with her cubs in the wild.

“Videos evoke emotional responses,” Price explains. “Unlike text and bullet points on a slide, you can employ people, pictures, and sound to reel in the audience, add drama, and communicate the gist of your message quickly.”

As Walt Disney said, “I would rather entertain and hope that people learned something than educate people and hope they were entertained.”

This article is published in collaboration with Business Insider . Publication does not imply endorsement of views by the World Economic Forum.

To keep up with the Agenda  subscribe to our weekly newsletter .

Author: Jacquelyn Smith joined Business Insider as the careers editor in February 2014.

Image: an empty meeting room is shown. REUTERS.

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What It Takes to Give a Great Presentation

• Carmine Gallo

Five tips to set yourself apart.

Never underestimate the power of great communication. It can help you land the job of your dreams, attract investors to back your idea, or elevate your stature within your organization. But while there are plenty of good speakers in the world, you can set yourself apart out by being the person who can deliver something great over and over. Here are a few tips for business professionals who want to move from being good speakers to great ones: be concise (the fewer words, the better); never use bullet points (photos and images paired together are more memorable); don’t underestimate the power of your voice (raise and lower it for emphasis); give your audience something extra (unexpected moments will grab their attention); rehearse (the best speakers are the best because they practice — a lot).

I was sitting across the table from a Silicon Valley CEO who had pioneered a technology that touches many of our lives — the flash memory that stores data on smartphones, digital cameras, and computers. He was a frequent guest on CNBC and had been delivering business presentations for at least 20 years before we met. And yet, the CEO wanted to sharpen his public speaking skills.

• Carmine Gallo is a Harvard University instructor, keynote speaker, and author of 10 books translated into 40 languages. Gallo is the author of The Bezos Blueprint: Communication Secrets of the World’s Greatest Salesman  (St. Martin’s Press).

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10 Tips for Leading Like a Boss

How to Become a Great Leader Even If You Don't Feel Confident

Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

• Find Out Your Leadership Style

Encourage Creativity

Serve as a role model, be passionate, listen and communicate effectively, have a positive attitude, encourage people to make contributions, motivate your followers, offer rewards and recognition, keep trying new things.

How would you describe a strong leader? One study cited leadership qualities such as assertiveness, adaptability, intelligence, and conscientiousness as the most important.

Transformational leaders are positive, empowering, and inspiring. They value followers and inspire them to perform better. So, what can we do to embrace these valued leadership qualities and become stronger and more effective leaders?

Transformational leaders are usually described as enthusiastic, passionate, genuine and energetic. These leaders are not just concerned about helping the group achieve its goals; they also care about helping each member of the group reach his or her full potential. 

Start by Understanding Your Leadership Style

Understanding your current leadership style is essential. What are your strengths? Which areas need some improvement? One way to start assessing your skills is to take this leadership style quiz to get a general idea of how you lead.

Once you have completed the quiz, read about the major characteristics of your dominant style. Are these qualities helping or hindering your leadership? Once you've determined which areas need work, you can look for ways to improve your leadership abilities.

Intellectual stimulation is one of the leadership qualities that define transformational leadership. Followers need to be encouraged to express their creativity . Effective leaders should offer new challenges with ample support to achieve these goals.  

One way to foster creativity is to offer challenges to group members, making sure that the goals are within the grasp of their abilities. The purpose of this type of exercise is to get people to stretch their limits but not become discouraged by barriers to success.

Idealized influence is another of the four key components of transformational leadership. Transformational leaders embody the behaviors and characteristics that they encourage in their followers. They walk the walk and talk the talk. As a result, group members admire these leaders and work to emulate these behaviors.

Research suggests that leaders are able to foster a specific belief and then transmit that inspiration to their followers. As a result, followers are optimistic and have high standards for performance and achievement.

If you want to become a better leader, work on modeling the qualities that you would like to see in your team members.

Would you look to someone for guidance and leadership if they did not truly care about the goals of the group? Of course not! Great leaders are not just focused on getting group members to finish tasks; they have a genuine passion and enthusiasm for the projects they work on.  

You can develop this leadership quality by thinking of different ways that you can express your zeal. Let people know that you care about their progress. When one person shares something with the rest of the group, be sure to tell them how much you appreciate such contributions.

