leadership activities games for high school students

• Impressive Teens
• Scholarship

• Add Listing

• 35 Teen Leadership Activities and Games [Every High School Teen Should Play]
• Impressive Teens Team
• No Comments
• December 2, 2022

Many teens show excellent potential to become young leaders in the future, and if they wish to improve and develop those skills to the next level , there is good news: There are now tons of teen leadership activities and team building games that cultivate leadership abilities and grant participants the skills to be great managers and successful leaders one day, whether currently middle school students, high schoolers, or older career-bound team leaders. 

These games are an effective way to help youth leaders master the different skills needed to bring a whole class of peers together, which can result in young tweens or teens leading large groups and making an impressive mark on their school , community, or the world at large. Below are 35 activities and games that can help any teen develop their leadership skills so they can land the job of their dreams one day, whether that’s teaching an elementary school class or heading a board of directors meeting for a Fortune 500 company.

This 60-minute game requires teens to maneuver through a minefield without stepping on any mines. Fake mines are placed in strategic areas of the minefield and the team members have to work together to remember where the mines are and figure out how to walk across the lot without hitting a mine. The game improves problem-solving skills and teamwork.

• The Human Knot

For this game, everyone stands in a circle and extends their hands into the middle of the circle. The first thing you’ll do is grab a hand without looking at who it belongs to, then hold another hand with your remaining hand. Once everyone does this, a tangled knot will appear, and it’s up to everyone in the circle to figure out how to get untangled, which invariably requires some team work and effective leadership from a problem solving participant or two.

Great leaders realize that there are often many options when trying to get out of a particular situation. In this game, the “leader” presents various options to the group, and each member has a sticky note that they’ll place on the option they favor. It’s up to the leader to help those who are unsure which option to choose, which can make this an interesting game when it comes to managing interpersonal relationships without coming off as too authoritarian and allowing peers the feeling of ownership of a task, even if they’ve allowed the leader to influence their decision.

• What I Need from You

A common goal for all leaders in this activity is to make it clear what is expected of the team, especially if the team is virtual, remote, or of a large group size. Each member of the team tells the rest of the team what they need for a particular project, and each leader and the rest of the team members all have to understand what that need is. This is a great work environment simulation to help young adults speak up and ensure they are heard, even when their lack of seniority, inexperience, or lower age tempts them to shrink back or shy away.

For this game, have everyone sit in a circle. One person is blindfolded and goes to the center of the circle. They explore the area with the help of the people in the circle, who are directing this person and keeping them safe. Each person gets the chance to be the person in the center.

• Jigsaw Puzzle Pieces

Start this game by dividing people up into small groups. Each group is given puzzle pieces to put together, and they’re timed, but they don’t know that their pieces are only part of the whole puzzle. The teams have to coordinate with one another to complete the entire puzzle.

• Incoming Tide Survival

This game should be played with 8-16 young people, who pretend they’re on a deserted island and have to create a structure to help them leave the island, using only the materials that they are given at the beginning of the game. Time the game at 45 minutes. This is one of the best games to develop creative thinking and problem-solving skills, as well as fast action-oriented solutions, thanks to the time limit.

• Video Scavenger Hunt

Divide the group into 4- to 8-member teams . Each team videotapes themselves searching for the items they need to find. This is another of the many team-building activities that requires the teams to work together in order to complete the project and find as many items as possible. The team with the most items wins the game.

• Active Listening

This is a fun game that requires active listening skills. Each team has 3 members: a subject who explores the question asked, a listener totally focused on the subject, and an observer who watches the other 2 members interact. 

• Start, Stop, Continue

Perfect for virtual teams, you start by creating a situation and asking all members if the team should start something, stop something, or continue as they are already doing. It is good for improving communication skills and creating openness.

• Four Leaders

This game requires a form that you can download, and four teams try to work through a certain scenario using one of four leadership attitudes: positive attitude, negative attitude, your own desire, and the desires of others. Decide the scenarios ahead of time.

This is a game you can play with high school students even in the middle of the school year. It doesn’t take after-hours time to do it. Give teams of 6 to 12 members 30 minutes, and it requires one blindfolded person to find a “bomb,” with only what other members are saying to help them find it. The nice thing about this high-stakes scenario and common group goal is that it facilitates healthy relationships and positive communication for teams under duress or high-pressure situations.

• Volunteer Activities

Today’s teen leaders are tomorrow’s adult leaders, and teens can discover what their leadership qualities are by volunteering in the community. The best part about community service is that teens can always volunteer with organizations that do the type of work they’re interested in and wish to do one day themselves, thus broadening their professional network and gaining experience and exposure to industries, organizations, and causes of interest.

• Leadership Camps

To discover their leadership style, teens can attend workshops, camps, or masterclasses on how to become a better leader. These activities are easy to find and are usually led by experts in the field, giving teens a great way to get a head start in accelerating their leadership potential and empowering them to set goals and pursue projects or opportunities that call for independent, influential leaders.

• Local Politics

From public speaking to learning from various role models, teens always benefit from getting involved in local politics. There are numerous internships and volunteer positions that help improve teens’ leadership skills, giving them opportunities to learn a lot about this field. Starting with school politics (like student government) and advancing to local politics (like city council) can forge a path and passion for a future career in government or perhaps inspire the next presidential candidate!

• Clubs and Sports

School is not just for learning; it’s also a way to develop skills outside of the classroom. Clubs and sports make it easy for kids to learn all about leadership in a fun way, and with these groups, there is truly something for everyone.

• Pass the Can

To get started, have everyone sit in a circle and put an object – such as a rock or can opener – in a can. Have them pass the can around but each time, the leader has to give them special instructions ; for example, you can’t use your hands, you have to use your feet, etc. This activity not only cultivates leadership, but it also promotes innovation, creativity, problem-solving, and outside-the-box thinking.

• 30 Seconds Left

Becoming a better leader requires really knowing the people under you. Ask the team to tell everyone else about their best achievements and accomplishments, but tell them they only have 30 seconds to do so. It’s a good game to get to know others on a personal level, as well as to help players develop a concise personal statement or personal pitch, which will come in handy in future interviews, competitions, and job applications.

Here’s another of the group games that is both fun and educational. Ask each member to write down 5 icebreaker questions to ask the other members. Have the members count their “yes” answers and whoever has the most points wins the game.

• Regularly Scheduled Game Nights

Regular game nights can be as good as leadership workshops. They allow for bonding between the team members, allow everyone to have fun, and require a leader to emerge in order to be successful. Choose card games, board games, or anything else that appeals to you.

• Student Media

Leaders excel when they’re involved in student media, including the school newspaper and yearbook . If you love to write and share information with others, this is the activity for you. Plus, it helps with decision-making and working closely with others, while also delivering an impressive, finished product that looks great on a resume or college application.

• Confidence Course

The confidence course, also called an obstacle course, is perfect for future leaders because it’s tough and takes a lot to finish. Once you’re done with the course, you’ll be amazed at how good you feel, and it takes certain leadership skills in order to complete it successfully. Confidence courses are usually hard both physically and emotionally, so they are really a challenge.

• STEM Competitions

STEM competitions take place locally and internationally , and the better leader you are, the more successful you are at these competitions. Even better, you can easily find the most recent list of the competitions in many places on the Internet. They are easy to find, fun to attend, impressive on your credentials, and great life experiences to demonstrate the leadership concepts you’ve been honing.

• Student Council

Running for the student council requires teens to be good leaders and very organized, so there are multiple benefits. These organizations are also good for developing both professional and personal growth, and it can increase the number of friends you have, too. One benefit of student council is that it forces students of varying cultural values, interests, and priorities to come together for the highest good of their class and school, which can create interesting debates, discussions, and peaceful compromises on the road to each decision and chosen action.

• Planning Lunches or Dinners

Student leadership skills can be developed while planning group meals in order to plan certain activities. You can bond with other people and plan an organized activity at the same time, both of which are excellent skills to learn. You also get to eat, which is the best part of the entire activity!

• Escape Room

An escape room is a game that is offered by companies that specialize in these types of activities. They are often utilized by entire families while on vacation, and they are rooms designed to “escape” from something, such as the guillotine or the zombie apocalypse! The best thing about escape rooms is that they’re inherently enjoyable, exciting, and adrenaline-inducing, thus creating a positive memorable experience in which leadership and teamwork are just seamless byproducts of the primary activity.

Book clubs are great because they need people to lead the group each month. Teens can choose fun books that they actually want to read, then choose a different person to lead the group every time they meet. It’s best if this activity goes on for many months, but it’s not a requirement. The most ambitious leaders in book clubs may decide to run a book drive or theme each club meeting and chosen book around a community issue and aim to solve it or positively contribute to it through a joint activity, so the club is much more than simply a reading and discussion club, but also an altruistic community service-oriented mission group.

• Collaborate to Create

Get into a group and decide what type of story you want to write, then have each member write just a certain section of the book. In order for the book to sound good and be cohesive, the team has to work together and collaborate on everything. This is a good activity for conflict resolution because problems can easily arise as the group is tasked with molding their individual and disjointed sections into a well-structured story that makes sense with an ultimate resolution.

• Photo Finish (Similar to Electric Fence)

Draw a line on the floor and have a team on either side. Taking turns with the teams, have them cross the line to the other side when you say “go.” This is one of those games that sounds easy but often requires some problem-solving and other skills to be successful. Oftentimes, participants are thinking of “why” they should cross the line and are hesitant.

• Community Bingo

Have designated individuals that organize mock bingo games with other students. Have those individuals organize the entire activity from start to finish. There is a lot involved in planning and organizing this type of activity, so a lot of responsibility and organizational skills are required, particularly for young children or tweens who’ve never organized a large group event.

• Get Off the Sofa

For this game, have 4-6 teens sit on a sofa, then choose a leader for each group. Have the leader try to get the teens off the sofa by asking about something they like to do. For instance, you can lure them off the sofa by asking if they like washing their car, helping with chores, playing video games, etc.

• Tag Team Snack Challenge

This one is good for teaching various life skills. Divide people into small groups and have each group prepare a snack without speaking. Let the members of each group take turns with a certain instruction, and give each member 30 seconds to complete their part of the routine.

• Discussion About Leaders

Have a group discussion about leaders each member admires. Have that member tell who they admire – even if it’s someone they don’t personally know – and have them describe to the group why they admire this person. This activity is usually a real eye-opener for all of the participants, not to mention interesting.

• Round Tables

Set up 4-5 tables, depending on how many participants you have, and designate leaders that will go to a certain table and give them an activity to complete, which could be something to make or something similar. The goal is to see how clearly each leader communicates with the members.

Have everyone in the group write down keywords that describe themselves, then have everyone share their own keywords with the rest of the group. This activity can identify potential leaders and also tell you what each participant thinks of themselves.

Interested in a Specific Program or Location

Tell us what you’re looking for, and we’ll provide you with tailored information about the educational program or location you’re interested in. Get started by sharing your preferences below.

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 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.

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).

Download 3 Free Positive Leadership Exercises (PDF)

These detailed, science-based exercises will help you or others to adopt positive leadership practices to help individuals, teams and organizations to thrive.

Download 3 Free Positive Leadership Exercises Pack (PDF)

By filling out your name and email address below.

• Email Address *
• Your Expertise * Your expertise Therapy Coaching Education Counseling Business Healthcare Other
• Name This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

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.

• “ 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

Share this article:

Article feedback

What our readers think.

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.

Let us know your thoughts Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published.

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Related articles

Change Management: The Art of Positive Change

While change is a given for all modern organizations, it often fails due to its complexity and the resistance it faces (Dhiman & Marques, 2020). [...]

15 Best Leadership Books for Optimal Growth

When you think of leaders, who do you immediately think of? Mahatma Gandhi, Winston Churchill, Queen Elizabeth II, and Martin Luther King, Jr. may come [...]