Another important quality of transformational leadership involves a focus on providing one-on-one communication with group members. Transformational leadership is effective when leaders are able to communicate their vision to followers, who then feel inspired and motivated by this vision.  

Good leaders should express sincere care and concern for the members of their group both verbally and nonverbally .

By keeping the lines of communication open, these leaders can ensure that group members can make contributions and receive recognition for their achievements.

Transformational leaders have an upbeat, optimistic attitude that serves as a source of inspiration for followers. If leaders seem discouraged or apathetic, members of the group are likely to also become uninspired.

Even when things look bleak, and your followers start to feel disheartened, try to stay positive. This does not mean viewing things through rose-colored glasses. It simply means maintaining a sense of optimism and hope in the face of challenges.

Let the members of your team know that you welcome their ideas. Leaders who encourage involvement from group members are often referred to as democratic or participative leaders . While they retain the final say over all decisions, they encourage team members to take an active role in coming up with ideas and plans.

Research has shown that using a democratic leadership style leads to greater commitment, more creative problem-solving and improved productivity.  

Transformational leaders also provide inspirational motivation to encourage their followers to get into action.   Of course, being inspirational isn't always easy. Fortunately, you don't need motivational speeches to rouse your group members.

Some ideas for leadership​ inspiration include being genuinely passionate about ideas or goals, helping followers feel included in the process and offering recognition, praise, and rewards for people's accomplishments.

Another important quality of a good leader involves knowing that offering effective recognition and rewards is one of the best ways to help followers feel appreciated and happy.   It may also come as no surprise that happy people tend to perform better at work.

Who says leadership is a one-way relationship? As you work toward developing some of these leadership qualities, don't forget to look to your followers for feedback and inspiration. Pay attention to the things that have been effective in the past and always be on the lookout for new ways to inspire, motivate, and reward group members.

Cekmecelioglu, HG, Ozbag, GK. Leadership and creativity: the impact of transformational leadership on individual creativity. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences . 2016;235(24):243-249. doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2016.11.020

Hayati D, Charkhabi M, Naami A. The relationship between transformational leadership and work engagement in governmental hospitals nurses: a survey study .  Springerplus . 2014;3:25. doi:10.1186/2193-1801-3-25

Steinmann B, Klug HJP, Maier GW. The path is the goal: how transformational leaders enhance followers' job attitudes and proactive behavior .  Front Psychol . 2018;9:2338. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02338

Amanchukwu RN, Stanley GJ, Ololube NP. A review of leadership theories, principles and styles and their relevance to educational management . Management . 2015;5(1):6-14. doi:10.5923/j.mm.20150501.02

Riggio, RE. The 4 elements of transformational leaders . Psychology Today . November 15, 2014.

Gillbert SL, Kelloway, EK. Leadership, recognition and well-being: a moderated mediational model . Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences . 2018;35(4):523-524. doi:10.1002/cjas.1477

Bass BM, Riggio, RE. Transformational Leadership (2nd ed.). Erlbaum; 2016.

By Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

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Top 10 Leadership Skills Presentation Templates with Examples and Samples

Umang Malhotra

Effective leadership abilities are now more important than ever in the evolving business environment. Although it is not simple to develop these skills, it is feasible with the correct support and resources. As legendary American football coach Vince Lombardi said, “leaders are made, not born.” 

The essence of leadership lies in fostering collaboration, nurturing creativity, and cultivating a culture of trust and inclusivity. It's about encouraging the audience to take risks, and providing support when they stumble. A true leader understands that their success is intertwined with the success of those they lead.

So, let us help you unlock your leadership potential and embrace the challenge of becoming the change you wish to see. SlideTeam brings you pre-designed PPT Templates on Leadership Skills that inspire others to step into their own greatness. 

These PowerPoint Slides are content-ready and custom-made to help you and your organization towards positive success. 

The 100% customizable nature of the leadership PPT Templates provide you with the desired flexibility to edit your presentations. The content ready slides give you the much-needed structure.

Without further delay, download these Templates and exhibit the necessary leadership skills and abilities to guide your team in the right direction!