How to Give Positive Feedback: A Crucial Leadership Skill

Only 22% of employees feel they receive frequent, meaningful feedback from their managers (Gallup, 2022a). More worryingly, 37% of managers feel uncomfortable or incapable of [...]

Read other articles by their category

• Body & Brain (48)
• Coaching & Application (57)
• Compassion (26)
• Counseling (51)
• Emotional Intelligence (24)
• Gratitude (18)
• Grief & Bereavement (21)
• Happiness & SWB (40)
• Meaning & Values (26)
• Meditation (20)
• Mindfulness (45)
• Motivation & Goals (45)
• Optimism & Mindset (34)
• Positive CBT (28)
• Positive Communication (20)
• Positive Education (47)
• Positive Emotions (32)
• Positive Leadership (17)
• Positive Parenting (3)
• Positive Psychology (33)
• Positive Workplace (37)
• Productivity (16)
• Relationships (46)
• Resilience & Coping (36)
• Self Awareness (21)
• Self Esteem (37)
• Strengths & Virtues (31)
• Stress & Burnout Prevention (34)
• Theory & Books (46)
• Therapy Exercises (37)
• Types of Therapy (64)

• Email This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

• Virtual Experiences
• In-Person Experiences
• Hybrid Experiences
• Social Calendar [New]
• Experience FAQ
• Features & Benefits
• How Pricing Works
• Client Testimonials
• Happiness Guarantee
• Blog Articles
• Video Library
• View 48 Experiences

18 Fun Leadership Games to Build Skills

Here is our list of the best leadership games .

Leadership games are fun challenges and activities designed to help players learn essential skills and become better leaders. Examples include 60 seconds story, guess the drawing, and the blindfold game. These games aim to identify potential leaders in a team or help existing leaders develop essential traits like decision-making, trust, and communication.

These games are similar to leadership activities and can help in professional development . Also, the challenges can help participants learn essential leadership skills and become good leaders .

This list includes:

• free online leadership games
• leadership games for adults
• leadership games for employees
• workplace leadership games
• leadership games for kids
• leadership games for high school students
• games to build leadership skills
• leader games

Here we go!

List of leadership games

Games are fun recreational activities but can also be a great tool to train leaders and build necessary leadership skills. From the tallest tower challenge to guess the emotion, here are fun leadership games to help leaders build skills:

1. Survival Island

Survival island is one of the most fun workplace leadership games. Players will try to find ways to escape an island in the game. Participants must imagine that limited survival items, like water, food, guns, torches, and boats, are available.

The team must agree on a strategy to escape the island without leaving any player behind. Players can appoint a captain to lead the team and assign different roles to teammates. Examples include the player in charge of guns to protect the team from wild animals, night guards, and team members in charge of food and water.

While thinking of a plan, participants will most likely have points of conflict. However, this game tests players’ leadership ability to agree on a strategic survival plan. For a more fun experience, let your group play in different teams. Then you can compare all the teams’ strategies at the end and have non-participating team members vote on the best. This game builds leadership qualities like decision-making, management, and strategic thinking skills. Also, participants will be able to assess each other’s weaknesses and strengths, particularly when assigning roles.

2. Tallest Tower Challenge

The tallest tower challenge is among the most fun leadership games to play with employees. This challenge inspires creativity, strategic planning, and teamwork. To play this game, team members have to work together to build a tower out of items like:

• Uncooked spaghetti
• Marshmallows

Before the game starts, ensure that you specify the rules and give the participants the needed materials. After building the tower, the goal is to place a marshmallow on top without destroying the structure. The team that makes the highest-standing structure wins the game.

Get our free team building toolbox

• icebreaker games
• bingo cards

3. Escape Rooms

Escape rooms are fun games that inspire leaders in a group. Players escaping the room must work together to find clues and solve puzzles. This game is a great way to identify which of your team members have the potential to lead a team. Escape room games also help teammates develop essential leadership skills. While playing, players can exhibit their best management traits, ranging from strong communication to problem-solving skills.

Furthermore, you can use escape rooms to determine the players capable of motivating the entire team while working under pressure.

Here are DIY escape room ideas .

4. Draw Yourself

Draw yourself is one of the most fun leadership games for kids. The idea is for kids to make sketches that best represent their personalities. You can guide the players by asking them to describe themselves in the best way they can. For instance, a kid can say words like “I love dogs” or “I love playing soccer.” Then ask the children to express their likes and dislikes through drawings. Be sure to prepare paper and coloring pencils for the kids.

To further challenge participants, divide the kids into pairs. After, ask pairs to exchange their drawings. The kids will then try to figure out what their partner likes. Based on the sketch, the kids can ask their partners questions like “do you love dogs?” “is that a ball?” and “does that mean you love soccer or own a red ball?”

This game can be a little challenging for younger kids and preschoolers. However, older children will find this game helpful in building their communication and observation skills.

5. Guess the Emotion

If you aim to build empathy in kids, then you can play guess the emotion. You will need printed emotion cards and a band to play this game.

You can follow these steps to play:

• Assign numbers to participants in order of how the kids will play
• Prepare the emotion cards
• Turn the card downs so the kids will not see the emotions on any card
• The first player will pick a card without looking at the picture
• Assist the player in attaching the card to their forehead with a band
• The idea is for other kids, except the player who picked the card, to see the emotion
• The player will ask the kids questions that describe the sentiment on the card
• After, the player can attempt to guess the emotion

Be sure to instruct the player to refrain from asking questions with specific words like angry, happy, or sad. Instead, the player can ask leading questions like:

• Will I feel this way if I lose my favorite toy?
• Will I feel this way if I win a soccer match?
• Will I feel this way if I get injured?

Then the children will answer “yes” or “no.” The players who guess their emotions correctly in a round win a point. When the game ends, sum up the points and announce the player with the highest score as the winner. As young leaders, this game helps kids understand different situations that can make their friends feel a particular way. In addition, the game helps children communicate their feelings better and build their emotional intelligence.

Here are ways to express empathy at work .

6. 60 Seconds Story

60 seconds story is one of the most exciting free online leadership games. You can play this game on a video conferencing platform or message group with voice note features. First, look for topics your team members can relate to easily. Then let participants take turns recounting a personal experience related to the topic.

Each participant must recount their story or experience within 60 seconds. The story must be clear enough for everyone in the group to understand. You can award points to players who can tell a complete story before time runs out in each round. The player with the most points wins. This game challenges participants to test their communication skills. The game also develops storytelling skills, which is essential for leaders to inspire followers.

7. How Are We Different

How are we different is an exciting game to develop leadership abilities in children. As the name implies, the game requires kids to identify their differences. For instance, the kids can point out differences in hair color, clothing accessories, or height. Being able to recognize individual differences and uniqueness is crucial for leaders.

To play this game, split the kids into teams. Then let the kids communicate and try to figure out simple differences. This exercise is also one of the best free leadership games you can play online. You should send the teams into breakout rooms to enhance their communication. Aside from body features, participants can also figure out differences in work and personal lives. In the end, announce the team that figures out the most differences as the winner.

8. Blindfold Game

The blindfold game is one of the most fun leadership games for adults. The game’s objective is for a blindfolded player to navigate through obstacles in a field successfully.

• Find a free space, whether indoors or outdoors
• Place items like sticks, folded paper, and chairs to represent the obstacles
• Divide the group into teams
• Ask each team to present a volunteer who will wear the blindfold and move through the obstacles
• The non-blindfolded teammates will act as the volunteer’s eyes and give instructions on free paths to walk through to avoid obstacles
• The goal is for the volunteer to reach the finish line without stepping on any obstacles

Also, note how long the volunteers from each team took to reach the finish line. The team whose volunteer took the least time wins. This challenge improves communication, teamwork, and trust, all essential in leadership.

9. Capture the Flag

Capture the flag is a fun sport where two teams compete against one another for a flag.

To play capture the flag:

• Divide players into teams of equal numbers
• Find an ample space, preferably or field or arena
• Divide the space into two equal sections to mark the territories of each team
• Give each team a flag to keep in their respective territories
• Then a team will try to take possession of their opponent’s flag
• A team that successfully brings the opponent’s flag to their own territory while also protecting their flag wins

You should set the rules of the game before playing. For instance, players can “tag” an opponent who steps on their territory. The tagged player can join the opponent team, freeze, or leave the game depending on your game rules. Capture the flag builds critical thinking skills, which is essential while leading. Players can test their leadership skills by building a defense and attack strategy. The best part is that you can play this game indoors or outdoors. For a more fun experience, you can organize the game in a paintball arena.

10. Cross the Bridge

Cross the bridge is one of the most exciting leadership games for employees. The game requires forming a scenario where players are crossing a bridge filled with crocodiles or even lava. Participants can cross the imaginary bridge by stepping on items placed on the floor. Whether you put pieces of wood or stones on the ground, be sure that participants can conveniently stand on the items.

First, divide the group into teams. Then have players in a team stand in a straight line. The first player on the line will act as the leader whose steps the other teammates will follow. The team will start over if a teammate falls into the river. Furthermore, the first team to cross the bridge without falling wins the game. This game stresses the responsibility of leaders in leading a group and the need to think critically.

11. Tug of War

Tug of war is one of the most fun leadership games for work. The game teaches participants essential leadership skills like coordination, alignment, and endurance.

• Divide the group into two teams with an equal number of players
• Each team will stand in a straight line, facing their opponents
• Mark a line between the two teams to define their territory
• All participants will hold one long rope
• Once the game starts, both teams will pull on the rope to their respective territory’s directions
• The team who pulls the opponent into the former’s territory wins the game

Tug of war is a fun game that also depicts leadership realities. Leaders engage in tugs of war with competitors and various challenges in their leadership journey. In this game, the team that aligns their effort by pulling at the same time and angle will likely win. Therefore, the game shows that with coordination and alignment from the entire team, a leader can guide the group to success.

12. Balloon Chain

Balloon chain is one of the most exciting leadership games for high school students. In the game, players will form a chain connected by balloons. Then the team must drop all the balloons inside a basket without breaking the chain.

You can follow these steps to play balloon chain:

• Split the group into two or more teams
• Ask teammates to stand in a straight line, with a little space between each player
• Place a balloon between each teammate
• A team will have to move around with the balloons firmly placed between teammates’ chests and back
• Players cannot touch the balloons with their until the team is ready to place balloons inside a basket
• The first player on the line with hold the basket
• Then the teams must walk to the finish line without breaking the chain and having the balloon fall out of place
• If the balloon falls, then the team must return to the starting line to begin all over again
• Once the team reaches the finish line, the leader must figure out how to drop the basket without breaking the form
• Starting from the last teammate on the line, players will take turns passing their balloons to the leader without disrupting the chain
• The leader will then throw the balloons inside the basket

The first team to drop all the balloons inside the basket wins. This game stresses how teamwork, communication, and strategic thinking are vital to lead a group. Balloon chain works best for large groups with around five or more players in each team.

13. Guess the Drawing

Guess the drawing is a game that can inspire leaders to build their observation skills. To play this game, divide the group into teams of two players. Also, prepare words or samples of sketches. The two players on a team should stand in a line while facing the same direction.

Next, the last player on the line will use their finger to write a word or draw invisible sketches on the back of the second teammate. On the other hand, the second teammate will try to replicate the invisible sketch on a piece of paper. The teammate who writes out a word or sketch wins a point for the team.

14. Charades

Charades is a popular game to play during an informal gathering with colleagues. While many folks play charades for fun, you can use this game to build your group leadership skills. Rather than having players gesture prompts from popular ideas like movies, songs, or celebrities, give participants scenarios of different situations and challenges in your office. Then each group will take turns acting out and guessing the situations. This game teaches your team how to recognize and handle difficult situations as leaders quickly.