Template 1: Management Competencies for Nurturing Leadership Skills

This content-ready PowerPoint template presents different management competencies necessary for nurturing leadership skills. It is a pre-designed PowerPoint slide showcasing four quadrants of management skills. These are technical, business, leadership, and people skills. You can use this actionable PowerPoint template to help your team inculcate some methods and techniques to master their skills and exhibit their proficiency. Deploy this ready-made PPT template to embark a lifelong journey of self-discovery, continuous learning, and growth.

Download Now!

Template 2: Leadership Skills Required for People Engagement

Presenting another effective template that highlights five must have leadership skills necessary for public engagement. Whenever a leader interacts with people, he must understand the value of listening to provide them with effective solutions. Recognizing the value of a team would help them increase the quality output. Therefore, grab this flexible PPT template to enhance your people's engagement skills to encourage teamwork in the company.

Template 3: Core Leadership Skills Template

Every career option demands certain core leadership abilities to achieve success, and this template highlights the skills necessary for self-growth. Learning agility, self-awareness, sharing your vision, and forming a commitment are some of the ways to hone your leadership skills. This PPT template also highlights the core leadership quality which is communication skills to interact with peers and seniors effectively.

Template 4: Employee Survey Highlights Leadership Skills PPT PowerPoint Template

Showcase what employees think of the importance of leadership skills at the workplace with this content-ready PowerPoint template. Use this actionable PPT slide to highlight the survey results in a most systematic manner. The research includes questions pertaining to learning and development training, leadership skills, professional programs, and more. Deploy this pre-designed PowerPoint slide to encourage your team to hone their skills and ignite a positive change.

Template 5: Leadership and Board Leadership Skills PPT PowerPoint Template

This ready to use template outlines some basic and important leadership abilities that are crucial for any workplace to function with ease and take the organization to a new level of success. Incorporate this well-crafted PPT template to help your team comprehend the skills required for an efficient leader. Showcase these skills and methods to achieve those using this content ready PPT template.

Template 6: 5- piece Puzzle Circle for Developing Leadership Skills

Some people are born leaders due to their unique abilities to lead people. But leadership abilities need to be polished from time to time so leaders could inspire others and cope up with the changes in everyday's changing environment. This professional and appealing slide in a puzzle form highlights five abilities for a leader to be skilled and favorite among the peers. Industry knowledge, strategic thinking skills, motivational skills, innovation, and teamwork are major elements that a leader should possess.  Deploy this slide and walk your audience through the ways to help them develop and hone their leadership skills in an easy manner.

Template 7: Keyways to Develop Leadership Skills Template

Here is another PPT template to help you enhance and develop the leadership skills for a brighter future. Planning, organizing, setting objectives, persuading & motivating employees are some of the key leadership qualities outlined in the template. Educating and imparting these leadership skills would help your leaders to create a vision & plan for any project they undertake.

Template 8: Worker Capability Matrix with Leadership Skills

Presenting worker capability matrix with a leadership skills template for analyzing your workers' potential and investing in them accordingly. Before you provide any training or experience to your team you must ascertain their potential and abilities. Deploy this slide and pen down the capability level of each worker pertaining to their problem-solving ability, leadership skills, communication skills, time management and other factors. With different color coding, you could report their abilities as fully capable, medium capable and less capable. After analyzing this report, you can assess as to which employee needs guidance and training on which skillset. So quickly grab this template and capture your senior's attention!

Template 9: 12- piece Puzzle Circle for Developing Leadership Skills Slide

The very essence of leadership is everyday refining your leadership development skills and abilities. If you want the leaders in your organization to get better and help others to grow every day, we have a perfect tool for you. Download this twelve-piece puzzle circle template that showcases abilities your leaders should focus on. The best part about this slide is you could have certain abilities as per the needs and requirements of your company. Whether it's motivational skills, industry knowledge, strategic thinking ability, innovation, teamwork, confidence or more; list those abilities in the slide to get your leadership training started. So, get this right away and contribute to polishing your leader's leadership skills!

Template 10: Leadership Skills Leaders vs Managers PPT PowerPoint Presentation

You must have heard- "Leaders focus on what they should do for the masses."  For strengthening your crew members and leading them; present this slide to educate your leaders on some qualities they must possess. Great listener, energetic, reliable, honest, proactive, loyal, respectful, helpful, accomplishment and strategic thinker are some of the core leadership skills demonstrated in the template. Grab this slide and make passionate and decisive leaders!