To play this game:

• Ask each team to present a volunteer who will act as the actor
• Before the game starts, come up with a list of challenges often experienced at work, such as employee burnout, low engagement, and difficult clients
• The host should privately assign a challenge or situation to the actor
• Then, the actor tries to gesture the situation
• To win a point, the actor’s team must guess the situation correctly before the set time runs out
• The team can further provide solutions on how to manage the situation
• The other teams will also take turns gesturing and guessing assigned situations
• In the end, the team with the most points wins

Charades is among the best workplace leadership games. The best part is that you can play charades in person and online. Also, the game can improve employees’ communication and observation skills.

15. Leadership Race

A leadership race is among the best games to play with leaders in an organization. This game lets leaders reflect on their leadership abilities and become aware of weak points to address.

To do a leadership race, first, compile a list of leadership-related prompts, such as

• I can motivate my team while working under pressure
• I am a good storyteller
• I know how to persuade my group to make a critical decision
• I get compliments regularly about my communication skills

After, assign a designated caller to read out each prompt. Participants will take a step forward for every relatable prompt. The first player to reach the finish line wins the game.

16. Blindfold Animal Game

Blindfold animal game is one of the best leadership games for kids. The host will assign an animal type to each participant. Once the exercise starts, participants will make sounds imitating their assigned animals. The goal is for participants to find other kids with similar animal types.

You can cover each participant’s eyes with a blindfold to make the game challenging for older kids. Also, set a time limit for participants to find kids with the same animal type. This game helps kids develop active listening skills, which are essential for becoming a good leader. In addition, the game works best for medium to large-sized groups.

17. Water in the Bucket

Water in the bucket is a fun leadership game you and your team will enjoy playing. To play this activity, divide participants into teams. Then set up chairs in straight lines, depending on the number of players on each team. Also, prepare empty buckets for participants. Each team gets to decide on the first teammate to start the game.

Next, let participants sit down on the chairs and hand over a bucket to each player. Then blindfold all participants and fill the bucket of the first players on each team with water. The game’s objective is for the first player to pour the water inside the second player’s bucket without standing up. Next, the second player will repeat the same step to the third player. The water pouring continues until the last player’s bucket becomes filled with water. Chances are that players will spill all the water even before reaching the last player.

In the end, compare the quantity of water each team’s last player has in their buckets. This game reveals a leader’s responsibility to lead a team and must therefore be critical in any decision-making. In the game, the amount of water each player carefully and successfully pours into their teammates’ buckets determines whether or not the team will win.

18. Spot The Difference

Spot the difference is one of the best games to build leadership skills, particularly observation traits, in kids. To play the activity, show participants two versions of the same pictures. The pictures can be of different ideas, ranging from a living room to a busy road.

However, one version of these pictures should have subtle differences. For instance, printed words on both pictures can be different. Also, the pictures may have a similar object with different colors in both versions. The participants have to spot these subtle differences in the pictures. You can let participants know the number of differences to find. The first player who finds all differences wins the game. This leadership game helps kids concentrate better and develop their observation skills.

Playing leadership games is a great way to identify participants capable of leading a team. The games let players channel their unique leadership abilities, such as effective communication, strategic planning, and good observation. Also, you can use these games to train team members or leaders to become better in the leadership field. There are many leadership games to play, with each exercise focusing on different skills. Therefore, if you want to pick a leadership game, then consider the leadership qualities you would love to build. The best part of playing these games is building your team while developing leadership skills.

Next, check out the roles of team building leaders and valuable signs of leadership . You can also check these signs of bad leaders .

Book wildly fun team building events with expert hosts

FAQ: Leadership games

Here are answers to questions about leadership games.

What are leadership games?

Leadership games are exercises and challenges that can help leaders develop essential skills like good communication, motivation, and time management. These games are fun to play and help leaders become more effective while carrying out their responsibilities.

What are good games to play with groups of leaders?

Good games to play with a group of leaders include escape rooms, leadership race, capture the flag, charades, tug of war, balloon chain, and tallest tower challenge.

How can games help leaders build skills?

Games help leaders build skills by identifying the areas that the leader needs to improve. A leader will most likely not have every single leadership trait. But by playing games, leaders can identify and improve their weak traits. Also, the games let leaders practice their best skills and perform more effectively in real-life situations.

Author: Grace He

People & Culture Director at teambuilding.com. Grace is the Director of People & Culture at TeamBuilding. She studied Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University, Information Science at East China Normal University and earned an MBA at Washington State University.

We lead wildly fun experiences for teams with 1,000,000+ players to date.

4.96 / 5.0 rating on

50,225 Google Reviews

Get our free team building tool box

$49 value at no cost..

• May as well check it out?
• 100+ tested icebreaker questions
• 24+ themed Bingo generators
• 5+ PDFs (including the 8% Rule)
• 2024 team building calendar and more...

Enter your email for instant access

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!

Design your next session with SessionLab

Join the 150,000+ facilitators 
using SessionLab.

Recommended Articles

A step-by-step guide to planning a workshop, how to create an unforgettable training session in 8 simple steps, 47 useful online tools for workshop planning and meeting facilitation.

Learning the why and how of being a great leader alongside practical techniques and frameworks is one of the easiest ways to become a better leader.

Anyone in a leadership role has both a big influence and responsibility for their team. Some of the aspects they need to pay attention to in order to be a good leader are:

• Setting the climate of a workplace
• 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. Coaching, peer support circles, and leadership development workshops can all help one to become a better leader.

Leadership activities such as those featured here are also effective at introducing leadership concepts and learning how to solve common leadership challenges . You might run these leadership training activities during a workshop, add them to an ongoing learning program or simply introduce them to managers as needed.

In this guide, we’ve grouped leadership activities by these core competencies, so you can choose the right activity to help yourself or others develop their leadership skills. Let’s dive in!

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.

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.

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Going from a mere idea to a workshop that delivers results for your clients can feel like a daunting task. In this piece, we will shine a light on all the work behind the scenes and help you learn how to plan a workshop from start to finish. On a good day, facilitation can feel like effortless magic, but that is mostly the result of backstage work, foresight, and a lot of careful planning. Read on to learn a step-by-step approach to breaking the process of planning a workshop into small, manageable chunks.  The flow starts with the first meeting with a client to define the purposes of a workshop.…

How does learning work? A clever 9-year-old once told me: “I know I am learning something new when I am surprised.” The science of adult learning tells us that, in order to learn new skills (which, unsurprisingly, is harder for adults to do than kids) grown-ups need to first get into a specific headspace.  In a business, this approach is often employed in a training session where employees learn new skills or work on professional development. But how do you ensure your training is effective? In this guide, we'll explore how to create an effective training session plan and run engaging training sessions. As team leader, project manager, or consultant,…

Effective online tools are a necessity for smooth and engaging virtual workshops and meetings. But how do you choose the right ones? Do you sometimes feel that the good old pen and paper or MS Office toolkit and email leaves you struggling to stay on top of managing and delivering your workshop? Fortunately, there are plenty of online tools to make your life easier when you need to facilitate a meeting and lead workshops. In this post, we’ll share our favorite online tools you can use to make your job as a facilitator easier. In fact, there are plenty of free online workshop tools and meeting facilitation software you can…

Design your next workshop with SessionLab

Join the 150,000 facilitators using SessionLab

Sign up for free

• Skip to primary navigation
• Skip to main content
• Skip to primary sidebar

Teaching Expertise

• Classroom Ideas
• Teacher’s Life
• Deals & Shopping
• Privacy Policy

15 Leadership Activities for High School Students

May 17, 2023 //  by  Danielle Torpey

In a world that values productivity with creative collaboration–fostering leadership within students helps prepare successful leaders in society. In my classroom, it’s easy to pick out the few kids who have natural leadership abilities, which made me wonder: how do I allow opportunities for students to all foster elements of leadership?

High school students are no doubt the future leaders of our society. I knew that providing leadership opportunities through various activities by implementing an element of leadership in my lesson plan would promote growth in communication skills among all my students.

Below are fifteen different activities for teachers to implement in their lesson plans to help foster influential leaders within the classroom and in students’ post-graduate endeavors.

1. Establish a student timer

Time in the classroom is precious and most lessons have a time limit between transitions. Pick a student to be the “timer” for the day. They will be responsible for effective communication on the time left on a task. If you’ve allotted a five minutes time limit for a task to be completed, then your timer is the one who is responsible for keeping the class up to date on the remaining time and when that time has concluded. This is a simple way to give a student ownership and leadership situations to take charge.

2. A leader to pass out materials and paper

A simple activity to give kids the chance to take pride in a leadership role. If you have multiple handouts or materials for an activity, have a student or two be responsible for handing them out to everyone. This is also a great trick for your busy body students! Allowing them a quick minute to get up and move around the room before the next section of the lesson clears their brains and provides an aspect of leadership.

3. Create a student government 

Within different activities and after-school programs consider establishing a student government that works alongside the adult sponsors. Leaders could be responsible for ice-breakers, team-building activities, and other activities for students. With a student government, their focus should center around the alliance of students within the school to promote school spirit and participation. This is a foundational practice and building block to establishing an inclusive school culture that is promoting the collective student body.

Learn More: Columbia Interschool Governing Board

4. Activity Roles 

During lessons with small group discussions, give each member of the group a role to take ownership of. This allows for exposure to different styles of leadership, leadership behavior, and valuable skills that keep a discussion focused on the task at hand. On a sticky note or a blank piece of paper, write down the different roles each member of the discussion can take on. BONUS: this helps prevent picking a regular called-upon student and allows every student a chance to speak.

Learn More: University Of Waterloo

5. Tutoring programs 

Allowing high school students to tutor middle school students is a great opportunity to add valuable tools to their leadership abilities. Plus, this is an excellent opportunity to boost a college application with leadership experience. Tutoring encourages leaders to establish their leadership styles on top of a leadership philosophy that suits their personality the best!

6. Peer mentorships 

Down the same vein as tutoring programs, schools could consider a peer mentorship program to add positive aspects of leadership and interpersonal skills. This style of leadership pushes beyond the subject matter, and helps grow authentic leadership for teen mentors! An influential leader could help with struggling underclassmen, special needs students, at-risk students, etc.

7. Small group feedback 

During class projects, have students take a piece of paper and provide feedback to their peers. Giving constructive feedback is a simple activity to encourage elements of leadership. Plus, successful leaders take feedback and weigh the viable options to make their work better! Creating a classroom that is centered around giving positive and regular feedback allows students to practice giving and receiving feedback in a controlled and constructive space.

Learn More: Room to Discover

8. Students lead after school program

If students have a particular interest in a topic or hobby encourage them to run activities for students in an after-school program who might show interest in the topic as well. It’s as easy as an announcement on the intercom and a sign-up sheet of paper for those who are interested too. Some of the after-school programs to consider include creative writing club, tabletop/board game club, gay-straight alliance, Spanish club, etc.

9. Teen advocacy campaign

School months are filled with opportunities for campaigns. Whether it’s mental health awareness month, teacher appreciation week, or homecoming–use different observed holidays and awareness dates for students to create and execute activities for students.

10. Give situational leadership journal prompts 

Start the class off with a quick five-minute situational leadership journal prompt! Giving a journal prompt with questions such as, “Your best friend is bullying someone in the locker room, how do you handle this situation.” or “You’re the CEO of a new company and about to launch a new product that will change the world–what are the steps you take with your team” and so on. Let students think on their feet and map out their responses in their journal or a blank piece of paper!

11. Games that promote leadership qualities 

Games in the classroom have always been a tide and true way to implement leadership skills. A classroom leadership game can help build trust within students and build a strong classroom culture!

Learn More: Vantage Circle

12. Independent Project-Based learning opportunities

Independent projects create a space for valuable skills when it comes to internal leadership and integrity. Sometimes the behavior of leaders starts from within! Project-based learning leads students to find internal motivation to do well on an assignment. Whether a formative or summative assignment, independent projects are a great opportunity to develop leadership skills.

Learn More: Crafted Curriculum

13. Scavenger hunt lesson

A scavenger hunt lesson is a great way to mix up instruction and allow activities for students to build leadership! Whether outside, within the school, or on an online scavenger hunt, students will think learning is a fun game! This is a great option for all ages and content across the board.

Learn More: 28 Ingenious School Scavenger Hunts For Students

14. Student leaders create a fun activity

Allow students to express their creativity with their mini-lesson. Small groups can plan a lesson focused on a particular concept you are covering in a unit. To push leadership skills further, the class can provide constructive feedback for the group that is taught!

15. Group Project-based learning opportunities

Want to incorporate project-based learning with a group? Similar to independent projects, creating a formative or summative assessment with groups encourages leadership amongst a group! You’ll be surprised how naturally students will start assigning each other tasks to get a project completed with accountability and reliability. Creative collaborations also allow space for constructive feedback!

Learn More: E Reading Worksheets

Final Thoughts

Whether fostering a natural-born leader’s talents or encouraging a student that needs help to develop their leadership style–giving opportunities in the classroom can be simple! Try out some of the different activities for teachers to implement in their lesson plans to help foster influential leaders within the classroom and in students’ post-graduate endeavors! You’ll be amazed how quickly students begin to foster skills!

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.

You Might Also Like...

15 Best Online Coding Platforms for Kids

After-School Program Curriculum Ideas

15 Leadership Activities for High School Students

As leaders, teens can learn, collaborate, and grow. But leadership skills don’t just appear overnight, young people need the right outlets to develop them. These 15 ideas for high school activities can help them discover new hobbies, expand on their interests, and become amazing leaders.

Taking on a leadership role can be incredibly empowering, but as the expression goes, it’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey. High school is a wonderful time to start a transformative journey that could shape their lives for years to come. 

Leadership activities for teens

To get things started, talk with your teen about their interests. There’s no question that leaders assume a lot of responsibility, and these responsibilities are a lot easier to shoulder if they’re doing something they love! That could be sports, STEM, the arts: there are possibilities for just about any hobby or extracurricular activity.

That said, high school is a wonderful time to audition for a play, even if they’ve never set foot on stage or try coding even if they’re a total newbie. Branching out can be very rewarding as well! (You can apply that same thinking to high school elective courses as well.)

So, check out these 15 ideas, encompassing both specific organizations and broad categories alike for launching leadership in high school and beyond. 

1. Future Business Leaders of America

Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) is a nationwide organization and competition that focuses on business, entrepreneurship, and leadership skills. Teens can learn about real-world business principles and take on competitive challenges. Through FBLA, teens can lead their competition teams and even win scholarship opportunities. 

2. National Honor Society & National Merit Scholars

These organizations challenge high-achieving scholars to engage with their communities in meaningful ways. Both National Honor Society and National Merit Scholars combine leadership with academics in ways teens won’t find in the classroom alone. 

3. FIRST Robotics

Like sports teams, robotics teams provide ample opportunities for projects, competition, hard work, and learning to work together towards a common goal. FIRST Robotics is one of many national organizations that encourage teens to bring their STEM skills into a thrilling arena. Read more about joining a robotics team here ! 

4. Volunteer work

Nothing can inspire teens like a worthy cause. Talk with your teen about how they’d like to get involved with an advocacy organization. Volunteering can help change the world and expand a young person’s horizons in very meaningful ways. 

5. National STEM Honors Society

Yes, there’s an honors society just for STEM! National STEM Honors Society engages students with year-round enrichment, competitions, and ample opportunities to become a STEM leader within their communities.

6. Student publications

Whether it’s a school newspaper, yearbook, literary magazine, or YouTube channel, student publications offer plenty of project-based opportunities for kids to take a lead. If your child loves the written word, getting involved with their high school’s writing-centric extracurriculars is a great idea. 

Team captains and managers take on a tremendous leadership role. From building morale to developing strategy, organizing logistics, and so much more on and off the field, athletics are a tried and true way to build leadership and character. 

8. Community engagement 

Community organizations come in all shapes and sizes. Groups centered on the arts, the environment, politics, or a religious community can make a major impact. And by contributing to that impact, teens can show how they care for important issues. 

9. Jobs and internships

There are some lessons that can only be learned in the working world. By adding a job or internship to their resume, teens show they can take the lead with real-world responsibilities. Especially if your teen can demonstrate getting promoted or taking on more complex duties, having job experience on their resume could give them a real boost in applying for that dream college or internship. 

10. STEM competitions

On the local, regional, and national scale, STEM competitions provide techie enthusiasts with the chance to lead, practice teamwork, and innovate on STEM projects. If you’re ready to jump in, check out our comprehensive list of 2022 STEM competitions . 

11. Student government 

It’s a classic for good reason! To succeed in student government, teens need to practice public speaking, developing a platform, and motivating others to achieve mutual goals. And if this appeals to your student, they might also love Model UN , government on a grander, global scale.

12. Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts

These organizations offer a wealth of different leadership opportunities in the outdoors, in their communities, and in honing a wide variety of skills. The Girl Scouts Gold Award and Eagle Scout status, the two highest accolades the organizations offer, speak volumes about the leadership skills participants have built over many years, and they give kids something to work towards!

13. Visual and performing arts

Whether it’s from the director’s chair, with a curator’s eye, or a choreographer’s moves, there are plenty of leadership opportunities in the arts. If your teen loves to perform, they can grow other talents in helping bring a creative vision to life. 

14. Cultural and language-oriented organizations

Connecting with other cultures is a wonderful way to broaden teens’ perspectives. This can be done through food, language, the arts, travel and many other avenues. Involvement in cultural organization can be indicative of a young person’s ability to step outside of their comfort zone, a key quality in a great leader.

15. Speech, debate, and mock trial

If your child dreams of a career in a courtroom or from behind a podium, these types of extracurricular activities might be a great fit. Not only can public speaking, debate, and mock trial be a team-based competition, success in any of these activities requires a high level of planning and teamwork. 

Leadership means lifelong learning

Good leaders are very knowledgeable. Great leaders never stop learning. That’s half the fun of getting involved with enrichment activities! 

As your high school student grows as a leader, there are endless opportunities to learn from others, about the world around them, and even about themselves. And as they prepare for college , careers, and more, that mindset can be even more valuable than impressive additions to their resume! 

Featured Posts

Meet id tech.

Sign up for our emails to learn more about why iD Tech is #1 in STEM education! Be the first to hear about new courses, locations, programs, and partnerships–plus receive exclusive promotions! AI summer camps , coding classes for kids , and more!

Virginia started with iD Tech at the University of Denver in 2015 and has loved every minute since then! A former teacher by trade, she has a master's in education and loves working to embolden the next generation through STEM. Outside the office, you can usually find her reading a good book, struggling on a yoga mat, or exploring the Rocky Mountains. 

Related posts

• College Prep What is an Elective Class in High School? An elective class is a course outside of a school’s core curriculum that a student can select to take by personal choice. This is opposed to a requ
• The 10 Best Math Apps for Kids in 2022 The way students learn is changing. Just like in other aspects of 21st century life, the mobile device is front and center. Whether kids are using
• College Prep 7 College Essay Mistakes & How to Avoid Them College essays are stressful enough. And that blinking mouse cursor on a blank document screen never makes things easier!  In fact, this “st

iD Tech Privacy Policy

Id tech privacy policy publish date: 10/26/2023.

internalDrive, Inc. (“iD Tech”) respects your privacy and recognizes the importance of your personal information. We are committed to protecting your information through our compliance with this Privacy Policy.

This Privacy Policy applies to all individuals who visit and/or use iD Tech/internalDrive, Inc.'s websites, services, and products that collect data and/or display these terms ("iD Sites & Services"). This Privacy Policy describes the types of information we may collect when you visit an iD Tech website, open an account or receive iD Tech Services and our practices for using, maintaining, protecting and disclosing that information. 

All references to "us," "we," or "our" refer to iD Tech/internalDrive, Inc.

All references to "child" or "children" refer to children  under the age of 13.

By accessing or otherwise using any of our iD Sites & Services, you consent to the terms contained in this privacy statement, including the collection, use, and disclosure of data as described below.

California Residents:  iD Tech’s  PRIVACY NOTICE FOR CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS  supplements the information contained in this Privacy Policy and applies solely to visitors, users, and others who reside in the State of California.

I.   Information We May Ask You To Provide

Through our iD Sites & Services, we collect information about you and/or your student when you choose to provide it to us. For example, we collect information from you so you can use iD Sites & Services, purchase products and services, register for and obtain an account, request information, apply for a job, register for one of our programs, or verify your age. In general, we may ask you to provide us with the following types of information about you and/your student:

• Contact information such as name, email address, mailing address, phone numbers (note to parents/guardians of children: if we have actual knowledge that a user is under 13 years old, the child will be asked to have their parent or guardian continue the registration process);
• Month, day, and year of birth;
• Gender preference;
• Course interests;
• Billing information such as credit card number and billing address;
• User names to third-party systems (for example, Facebook);
• Information provided on forums or chat rooms within our iD Sites & Services (note to parents/guardians of children: forums and chat rooms permit a child user to enter comments through which the child could provide personal information that would be visible to other users);
• Information included in résumés and job applications; and
• Health, any participation limitations or needs, immunization and allergy information.

Note to Parents/Guardians : We only collect the information described above, from someone we know to be a child, after the child's parent or guardian provides us with verifiable consent, unless one of the limited exceptions discussed below applies. For more information and/or to review these limited exceptions, please see the " Our Commitment to Children’s Privacy " section below. II.   Information Collected Automatically Cookies and other Tracking Technologies We may use cookies, web beacons, pixel tags, log files, Local Storage Objects, or other technologies to collect certain information about visitors to and users of iD Sites & Services, such as the date and time you visit iD Sites & Services, the areas or pages of iD Sites & Services that you visit, the amount of time you spend viewing or using iD Sites & Services, the number of times you return to iD Sites & Services, other click-stream or usage data, and emails that you open, forward or click through to iD Sites & Services. For example, we may automatically collect certain information, such as the type of web browser and operating system you use, the name of your Internet Service Provider, Internet Protocol (“IP”) address, software version, and the domain name from which you accessed our iD Sites & Services. We use this information to monitor and improve our iD Sites & Services, support the internal operations of our iD Sites & Services, personalize your online experience, verify e-signatures, and for internal analysis.

We may also use cookies, web beacons, and other similar technologies from third party partners such as Google for measurement services, better targeting advertisements and for marketing purposes.  These cookies, web beacons, and other similar technologies allow us to display our promotional material to you on other sites you visit across the internet.  Our third-party advertising partners may also use these technologies to identify your browsing interests over time and across different websites to deliver targeted advertisements. 

iD Sites & Services do not recognize “Do Not Track” headers or similar mechanisms.

iD Tech partners with Rakuten Advertising, who may collect personal information when you interact with our site. The collection and use of this information is subject to Rakuten’s privacy policy located at  https://rakutenadvertising.com/legal-notices/services-privacy-policy/ . Our Sites & Services may also use other third-party plug-ins to provide additional services and benefits. These third parties may collect information about you as well. When we use a third-party plug-in we will attempt to provide you with the identify the plug-in, so you can visit the sites of the third-parties to view the privacy policy under which the information they collect is identified and controlled. 

We may also collect geolocation information from your device so we can customize your experience on our iD Sites & Services. In most cases, you are able to turn off such data collection at any time by accessing the privacy settings of your device and/or through the settings in the applicable GPS application. Social Media You also can engage with our content, and other offerings, on or through social media services or other third-party platforms, such as Facebook, or other third-party social media plug-ins, integrations and applications. When you engage with our content on or through social media services or other third-party platforms, plug-ins, integrations or applications, you may allow us to have access to certain information in your profile. This may include your name, email address, photo, gender, birthday, location, an ID associated with the applicable third-party platform or social media account user files, like photos and videos, your list of friends or connections, people you follow and/or who follow you, or your posts or "likes." For a description on how social media services and other third-party platforms, plug-ins, integrations, or applications handle your information, please refer to their respective privacy policies and terms of use, which may permit you to modify your privacy settings.