Inspire, Impact & Lead with the Perfect Leadership Skills!

In addition to your job, there will be instances in life where you'll need to motivate individuals around you by using your leadership skills.

To be a leader, you must prioritize the welfare of your team and the organization. The best leaders are those that genuinely care for their team during trying times and maintain composure so that they can be receptive to fresh concepts, more effective strategies, or different viewpoints.

For imparting perfect leadership skills that would assist your leaders to encourage, impact and lead the team, download these professionally created, customizable and content-ready templates available for immediate deployment and take your company to new heights of success and development.

FAQs on Leadership Skills Presentation

What are the 7 core skills of a leader.

A leader is someone who directs, motivates, encourages, or empowers a group of people. A leader will support others as they work towards an objective or desired result. Below are the seven core skills of an effective leader:

• Outstanding Communication 
• Versatility 
• Influencing & Persuasion 
• Possessing sharp vision 
• The Capacity To Connect & Collaborate 
• The Capacity To Actively Listen
• Critical Analysis

What are any 5 qualities of a good leader?

Our countries, communities, and organizations are shaped by our leaders. To steer us and make the crucial decisions that preserve the world operating, we need capable leaders. Truthfulness, self-awareness, courage, reverence, compassion, and gratitude are qualities that make for a good leader. They should be developing their agility and flexing their influence while successfully communicating and directing.

What are the 5 keys of leadership?

Exploring the fundamentals of leadership, regardless of whether you're a seasoned CEO or just vying for your first managerial role can be a fruitful idea. You won't be able to inspire, involve, and direct your team if you don't have the proper leadership abilities. If you want to be the best leader you can be and guide your team towards achievement, we suggest you take a few moments to assess yourself on the five principles given below. 

• Communication
• Understand Your People
• Comprehending Yourself
• Negotiation
• Getting Recommendations

Why are leadership skills important?

To handle your business's resources in an efficient manner and achieve its goals, leadership is a crucial management role. Influential leaders are experts at inspiring and directing their team members to achievement and positive social effect. No matter what position you hold, knowing about the value of leadership skills can help you make a meaningful contribution to the objectives of your business.

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What are the values that a true leader should have? Are they born or made? We're eager to hear the answer to these questions by watching the presentation you can create thanks to this new template. We have tried to use a cool design composed of geometric shapes and the use of some colors. One thing is for sure: the look of this template will be unique, so how about you make the content unique too?

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Leadership Topics for Presentation

Have a presentation or a meeting coming up? Need to find leadership training topics to present on or leadership topics for discussion? The Leadership Mission has you covered! Below is our list of leadership training topics, leadership topics for discussion, leadership exercises and leadership team building activities we have compiled that are impactful for leaders at any level. These are designed to get your wheels turning and have proven to be successful across many different organizations.

Want to jump quickly to one particular section? Here are some helpful links!

Leadership Training Topics

Leadership Topics for Presentation and Discussion

Leadership Team Building Activities

Leadership exercises.

The following leadership training topics are great for leaders at any level. These work best in smaller meetings or groups. These topics are designed to generate great discussion and hopefully yield higher functioning managers.

Soft skills

Soft skills are personal attributes that enable someone to interact effectively and harmoniously with other people. These are critically important in today's workforce as now more than ever our workforces require employees to be able to communicate, work as a team, listen and get along with others. Here is a very brief list of soft skills but this topic is HUGE and you could easily turn each of these topics into presentations.

Communication

Problem-solving

Time management

Critical thinking

Decision-making

Organizational

Stress management

Adaptability

Conflict management

Resourcefulness

Openness to criticism

Change management

Today's world changes faster than arguably any other time in history. Between 24 hour news cycles, social media and the explosion in communication methods between individuals, managing change is an essential skill any leader must have. There are a couple of excellent books on this topic by John Kotter called Leading Change and Our Iceberg is Melting. You can also have a good discussion about how your team deals with change and how much change your organization has (or hasn't) had over the years.