When we interact with you through our content on third-party websites, applications, integrations or platforms, we may obtain any information regarding your interaction with that content, such as content you have viewed, and information about advertisements within the content you have been shown or may have clicked on. Information from Third Party Services We may also obtain other information, including personal information, from third parties and combine that with information we collect through our Websites. For example, we may have access to certain information from a third-party social media or authentication service if you log in to our Services through such a service or otherwise provide us with access to information from the service. Any access that we may have to such information from a third-party social media or authentication service is in accordance with the authorization procedures determined by that service. If you authorize us to connect with a third-party service, we will access and store your name, email address(es), current city, profile picture URL, and other personal information that the third party service makes available to us, and use and disclose it in accordance with this Policy. You should check your privacy settings on these third-party services to understand and change the information sent to us through these services. For example, you can log in to the Services using single sign-in services such as Facebook Connect or an Open ID provider.

III.    Your Ability To Control Cookies And Similar Technologies As noted, we may use cookies or similar technologies to monitor and improve iD Sites & Services, support the internal operations of iD Sites & Services, personalize your online experience, support the e-signature process, and/or for internal analysis. This includes the use of third-party cookies. We use these technologies to keep track of how you are using our iD Sites & Services and to remember certain pieces of general information. 

You have the ability to accept or decline cookies. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser setting to decline cookies if you prefer. Check the “Tools” or “Help” tab on your browser to learn how to change your cookie and other tracking preferences.

If you choose to decline cookies, you may not be able to fully experience the functions of iD Sites & Services and/or some of our services will function improperly, in particular the inability to log in or manage items in your shopping cart. We do not share cookie data with any third parties. IV.   How We May Use Your Information We may use the information we collect from and about you and/or your student for any of the following purposes:

• Allow you to register yourself or your student with iD Sites & Services, or to otherwise register and open an account with us;
• Allow you and/or your student to use iD Sites & Services;
• Fulfill orders, process payments, and prevent transactional fraud;
• Respond to your or your student’s requests or inquiries;
• Provide you or your student with information about our products and services;
• Consider you for employment or a volunteer opportunity;
• Register you or your student in one of our programs;
• Verify your student's age;
• Monitor and improve iD Sites & Services, support the internal operations of iD Sites & Services, personalize your online experience, and for internal analysis;
• Protect the security or integrity of iD Sites & Services and our business;
• Facilitate the sale or potential sale of our business or any of our assets; or
• As required by law.

V.   How We Share Information We do not sell or otherwise share your or your student’s information with any third parties, except for the limited purposes described below. Parents/guardians of children under the age of 13 have the option of consenting to the collection and use of their child's personal information without consenting to the disclosure of that information to certain third parties.  

1.   Law Enforcement And Safety

We may access, preserve, and/or disclose the information we collect and/or content you and/or your student/child provides to us (including information posted on our forums) to a law enforcement agency or other third parties if required to do so by law or with a good faith belief that such access, preservation, or disclosure is reasonably necessary to: (i) comply with legal process; (ii) enforce the Terms and Conditions of iD Sites & Services; (iii) respond to claims that the content violates the rights of third parties; or (iv) protect the rights, property, or personal safety of the owners or users of iD Sites & Services, a third party, or the general public. We also may disclose information whenever we believe disclosure is necessary to limit our legal liability; to protect or defend our rights or property; or protect the safety, rights, or property of others.  2.   Service Providers; Colleges and Universities Information collected through iD Sites & Services may be transferred, disclosed, or shared with third parties engaged by us to handle and deliver certain activities, such as housing, meals, payment processing, mail/email distribution, software providers, and to perform other technical and processing functions, such as maintaining data integrity, programming operations, user services, or technology services. We may provide these third parties’ information collected as needed to perform their functions, but they are prohibited from using it for other purposes and specifically agree to maintain the confidentiality of such information. Some of these providers, such as payment processors, may request additional information during the course of offering their services. Before you provide additional information to third-party providers, we encourage you to review their privacy policies and information collection practices. 3.    Business Transfer During the normal course of our business, we may sell or purchase assets. If another entity may acquire and/or acquires us or any of our assets, information we have collected about you may be transferred to such entity. In addition, if any bankruptcy or reorganization proceeding is brought by or against us, such information may be considered an asset of ours and may be sold or transferred to third parties. Should a sale or transfer occur, we will use reasonable efforts to try to require that the transferee use personal information provided through our iD Sites & Services in a manner that is consistent with this privacy statement. VI.            Our Commitment To Children’s Privacy Protecting the privacy of children is paramount. We understand that users and visitors of our iD Sites & Services who are under 13 years of age need special safeguards and privacy protection. It is our intent to fully comply with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). 

Our iD Sites & Services are intended for general audiences. We do not knowingly permit anyone under 13 years of age to provide us with personal information without obtaining a parent's or guardian’s verifiable consent, except where:

• the sole purpose of collecting the name or online contact information of a parent or child is to provide notice and obtain parental consent;
• the purpose of collecting a parent’s online contact information is to provide voluntary notice to, and subsequently update the parent about, the child’s participation in our iD Sites & Services that do not otherwise collect, use, or disclose childrens' personal information;
• the sole purpose of collecting online contact information from a child is to respond directly on a one-time basis to a specific request from the child, and where such information is not used to re-contact the child or for any other purpose, is not disclosed, and is deleted by us promptly after responding to the child’s request;
• the purpose of collecting a child’s and a parent’s online contact information is to respond directly more than once to the child’s specific request, and where such information is not used for any other purpose, disclosed, or combined with any other information collected from the child;
• the purpose of collecting a child’s and a parent’s name and online contact information, is to protect the safety of a child, and where such information is not used or disclosed for any purpose unrelated to the child’s safety;
• we collect a persistent identifier and no other personal information and such identifier is used for the sole purpose of providing support for the internal operations of iD Sites & Services; or
• otherwise permitted or required by law.

If we receive the verifiable consent of a child's parent or guardian to collect, use, and/or disclose the child's information, we will only collect, use, and disclose the information as described in this privacy statement. Some features of our iD Sites & Services permit a child user to enter comments, such as forums and chat rooms, through which the child could provide personal information that would be visible to other users. If you are the parent or guardian of a child user, please advise your child of the risks of posting personal information on this iD Sites & Services or any other site. VII.           Parental/Guardian Rights If you are a parent or guardian, you can review or have deleted your child's personal information, and refuse to permit further collection or use of your child's information. To exercise any of these rights, please email us at  [email protected] or send your request to:

iD Tech ∙ PO Box 111720 ∙ Campbell, CA 950011 Client Service Toll Free Number: 1-888-709-8324

VIII.         Restrictions On Child Users Children under 13 years of age are prevented from accessing areas of iD Sites & Services which include, but are not restricted to, client account information, unless approved by their parent or guardian and any course content defined as age inappropriate by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB). IX.            Forums And Chats We may offer forums and chat rooms. Please be aware that anyone may read postings on a forum or in a chat room. Furthermore, any information which is posted to a forum or chat room could include personal information, which would be disclosed and available to all users of that forum or chat room, and is therefore no longer private. We cannot guarantee the security of information that any user discloses or communicates online in public areas such as forums and chat rooms. Those who do so, do so at their own risk. We reserve the right to monitor the content of the forums and chat rooms. If age-inappropriate content or potentially identifiable information is seen, it may be removed or edited by us for security, privacy, and/or legal reasons. We will not republish postings from forums or chat rooms anywhere on the Web. X.             Links And Third Parties

At our discretion, we may include or offer third-party websites, products, and services on iD Sites & Services. These third-party sites, products, and services have separate and independent privacy policies. You should consult the respective privacy policies of these third parties. We have no responsibility or liability for the content and activities of linked sites, products, or services.

Our iD Sites & Services may contain links to other third-party websites, chat rooms, or other resources that we provide for your convenience. These sites are not under our control, and we are not responsible for the content available on other sites. Such links do not imply any endorsement of material on our part and we expressly disclaim all liability with regard to your access to such sites. Access to any other websites linked to from iD Sites & Services is at your own risk.  

XI.             Legal Basis for processing Personal Data and Your Data Protection Rights under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

If you are a resident of the European Economic Area (EEA), iD Tech’s legal basis for collecting and using your personal information as described in this policy depends on the personal Data we collect and the context in which we collect it.  ID Tech may process your personal data:

• To provide the services which you requested or purchased;
• Because you have given us permission to do so;
• To provide you with better services, including conducting audits and data analysis;
• For payment processing;
• For marketing; and 
• To comply with the law

You have certain data protection rights. iD Tech aims to take reasonable steps to allow you to correct, amend, delete or limit the use of your Personal Data.

If you wish to be informed about what Personal Data we hold about you and if you want it to be removed from our systems, please contact us at  [email protected] .

In certain circumstances, you have the following data protection rights:

• The right to access, update, or delete the information we have on you. Whenever made possible, you can access, update, or request deletion of your Personal Data directly within your account settings section. If you are unable to perform these actions yourself, please contact us to assist you.
• The right to have your information corrected if that information is inaccurate or incomplete.
• The right to object. You have the right to object to our processing of your Personal Data.
• The right of restriction. You have the right to request that we restrict the processing of your personal information.
• The right to data portability. You have the right to be provided with a copy of the information we have on you in a structured, machine-readable, and commonly used format.
• The right to withdraw consent. You also have the right to withdraw your consent at any time where iD Tech relied on your consent to process your personal information.

Please note that we may ask you to verify your identity before responding to such requests.

You have the right to complain to a Data Protection Authority about our collection and use of your Personal Data. For more information, please contact your local data protection authority in the European Economic Area (EEA). XII.           International Visitors  (non GDPR Locations) Our iD Sites & Services are operated and managed on servers located in the United States. If you choose to use our iD Sites & Services from the European Union or other regions of the world with laws governing data collection and uses that differ from the United States, then you recognize and agree that you are transferring your personal information outside of those regions to the United States and you consent to that transfer. XIII.          Data Security Commitment To prevent unauthorized access, maintain data accuracy, and ensure the correct use of information, we have put in place reasonable physical, electronic, and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information we collect. We also use Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protocol on your account information and registration pages to protect sensitive personal information. Sensitive data is encrypted on our iD Sites & Services and when stored on the servers.

XIV. How You Can Access, Request A Copy, Correct, Or Ask For Information To Be Deleted Access to certain personal Information that is collected from our Services and that we maintain may be available to you. For example, if you created a password-protected account within our Service, you can access that account to review the information you provided.

You may also send an email or letter to the following email or call the number provided to ask for a copy, correction, or ask us to delete your personal Information. Please include your registration information for such services, such as first name, last name, phone, and email address in the request. We may ask you to provide additional information for identity verification purposes or to verify that you are in possession of an applicable email account. Email: [email protected] Phone: 1-888-709-8324 XV. How To Contact Us/Opting Out Of Electronic Communications If you have any questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy or if you have provided your email and/or address and prefer not to receive marketing information, please contact us via email or call at the number provided below.  Make sure you provide your name as well as the email(s) and address(es) you wish to have removed. 

If you have signed up to receive text messages from us and no longer wish to receive such messages, you may call or email us at the address provided below. Please provide your name, account email, and the number(s) you want removed. Email: [email protected] Phone: 1-888-709-8324 XVI.         Terms And Conditions Your use of our iD Sites & Services and any information you provide on our iD Sites & Services are subject to the terms of the internalDrive, Inc. (referred to as “iD Tech”) Terms and Conditions. XVII.         Privacy Statement Changes We will occasionally amend this privacy statement. We reserve the right to change, modify, add, or remove portions of this statement at any time. If we materially change our use of your personal information, we will announce such a change on relevant iD Sites & Services and will also note it in this privacy statement. The effective date of this privacy statement is documented at the beginning of the statement. If you have any questions about our privacy statement, please contact us in writing at [email protected] or by mail at PO Box 111720, Campbell, CA 95011. XVIII.          Your Credit Card Information And Transactions For your convenience, you may have us bill you or you can pay for your orders by credit card. If you choose to pay by credit card, we will keep your credit card information on file, but we do not display that information at the online registration site. For your security, your credit card security number is not stored in our system.

We use state-of-the-art Secure Socket Layer (SSL) encryption technology to safeguard and protect your personal information and transactions over the Internet. Your information, including your credit card information, is encrypted and cannot be read as it travels over the Internet. XIX.         Social Networking Disclaimer iD Tech provides several opportunities for social networking for both participants and staff on sites such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Flickr, and YouTube. These sites are not affiliated with iD Tech and offer their own individual social networking services. Please read the following Terms and Conditions carefully, as well as the Terms and Conditions of the sites in which iD Tech has created a forum ("Group"). These Terms and Conditions are a legal agreement between you and iD Tech and apply to you whether you are a visitor to these sites or any site with an official iD Tech affiliation. iD Tech is a member of several pre-existing sites (as mentioned above). There may be, however, portions of  www.iDTech.com  that include areas where participants can post submissions. Any of the above-mentioned "Sites" (or other similar sites) have their own distinct rules and regulations. iD Tech reserves the right to take action to remove any content deemed inappropriate by the sites or by iD Tech standards. iD Tech will not be held liable for any loss of content or disagreements that may arise between the individual social networking site and the user. You understand that by registering for an iD Tech program, your participant(s) may access and upload content to social networking sites. In order to access certain features of the social networking sites or pages on iDTech.com, and to post Member Submissions, the majority of these sites require that the user open an account with them. Please note that these sites have their own individual Terms and Conditions that must be followed. Age requirements are outlined within each Site's Terms and Conditions. You hereby authorize your participant to access social networking sites while at camp and create an account if they choose to do so and if they meet the requirements listed by each site to create an account. Interaction with other users:

• iD Tech is merely providing a medium in which to socialize online with fellow participants. Users are solely responsible for interactions (including any disputes) with other Members and any volunteers that may advise and assist participants with projects and activities via your use of the iD Site & Services.
• You understand that iD Tech does not in any way screen Members or review or police: (i) statements made by Members in their Member Submissions or the Member Submissions in general; or (ii) statements made by Users or any information a User may provide via the iD Site & Services.
• You understand that your participant(s) is solely responsible for, and will exercise caution, discretion, common sense, and judgment in using the various iD Sites & Services and disclosing personal information to other Members or Users. 
• On behalf of your participant(s), you agree that they will take reasonable precautions in all interactions with other Members, particularly if they decide to meet a Member offline or in person.
• Your participant's use of the social networking sites with which iD Tech is affiliated, their services, and/or Content and Member Submissions, is at your sole risk and discretion and iD Tech hereby disclaims any and all liability to you or any third party relating thereto.
• On behalf of your participant(s), you agree that they will not harass, threaten, intimidate, bully, stalk, or invade the privacy of any individual in connection with your use of the social networking sites with which iD Tech is affiliated and their services, whether or not an individual is an iD Tech Member; and you further agree not to advocate such activities or to encourage others to engage in any such activities.
• On behalf of your participant(s), you agree they will not give their social networking information to an iD Tech staff member.
• You and your participant(s) should also be aware that under no circumstances are iD Tech employees allowed to give personal contact information for social networking sites. This must be arranged by the participant's parent/guardian through the People Services Department.

XX.        Copyright & Intellectual Property Policy: You agree that you and your participant will not use the social networking sites to offer, display, distribute, transmit, route, provide connections to, or store any material that infringes copyrighted works, trademarks, or service marks or otherwise violates or promotes the violation of the intellectual property rights of any third party. internalDrive, Inc. has adopted and implemented a policy that provides for the termination in appropriate circumstances of the accounts of users who repeatedly infringe or are believed to be or are charged with repeatedly infringing the intellectual property or proprietary rights of others. XXI.       Disclaimer:   BY USING THE SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES OR SUBMITTING A MEMBER SUBMISSION, YOU AGREE THAT INTERNALDRIVE, INC. IS NOT RESPONSIBLE, AND WILL IN NO EVENT BE HELD LIABLE, FOR ANY: (A) LOST, ILLEGIBLE, MISDIRECTED, DAMAGED, OR INCOMPLETE MEMBER SUBMISSIONS; (B) COMPUTER OR NETWORK MALFUNCTION OR ERROR; (C) COMMUNICATION DISRUPTION OR OTHER DISRUPTIONS RELATED TO INTERNET TRAFFIC, A VIRUS, BUG, WORM, OR NON-AUTHORIZED INTERVENTION; OR (D) DAMAGE CAUSED BY A COMPUTER VIRUS OR OTHERWISE FROM YOUR ACCESS TO THE SITE OR SERVICES. THE SITE, SERVICES, INTERNALDRIVE, INC., CONTENT, AND MEMBER SUBMISSIONS ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" WITH NO WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. INTERNALDRIVE, INC. AND ITS SUPPLIERS EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, REGARDING THE SITE, SERVICES, INTERNALDRIVE, INC., CONTENT AND MEMBER SUBMISSIONS, WHETHER THE PROVISION OF SERVICES OR YOUR SUBMISSION OF A MEMBER SUBMISSION WILL PRODUCE ANY LEVEL OF PROFIT OR BUSINESS FOR YOU OR LEAD TO ECONOMIC BENEFIT, INCLUDING ANY IMPLIED WARRANTY OF QUALITY, AVAILABILITY, MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR NON-INFRINGEMENT. IN ADDITION, INTERNALDRIVE, INC. MAKES NO REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY THAT THE SITE OR SERVICES WILL BE ERROR FREE OR THAT ANY ERRORS WILL BE CORRECTED. SOME STATES OR JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN WARRANTIES. ACCORDINGLY, SOME OF THE ABOVE EXCLUSIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. XXII.         Indemnification:   You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold iD Tech, its officers, directors, employees, and agents, harmless from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses, including, without limitation, reasonable attorneys' fees and costs, arising out of or in any way connected with: (i) your access to or use of social networking sites, their services, iD Tech Content and Member Submissions; (ii) your violation of these Terms of Use; (iii) your violation of any third-party right, including, without limitation, any intellectual property right, publicity, confidentiality, property, or privacy right; or (iv) any claim that one of your Member Submissions caused damage to a third party or infringed or violated any third-party intellectual property right, publicity, confidentiality, property, or privacy right.

iD Tech Terms & Conditions

Id tech general terms & conditions publish date: october 26, 2023.

These Terms and Conditions apply to all pages found at www.idtech.com  and all Programs operated by internalDrive, Inc. (referred to as "iD Tech") including but not limited to iD Tech In-Person programs and iD Tech Online Programs. These terms apply to all lessons, classes, courses, and options offered by iD Tech (hereinafter referred to individually as “Program” or collectively “Programs”).

Privacy Policy: By using iD Tech’s website, registering you or your student for a Program, and/or affirmatively giving your agreement, you are agreeing on your own behalf and that of your student to abide and be bound by the Privacy Policy found HERE and the Terms and Conditions contained and referenced herein.

Online Programs: If you are purchasing, or you or your student is participating in an Online Program you also agree on your own behalf and on behalf of your student, to be bound by the additional terms and conditions found HERE .

On-Campus Programs: If you are purchasing, or you or your student is participating in, an On-Campus Program, you also agree on your own behalf and on behalf of your student to be bound by the additional terms and conditions found HERE .

I. Code of Conduct

To promote the best learning environment possible, all students and parents will be held to this Code of Conduct. Failure to comply with this Code of Conduct or engaging in actions or attitudes that seem to be harmful to the atmosphere, other participants, or staff, in the opinion of iD Tech can lead to removal from a Program or Program(s). iD Tech reserves the right to dismiss students from a Program and prevent a student from attending additional Programs without any prior warning for (1) violating any of the terms of this code of conduct, or (2) if iD Tech determines that a Program is not a suitable and/or productive environment for a student (this includes incidents in which a student does not have sufficient English language skills to participate in the Program; participation in courses requires a high level of English understanding). Refunds will not be given for students dismissed for failure of the student or the parent to abide by the Code of Conduct, or if it is determined that a Program is not suitable for a student. While iD Tech strives to maintain excellent relationships with students, in some rare cases, we may determine that iD Tech is not a compatible environment for every student.

Students and parents/guardians may NEVER:

• Disrupt, bully, intimidate, or harass others;
• Use inappropriate language (for example, students cannot use of swear or curse words, racial, gendered, homophobic/transphobic, stereotypical, or culturally insensitive words, even if done in a joking manner);
• View, display or post any inappropriate material (including sexual content, material depicting inappropriate violence, racism, bullying, etc.) during a Program;
• Share Program information (including lesson plans, etc.) with third-parties, without permission from iD Tech;
• Impersonate another person; or
• Contact instructors outside of the Program.

Students also may NEVER:

• Engage in Internet hacking;
• Create an account on or log into third-party websites without the permission of their instructor;
• Use false information to create an account on or log into third-party websites;
• Share personal information with staff members or ask staff members for their personal information;
• Share or create video or audio recordings of iD Tech staff or another student without the permission of iD Tech.

Students and parents/guardians MUST:

• Follow directions/instructions of iD Tech personnel;
• If online, ensure the student attends the Program in an appropriate, private setting;
• Dress appropriately during the Program;
• Adhere to the terms of use of any sites used, including following the specified age policies; and
• Only share material that is related to lessons and appropriate.

II. Age Policy

iD Tech offers Programs for students ages 7-19. Therefore, students may interact and/or room with a student that is within this age range including 18 or 19 years old. Please note the age range of the Program being registered for.

If a student is 18 or 19 years old and participating in an On-Campus Program, they must successfully pass a criminal and sexual offender background check prior to being allowed to attend. Clients are responsible for all costs and fees associated with any background checks required for a student to attend.

III. Special Accommodations

If a student requires an accommodation to participate, or needs an aid to attend in an iD Tech Program, a parent/guardian must call iD Tech at 1-888-709-8324, no less than three weeks prior to your student’s first day of the Program to make needed arrangements.

If a student requires an aide to participate in an iD Tech Program, the aide must be age 18 or older, may not be a family member, and if it is an On -Campus Program, the aide must successfully pass a criminal and sexual offender background check prior ro being allowed to attend with the student. Aides may also be subject to fingerprinting. Clients are responsible for all direct costs, including background check processing fees, parking, and compensation for the aide’s attendance.

IV. Payment Policy

• Unless otherwise noted, all financial transactions are made and quoted in U.S. Dollars.
• All Payment Plan Fees, fees paid for Online Programs, and the $250 per week deposit for On-Campus Programs are non-refundable and non-transferrable.
• Other than if iD Tech needs to cancel a class, there are no refunds, credits or replacement days for classes missed. If iD Tech needs to cancel a class, iD Tech will either provide you a pro rata credit or reschedule the canceled class(es).
• If iD Tech cancels an entire Program for any reason, the fees paid for the Program will be refunded, less the non-refundable fees, as set out above. Non-refundable fees (other than the Payment Plan Fee, if any) will remain in your account as a fully transferable credit that is valid for three (3) years.
• iD Tech has the right to charge a $25 late fee on any payments not paid by the due date. For balances that are over 30 (thirty) days past due, iD Tech has the right to charge a 1% monthly finance charge and send the balance to a collection agency for collection (collection agency and legal fees may apply).
• All fees (registration, administrative, late, etc.) must be paid prior to the start of a Program, unless a payment plan has been agreed to. Students will be withdrawn from a Program if the Program has not been paid in full prior to the start of the Program, or if at any time a payment is not paid by the due date. No refunds, credits, or make-up classes will be provided if a session is missed due to a delinquent payment.
• By agreeing to a subscription or payment plan, you are authorizing iD Tech to auto charge the credit card on file as agreed at the time of purchase and as set out in My Account.
• A $35 returned check fee will be assessed for any checks returned or card transactions that are not honored.