Managing effective meetings

Meetings consume so much of the average working person's time. No matter what kind of job you have, meetings are most likely a part of their day or week at some point. How effective are your people at running effective meetings? When was the last time anyone ever thought about it?

A great subtopic for this presentation can be a study and/or game you can play with your attendees call meeting or email? I'm sure you could easily find a handful of examples of meetings that could have been emails (and vice versa) and let your attendees have some fun guessing. Don't be surprised when your team becomes very candid during this meeting about the need for meetings!

Performance management

Managing the performance of others is an extremely important part of any leader's job. Leader's must also be managers and cannot simply rely on connecting with and "leading" people. At the end of the day, we all have hard metrics we are responsible for. One of the most important ones, is the performance of those that work for us.

This topic doesn't get nearly as much attention as it should and I guarantee you can get some good discussions going around the most effective way to do this for you organization. You can discuss how often this happens, annually, bi-annually, monthly? You can discuss what format it is done in and how the teams respond to them. Get your groups thoughts on the effectiveness of your current system and brainstorm if there isn't a better way.

The Six Styles of Leadership

Developed by Daniel Goleman, the six styles have been a staple part of the discussion around situational leadership for awhile. They describe the different ways you need to lead depending on the situation, the people and various other factors. There is plenty of discussion to be had with this topic and is great for new leaders!

The six styles are as follows:

Visionary — mobilize people toward a vision. Works best when a clear direction or change is needed.

Coaching — develop people for the future. Works best when helping people and building long-term strength.

Affiliative — create emotional bonds and harmony. Works best to heal rifts in teams or motivate people in stressful times.

Democratic — build consensus through participation. Works best to create consensus or get input.

Pacesetting — expect excellence and self-direction. Works best to get quick results from a highly competent team.

Commanding — demand immediate compliance. Works best in crisis or with problematic people.

Managing an inbox

This is something that gets taken for granted all of the time and would make a great leadership topic for presentation. The organization, efficiency and 'cleanliness' of inboxes today can be a sensitive subject. No one wants to admit to having thousands of unread emails just sitting there but chances are, most of your leaders do.

How do you as a company manage that? When was the last time anyone cared? Effective inbox organization can do wonders in taking a manager from good to great. It might also get a good conversation started around communication as a whole in your organization.

Managing a calendar

Just like the inbox, calendar's are criminally misused or underused. They can be a great way to manage the obvious things like meetings and calls. However, they can also be a great way to hold teams accountable, document what you did for reflection and serve as a sort of task list for leaders.

Don't make the assumption that everyone knows how to use the calendars. Technology changes so fast and new features come out all of the time. Even if someone in leadership learned how to use outlook ten years ago in college, it might be completely different now!

Leadership Topics For Presentation & Discussion

This section is about topics that make for great discussions or presentations. Whether it be a small group or large one, these topics are always important in the world of business today.

Virtual leadership

Thanks to 2020, so many of us have had to get used to working virtually, which means we've also had to lead virtually as well. This topic is sure to generate discussion on what is working, not working and how everyone feels about it.

This is sure to be an important topic moving forward as companies must decide what their "new normal" is going to be. You might be surprised at how effective or ineffective working virtually is/was. It might open the door to other conversations surrounding flexibility in the workplace.

Most businesses come down to some sort of execution. Whether it be making widgets, serving guests, healing patients or selling goods, every business has some sort of metric when it comes to executing the core function of the business. When was the last time you discussed not only the results but overall execution as a whole? Can you guarantee that the way things are supposed to be done are actually being done?

Additionally, you can discuss training of new hires, repair and maintenance of equipment, employee productivity and anything that goes into actually getting the job done.

When was the last time your organization had a conversation about your company culture? Are expectations meeting reality? Does your team/company know what culture they are supposed to be creating? Having an open and honest conversation about your company culture is a healthy exercise for any company.

It is extremely important that there be a strong moderator for this conversation as it is easy to go off the rails with this subject. That statement shouldn't dissuade you from having the conversation though! A great book on this topic is Good to Great by Jim Collins.

Company specific leadership topics for discussion/presentation

Do you have specific tasks, goals, metrics or items that your leaders should be discussing with their teams? Have you set an agenda that is being pushed down through the organization? Putting together a list similar to this specific for your team might be helpful for your mid level leaders. This list can give them a clean and easily accessible company approved list of topics they should be discussing with their teams.