V. Reservation Changes

To provide outstanding Programs, we may have to limit your ability to make changes (such as registering for a different course or changing attendance dates) and/or cancel a Program. Please reference the Terms and Conditions for specific Programs (linked above) for the rules and restrictions for changes and cancellations for that Program.

VI. Promotions and Discounts

Promotional discounts are limited to one discount per student. There may be other limitations as to how they apply, and codes must be submitted at the time of registration. iD Tech will not honor retroactive adjustments, and the total discounts received cannot exceed the total cost of the products purchased.

The Refer-a-Friend Program is a voluntary Program that applies to Small Group Classes and In-Person Programs.

• Each Referral Code can be used a maximum of 10 times. The code can only be used by students attending iD Tech for the first time (may be limited to certain Programs) and must be applied at the time of registration.
• A tuition credit will be given for each new student that registers for an In-Person Program or Small Group Class using a referral code and attends the course for which they registered.
• The Refer-a-Friend Program does not apply to siblings.
• Students may not refer each other to both qualify for the Refer-a-Friend Discount.
• Tuition credit will be applied after the referred client registers, pays in full and attends the Program. If the referred friend cancels his/her Program, the credit will be removed, and you will be responsible for any account balance that is created as a result of the lost credit.
• All tuition credits must be used in the Program term in which they are earned, can be used to offset Program tuition and other fees incurred, but do not entitle you to any form of payment.
• Tuition credits have no cash value.

VII. Certificates/Vouchers

All certificates/vouchers are non-refundable, non-transferable, and not redeemable for cash. Certificates/vouchers must be redeemed at the time of registration. Certificates/vouchers are valid until the specified expiration date, without exception. They are valid for up to the amount issued, and any amounts not used are forfeited.

VIII. General Releases

• Media Release: As a condition of participation, you authorize iD Tech and its partners to take photos, videos, images, audio, and testimonials of and/or from you and your student and agree that said content may be used by iD Tech in promotional materials, marketing collateral, and online media. These images, testimonials, photos, videos, and audio may be shared and used by corporate partners, the media, or other organizations that work with iD Tech. You also agree that all projects and work created by your student during an iD Tech Program may be used by iD Tech in promotional materials, online, and other print media, and may be shared and used by corporate partners, the media, or other organizations that work with iD Tech. You understand that iD Tech, its owners, agents, partners, facility providers, and employees will not be held liable for damages and injuries associated with use of any content released herein, including any and all claims based on negligence. You agree that all images, testimonials, photos, video, and audio taken at or in connection with an iD Tech Program are the sole and exclusive property of iD Tech, and that iD Tech has a royalty-free, perpetual license to use copies of all student work and projects created at an iD Tech Program.
• Name and Likeness Release: As a condition of participation, you authorize iD Tech and the press to use your student's full name and likeness in print, radio, TV, and other mediums.
• Project/Hardware Release: Some iD Tech Programs are project-based. In such instances, iD Tech will attempt to provide your student with the knowledge to produce a working project. Some iD Tech Programs include take home hardware. In those instances, iD Tech will send home a product or voucher for a product. However, there will be instances when a project or product or product voucher cannot be sent home, posted, or delivered, and you agree that iD Tech is not responsible if the game, project, product or voucher does not work properly and/or is not compatible with outside systems. You release iD Tech from any responsibility for failure to provide a copy of the project or product voucher, or a non-functioning/non-compatible/non-complete game, project, product voucher or product. Refunds will not be issued for not receiving products, product vouchers, or being provided a copy of the project, and/or non-functioning/non-compatible/non-complete projects, product vouchers or products. If you have issues with a product voucher or product, you must contact the manufacturer directly. Product vouchers only cover shipping within the continental U.S. Therefore, if you require the product to be shipped outside the continental US, you are responsible for all shipping and handling costs.
• Software Accounts: Some iD Tech Program activities require creation and/or use of an online account or require an online account to be created for your student. You consent to create or have iD Tech create account(s) as needed for your student to participate in Program activities. During non-instructional time, students may have access to websites that require accounts to be set up. While it is against iD Tech rules for students to set up accounts without their instructor’s permission, there may be instances where a student may create an account without the knowledge of iD Tech or its employees. In such instances, you release iD Tech and its employees from any and all responsibility and liability for accounts created by your student without iD Tech’s knowledge.
• Game Ratings: iD Tech takes its corporate responsibility and iD Tech family values very seriously. However, we cannot guarantee that younger students at iD Tech will avoid all contact with or mention of games rated "T" for Teen, or "M" for Mature. iD Tech will make a concerted effort to minimize both direct and indirect exposure to any games not rated for a student’s age group. Students attending courses designed for older ages have a greater chance of being exposed to materials rated for that older age group. If a student is attending a course for ages 13+, they may be exposed to games rated "M" for Mature by the ESRB (Entertainment Software Rating Board). You voluntarily assume any and all risks, known or unknown, associated with your student’s exposure to game content at an iD Tech Program.

IX. Indemnification

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold internalDrive, Inc.,iD Tech, its officers, directors, employees, and agents, harmless from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses, including, without limitation, reasonable attorneys' fees and costs, arising out of or in any way connected with your student’s participation in an iD Tech Program.

X. Arbitration Agreement

You agree that any dispute other than collection matters, arising out of or relating to this Agreement, you or your student's participation in a Program with internalDrive, Inc., or otherwise arising between the parties, including, without limitation, any statutorily created or protected rights, as permitted by applicable state/provincial or federal laws, shall be settled by arbitration to be held in Santa Clara County, California, in accordance with the Commercial Rules of the American Arbitration Association, and judgment upon the award rendered by the arbitrator(s) may be entered in any court of competent jurisdiction. The prevailing party in the arbitration shall be entitled to recover expenses including costs and reasonable attorneys’ fees associated therewith. Should any part of this contract be found invalid or not enforceable by a court of law, then the remaining portion shall continue to be valid and in force. You hereby acknowledge that you understand the terms of this ARBITRATION AGREEMENT, and you agree to comply with all of its terms and provisions.

XI. Rights Reserved

internalDrive, Inc. reserves the right to update or modify these Terms and Conditions at any time. iD Tech is not a university-sponsored program. iD Tech reserves the right to cancel or modify any and all classes, lessons, Programs or courses for any reason.

XII. Release of Liability

ON BEHALF OF MY SON/DAUGHTER/WARD, I, THE PARENT/GUARDIAN, IN EXCHANGE FOR THE RIGHT OF MY SON/DAUGHTER/WARD TO PARTICIPATE IN ID TECH PROGRAM(S), HEREBY RELEASE INTERNALDRIVE, INC., ITS OWNERS, AGENTS, PARTNERS, FACILITY PROVIDERS, AND EMPLOYEES FROM LIABILITY (INCLUDING CLAIMS BASED UPON NEGLIGENCE) FOR ANY AND ALL DAMAGES OR INJURIES TO MY SON/DAUGHTER/WARD OR DAMAGE OF ANY PERSONAL PROPERTY. I AGREE TO BE FULLY RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY AND ALL SUCH DAMAGES OR INJURIES WHICH MAY RESULT DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY FROM ANY NEGLIGENT ACTS OR ACTIVITIES ASSOCIATED WITH INTERNALDRIVE, INC. HOWEVER, I UNDERSTAND THAT I AM NOT RELEASING INTERNALDRIVE, INC., ITS OWNERS, AGENTS, PARTNERS, FACILITY PROVIDERS, AND EMPLOYEES FROM GROSS NEGLIGENCE OR INTENTIONALLY TORTIOUS CONDUCT. TO THE EXTENT THIS RELEASE CONFLICTS WITH STATE/PROVINCIAL LAW GOVERNING RELEASES, THIS RELEASE IS TO BE GIVEN THE FULLEST FORCE AND EFFECT PERMITTED UNDER STATE/PROVINCIAL LAW. SHOULD ANY PART OF THIS CONTRACT BE FOUND INVALID OR NOT ENFORCEABLE BY A COURT OF LAW, THEN THE REMAINING PORTION SHALL CONTINUE TO BE VALID AND IN FORCE. XIII. Copyright

iD Tech partners with and uses the intellectual property of some amazing companies. You and your student agree to uphold the copyright and trademark rights of iD Tech, their partners, and any company whose products are used at an iD Tech Program.

• Teaching Tips

21 Team-Building Activities for Students [Plus: Free List of 45+ Activities]

Creating connections in your classroom will ensure your students are engaged. Use these team-building activities to lay a solid foundation for learning.

Top Hat Staff

Team building isn’t just for the corporate workplace — it can also be used in the classroom to encourage collaboration, problem-solving and decision-making. And it doesn’t have to involve awkward activities such as a ‘trust fall.’ Engaging, relevant team-building activities for students can energize your classroom and take learning to a new level.

By accomplishing group tasks, students learn to listen, trust and support each other, while developing life skills such as communication and collaboration—skills that can’t be learned from a textbook, interactive or not. Learning to get along with peers, for example, isn’t something you can pick up through memorization.

Sara Keinath, Youth Leadership Educator at Michigan State University explains the value of team-building activities for students: “Guiding group members through intentional games can help them improve their communication skills with each other, which will transfer to their work or club projects later. Many team-building activities incorporate such skills as active listening, questioning assumptions, giving clear directions, problem-solving or learning how to ask effective questions.”

Facilitate your team-building games and activities for students over the course of a semester (rather than a one-off event). Here are 21 examples of fun team-building activities for students you can use in the classroom that won’t make everyone cringe.

Help your college students connect and collaborate. Download 45+ Team-Building Activities for College Courses and build community in any classroom.

Table of Contents

Fun leadership activities for college students.

• Group activities for in-person classes

Community-building activities for college students

Adding some fun and levity to your classroom helps your students build informal connections with peers.

1) Pub quiz

Group size: Groups of 3–7 students 

Course type: Online (synchronous), in-person

You don’t need to hang out in an actual pub for this team-building activity; the idea is to mimic a trivia pub night, fostering teamwork in a fun environment by encouraging participants to work towards a common goal. For online courses, instructors can make use of Zoom rooms to organize teams or groups. The ‘host’ asks a multiple-choice trivia question, and teams are given 60 seconds to discuss and agree upon an answer. You can use generic quiz questions (from the board game Trivial Pursuit, for example), or you could relate questions back to the course material. The team with the most points wins (consider giving bonus marks on a recent quiz as a prize).

2) Idea building blocks

Group size: Groups of 5–10 students

Course type: In-person

Divide the class into teams and present them with a problem related to your course material. One team member writes down a solution and passes the sheets of paper along to the next team member, who builds upon that idea and then passes it along to the rest of the team. The paper is passed around until each team member has added to the original solution. When their time is up, a spokesperson can present their ultimate solution to the rest of the group or to the class. This activity helps develop students’ problem-solving and collaboration skills, with learners working towards a common goal.

3) Spaghetti tower

Group size: Groups of 3–10 students

Divide students into teams and provide them with ‘building’ materials, such as dry spaghetti, marshmallows, string and tape. Set a time limit for designing and building a spaghetti tower (one that’s structurally sound, of course). When their time is up, the tallest freestanding tower wins. Prizes can range from bonus points on a recent assignment to a short extension for their next paper or report. There are several variations on this, such as building a pyramid with paper cups, but the idea is to promote communication and collaboration in a leadership exercise—and provide a little incentive as well.