Giving your leaders a list of exercises that they could practice either by themselves or with their teams makes a great leadership training topic. It is always extremely important to develop yourself as a leader and the other leaders in your organization. Here are some leadership exercises to get you started.

Quality circles

This isn't so much a topic as an activity but is highly effective, especially if your group allows for crossover from different departments, regions, etc. It is amazing how sometimes just putting a fresh set of eyes on a situation can create positive discussions or solutions around a problem. Spend some times thinking about your attendees and split them into smaller groups.

Come up with a top 5 list of challenges or obstacles that each group might be facing and have them discuss it in a "nameless & rankless" frank discussion. Assign a note taker to each group and charge them with capturing key points and takeaways and for keeping the group on point.

Difficult leadership situations

This is a great topic to discuss with your leaders, especially if your group has a good mix of leadership experience and tenure in it. The following situations are always important to talk about and discuss/share with other leaders. The growth that can come from just talking through some of these situations is priceless. Depending on the size of your group, you can either discuss as a whole or break into small groups and have them discuss the following topics:

Dealing with difficult or problem employees

Handling your team's stress and pressure

Letting someone go

Delivering bad news

Leading an initiative you don't agree with

Managing underperforming employees

Internal leadership challenges

This often gets such little attention, yet is one of the most important factors leaders must deal with, their own feelings. Managing your own emotions and generally how you feel about something is way easier said than done. Just like the previous item, having a good mix of leadership experience and tenure is a great.

Just talking about how their fellow leaders handle the following topics can be vitally important for new leaders and great reminders and encouragement for experienced leaders. Unlike the previous item though, it is crucially important that attendees feel comfortable being open. It is one thing to talk about topics that impact others or are conceptual and something entirely different to discuss personal struggles!

Staying humble

Self confidence

Overcoming fear

Handling personal stress and pressure

Avoiding burnout

Staying motivated

Compartmentalizing competing priorities

Keeping work life balance

Situational leadership scenarios

Situational leadership is extremely important in today's modern workforce. Diversity of all types in employee bases has exploded in the last several decades. That means managers and leaders cannot treat everyone the same. A leader that understands using different leadership styles with different people and at different times is critical.

Develop some scenarios that are relevant to your group and ask them to decide how they would approach one differently over another. There is a fantastic book written by Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson on this topic called the One Minute Manager that is a quick read and is very beneficial to new leaders!

The following items are great team builders for small groups or meetings in any professional setting. They are designed to bring team's together, develop teamwork and give any observing leaders some data points about their people!

Build a building

Break your group into small even teams and provide them with their building materials consisting of any combination of the following:

index cards

tooth picks

playing cards

Don't stress over which materials you give them, just as long as it is enough to build a free standing building with! The object is simple, which team can build the largest free standing structure.

Things to consider with this activity:

How will you divide your teams? Be purposeful in how you break them up

Have the teams assign a 'project manager' ahead of time

Take mental notes of how the teams interact and how the assigned managers perform

Qualities of a leader

Break employees into teams and have them share leaders they admire (in any industry). Take notes on the characteristics that these leaders share, then give employees time and space to reflect on the characteristics they share with those leaders before identifying skills they would like to develop in themselves

Use employee notes on skills they would like to develop to design your own training opportunities.

Use employee notes and compare them to your organization. A sort of 'expectations vs reality' mental exercise.

These lists are in no way exhaustive we just think these leadership training activities are great for effective presentations or meetings that will grow the leadership abilities of your team! We'd love to hear from you in the comments below! Or feel free to shoot us an email [email protected]

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From Good to Great: Understanding the Leap in Leadership

A question that often pops up in discussions about leadership is, “What’s the difference between a good leader and a great leader?” Having been involved in movement and sports from the time I was young up to the present, I believe that great leadership is akin to building a solid, well-performing sports team.

I’ve been coached by many “good” coaches. They know all the technical aspects of the game – how to play, when to apply certain strategies or techniques, how to make adjustments to maximize individual and team performance. And, they typically support a group of athletes who meet expectations and produce reliable outcomes year after year. Their players are healthy, the team record is consistent, and the coach both respects and adheres to the cycle of training and competition.

But a “great” coach? A great coach possesses an almost magical touch that transcends the basics of simply knowing how to play the game. They don’t just roster a group of athletes for competition; they cultivate an ecosystem. 

A great coach understands the unique language of each player, the subtle interplay of environment and athlete, and the intricate dance of balancing the needs of the individual with those of the team. As a result, the team is not just productive, but also exciting and innovative – often dazzling spectators with extraordinary plays and unprecedented results. 

Here, the difference between “good” and “great” lies in the depth of connection and understanding the coach has to the game, as well as the coach’s ability to not only achieve results but to inspire, innovate, and leave a lasting impression. Good leaders effectively manage teams and meet targets, but great leaders do more; they inspire, challenge norms, and set a course for lasting impact. Like great athletic coaches, they nurture growth in a way that changes the pitch forever. 

While I pride myself on my involvement as an amateur coach, I always have a lot to learn from great coaches. This got me to thinking. If coaching a sports team is a skill that can be taught, can we teach other types of leaders to be great? What are the behaviors and thought patterns that distinguish “good” leaders from “great” leaders at work? 

Check out  Skillsoft’s Leadercamps to learn from impactful leaders globally.

The 8 Skills That Separate Good Leaders From Great Leaders

Good leaders and great leaders possess many of the same qualities, but great leaders often exhibit these qualities to a higher degree or in a more nuanced way. Here are some key skills that can help you distinguish between good and great:

Vision vs. Visionary Execution

Good leaders often have a clear vision for their organization or team, but great leaders not only have a vision but also possess the ability to execute it effectively. They can inspire others to share and work towards that vision with passion and dedication. Good leaders assign tasks and responsibilities, whereas great leaders define a clear vision, inspire creative solutions, and focus on the result rather than tasks.

Management vs. Leadership

Good leaders are often  effective managers , able to organize tasks, delegate responsibilities, and ensure things get done efficiently. Great leaders, however, go beyond mere management. They inspire and empower their team members, fostering growth, creativity, and innovation. Good leaders focus on protecting the status quo and gradual improvements, while great leaders are game changers who innovate and create new pathways for success.

Communication

Both good and great leaders communicate effectively, but great leaders excel in their communication skills. They can convey their vision, expectations, and feedback clearly and in a way that resonates with others. Great leaders are also adept at listening, understanding, and empathizing with their team members.

Create a safe space for managers to develop communication skills with Skillsoft CAISY TM .

Adaptability

Good leaders can navigate challenges and make necessary adjustments, but great leaders are exceptionally adaptable. They can anticipate change, embrace it, and lead their team through uncertainty with confidence and resilience. Good leaders accept feedback but may not always act on it, whereas great leaders apply feedback, constantly seek self-improvement, and develop themselves to authentically develop others.

Empowerment vs. Micromanagement

Good leaders empower their team members by providing guidance and support while allowing them autonomy to make decisions and take ownership of their work. Great leaders take this a step further by trusting their team completely, avoiding micromanagement, and creating an environment where everyone feels valued and empowered. Good leaders impress with their capabilities, while great leaders inspire individuals to realize their own potential and make them feel better about themselves.

Accountability

Good and great leaders hold themselves and others accountable for their actions and results. However, great leaders take responsibility for failures and successes, learning from them and using them as opportunities for growth and improvement. Good leaders command from the top and maintain traditional hierarchies, while great leaders serve from the bottom, putting the needs of their team before their own.

See Skillsoft’s Aspire Journeys for leaders at all levels here .

Emotional Intelligence

Great leaders possess  high emotional intelligence , allowing them to understand and manage their own emotions effectively while also empathizing with others. They can navigate complex interpersonal dynamics, resolve conflicts, and build strong, cohesive teams.

Long-term Impact

While good leaders may achieve short-term success, great leaders leave a lasting impact that extends beyond their tenure. They develop future leaders, cultivate a culture of continuous improvement, and leave behind a legacy of positive change and growth.

Ultimately, I believe that the transformative elements of leadership can be learned. It’s about starting early, embracing a growth mindset, and helping your leaders understand the subtle distinctions that can take their leadership from proficient to profound.

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