4) Scavenger Hunt

Scavenger hunts aren’t just for kids. While this icebreaker game requires some preparation, it encourages students to be collaborative: planning a strategy, dividing up tasks and communicating progress. Split your students into teams and give them a time limit to find as many items as possible on a list you’ve provided. You can make this more challenging by offering clues or riddles rather than the names of items.

5) Newspaper fashion show

Group size: Groups of 6–8 students

While this team-building game is ideal for art and design students, it can be used in any classroom to get learners out of their comfort zones and allow for team bonding. Divide students into teams of six to eight, and supply them with newspaper, tape and scissors. Participants are given a time limit to design and create an item of clothing out of a newspaper, which requires group brainstorming and delegation of tasks. Bonus points if their article somehow relates to your course material. One person in the group could ‘model’ the finished product when their time is up.

Group activities for online and in-person classes

These activities are also great as icebreakers or retreat exercises.

6) Shark Tank

Split students into small groups and have them develop a product, logo, brand name and marketing strategy before presenting their idea to a panel of ‘sharks’ (those who will judge their ideas). Once each group has presented, the ‘sharks’ all vote on their favorite project with the winner getting a special certificate or an extension on their latest assignment. This activity gives students the opportunity to exercise creative thinking and work on presentation and public speaking skills.  

7) Pipeline

Group size: Groups of 3–5 students 

Teams are given the task of carrying a marble or ball from a start line to a finish line, without it ever touching the floor—or students’ hands. Here’s how it works: Each team member is given a PVC pipe (though they could also use paper and tape, or paper towel rolls). Allow five minutes of planning time, so teams can strategize how they will transport the object as a group; if it falls to the floor, they must start over. This helps to promote problem-solving, communication and great teamwork.

8) Classify this

Group size: Groups of 3–5 students

Arrange random objects on your desk—anything from paper clips to an umbrella to jewelry (aim for about 25 objects in total). Teams of students must then categorize these objects on a piece of paper or sticky note, even when no obvious connections exist. You can decide on the number of categories they must fit the object into or let each team decide. When their time is up, a participant from each group presents their list and explains the logic behind it. This team-building exercise helps students think outside the box.

9) Goodie bag skits

This might take some students out of their comfort zone but it encourages teamwork and collaboration. Divide the class into teams of up to ten people and provide each team with a ‘goodie bag’ filled with random items. Set a time limit (five-to-ten minutes) for each group to create a short skit tied to course content, based on the items in the bag. Teams then present their skits, and a group vote can be held to declare the winner. Winners can get bonus points for their grade on this activity or their in-class participation grade at the end of the school year.

10) Deserted island

Course type: Online (synchronous or asynchronous), in-person

In this icebreaker, small groups of students imagine they’re stranded on a deserted island. This activity can help students build on their leadership skills. After dividing students into teams, provide them with a list of items for survival. Students must prioritize and rank those items—first on their own, and then as a group. Not only does this test their problem-solving skills, but it also helps them differentiate between the needs of the individual and the needs of the collective. 

11) Think-pair-repair

Group size: 20 students (minimum)

Change up your usual think-pair-share activities by posing an open-ended question to your class and asking students to come up with their best answer. Next, pair peers up and encourage them to agree on a response. Combine two pairs and have a group of four accomplish the same task. Continue until half the class goes head-to-head with the other half, defending their stance. This way, students benefit from hearing their peers’ perspectives, as well as getting to practice their debate skills. If your students are online, breakout rooms on Zoom or Microsoft Teams allow you to replicate this experience with virtual team-building. 

12) Why am I here?

Group size: 15–20 students (maximum)

Have students draw a picture that represents why they enrolled in your course. Encourage them to think beyond the fact that they may need your course credit to graduate. They could think about wanting to learn more about your field or simply that their friends were enrolled in your class, too. After five minutes, have students share their picture with the larger group if they’re comfortable—a fun way to help students feel like part of one interconnected community, particularly in the back-to-school season.

→ Download Now: 45+ Team-Building Activities

13) Improv games

Group size: 20 students (minimum )

Improvisational (improv) games encourage students to think quickly and step outside their comfort zone to connect with their peers. Here are a few examples: Pair up students and ask them to figure out the most unexpected things they share in common (this can also be done online in breakout rooms). Or challenge your students to count to 20 as a group with one person saying each number—but no one is assigned a number, and if two people talk at the same time, everyone starts again at one. 

There are literally dozens of in-school activities for college students that can be used in the classroom—you can even ask students to create their own. By incorporating group activities into your teaching, you’re providing students with an opportunity to learn essential life skills they’ll carry with them long after they graduate.

14) Socratic seminar

Ask students to prepare for a discussion by reviewing a course reading or group of texts and coming up with a few higher-order discussion questions about the text. In class, pose an introductory, open-ended question. From there, students continue the conversation, prompting one another to support their claims with evidence from previous course concepts or texts. There doesn’t need to be a particular order to how students speak, but they are encouraged to respectfully share the floor with their peers.

15) Concentric circles

Group size: 20 students (maximum)

Students form two circles: an inner circle and an outer circle. Each student on the inside is paired with a student on the outside; they face each other. Pose a question to the whole group and have pairs discuss their responses with each other. After three-to-five minutes, have students on the outside circle move one space to the right so they are standing in front of the next student. Pose a new question, and the process is repeated, exposing students to the different perspectives of their entire team.

16) Absurd questions

Group size: Groups of 5 students

Course type: Online (synchronous or asynchronous), blended, in-person

Pose a fantastical, outrageous or fictitious statement to the entire group. Statements can be tailored to your discipline such as “what if everyone lived to 150” for a developmental class or “what if there was no such thing as evolution” for a biology class. Students are asked to develop as many answers to the question as they can by considering all political, social, economical and psychological angles. They can then share the answers out loud or, if you’re teaching remotely, on a discussion board, which is a great option for introverts as well.

17) This or that

This activity allows students to see where their peers stand on a variety of different topics and issues. Instructors should distribute a list of provocative statements before class, allowing students to read ahead. Then, they can ask students to indicate whether they agree, disagree or are neutral on the topic in advance, using an online discussion thread or Google Doc. In class, use another discussion thread or live chat to have students of differing opinions share their views. After a few minutes, encourage one or two members in each group to defend their position amongst a new group of students. Ask students to repeat this process for several rounds to help familiarize themselves with a variety of standpoints.

18) Snowball discussions    

Group size: Groups of 2–4 students

Assign students a case study or reading to discuss with a partner, then have them share their thoughts with the larger group. Use breakout rooms in Zoom and randomly assign students in pairs with a discussion question. After a few minutes, combine rooms to form groups of four. After another five minutes, combine groups of four to become a larger group of eight—and so on until the whole class is back together again.

19) Make it personal

Group size: Groups of 2–8 students

After you’ve covered a topic or concept in your lecture, divide students into small discussion groups (or breakout rooms online). Ask the groups questions like “How did this impact your prior knowledge of the topic?” or “What was your initial reaction to this source/article/fact?” to encourage students to reflect on their personal connections to the course concepts they are learning, which is particularly beneficial to educators around the first day of school.

20) Synthesis

Course type: Online (synchronous), in-person 

This discussion activity can help students connect course concepts by leaning on prior knowledge and other learning experiences. Consider asking questions such as “How can this idea be combined with ________ to create a more complete or comprehensive understanding of _________?” Then, students can discuss these questions in their small teams (or online breakout room) in order to learn more about one another’s experiences inside and outside the classroom. 

21) Gallery walk

Start by setting up stations or posters in a few locations around the classroom (like on the walls or on tables). For online classes, students can complete this activity in breakout rooms. Divide students into small groups and have them rotate between each station together, performing some kind of task like sorting their observations into categories. Ask them to write down a list of questions about the source material they are viewing or respond to a discussion prompt related to the course material to generate conversation.

Recommended Readings

Educators In Conversation: How to Help Students ‘Do’ Sociology

A 6-Step Exercise for Discussing AI In Education

Subscribe to the top hat blog.

Join more than 10,000 educators. Get articles with higher ed trends, teaching tips and expert advice delivered straight to your inbox.

Arlington Heights, IL

Libertyville, IL

Leadership Activities and Games for Teens

Table of content.

Teen leadership activities are essential to help older kids reach their personal goals and keep them motivated, accountable, and confident. A special emphasis on leadership training can make kids develop outside of school environments and get them out of their comfort zones, where they'll experience the most personal growth.

What Are Leadership Activities?

Activities for leadership training focus on tasks and games that develop various skills that target planning, management, delegation, conflict resolution, awareness, critical thinking, productive communication, and responsibility. Encouragement activities for kids provide the opportunity to practice and improve these skills, to demonstrate leadership in a controlled environment.

What Are Leadership Activities for Teens Used for?

While the phrase "be born a leader" is used to describe kids with innate leadership capabilities, management for teens can develop the qualities and abilities needed to be influential future leaders. By harnessing leadership, a child improves honesty, dedication, listening skills, and a positive outlook.

Older kids have plenty of opportunities to practice leadership in everyday life; however, allowing them to partake in leadership lessons for youth is meant to hone in and fast-track the acquisition of these valuable skills. Creating a meaningful life requires engaging, influencing, becoming responsible community members, and being good at whatever they choose.

Leadership exercises for youth can improve the following:

• Motivation : Being inspired to put in more effort to achieve tasks and goals;
• Self-esteem : Having more confidence in one's ability;
• Delegation : Assessing skills and assigning roles;
• Responsibility : Self-reflecting and being open to feedback;
• Trustworthiness : Demonstrating integrity and building trust;
• Commitment : Keeping promises and following through;
• Flexibility : Accepting and adapting to change;
• Creativity : Developing non-traditional approaches.

9 Leadership Games for Teenagers

The following youth leadership training activities are fun and help teens increase self-awareness, coordination, self-compassion, alertness, kindness, calmness, and strategic thinking. At Hot Ground Gym , we've witnessed how youth leadership activity games inspire teenagers to confidently take control of their lives.

In a progressively connected world, kids must learn how to communicate effectively, negotiate, and resolve conflicts to promote sustainable and stable personal and work relationships. Kids should know how to delegate and collaborate with others, listen attentively, and demonstrate integrity. These leadership activity examples offer pragmatic ways to evolve leadership skills in teenagers.

#1 Community Bingo

• Overview : Kids can play this leadership game with 2 to twenty players. The goal is to meet four community leaders who complete a row on their bingo cards.
• Preparations : The game works better if you use a variety of businesses, elected officials, and community figureheads within a 15-minute walk of your location. Discuss with prominent community members about their open hours and willingness to participate.
• Gameplay : Each player goes into the community to find people who fit the description listed on their bingo cards. They must collect a business card or take a photo with that individual as proof. Once a player has met four community members who complete a row on the bingo card, they return to the designated meeting spot. Every participant who gets a 'bingo' wins.
• Results : In addition to teaching basic reasoning skills, community bingo helps kids build networking skills (communication skills) and gain confidence in meeting new people, especially if they've recently joined an extracurricular class .

Unique Team Bonding Experiences!

Don't settle for generic teambuilding activities! With personalized programming focused on cooperation, problem-solving, and achievement, Hot Ground Gym creates meaningful team experiences. Contact us today!

#2 Get Off the Couch

• Overview : Everyone is motivated to do things for different reasons. In this game, the leader must discover what inspires each member to get off the couch to complete an undesirable task.
• Preparations : You will also need a 30-second timer and a designated area where all but one teen can sit. In addition, you should have a table with objects that denote common motivations, such as food, money, video games, clothes, or family photos.
• Gameplay : The leaders choose one 'motivator' at a time to persuade each team member to stand up and complete a task. If the leader succeeds in getting the whole team off the couch within the set time limit, everyone wins. If not, a new leader is chosen, and the process begins again.
• Results : Leadership training activities for youth like this teach children how people are induced by different things.

#3 Tag Team Snack Challenge

• Overview : This small group game involves three to five players building a snack without verbally communicating. The players take turns leading the team by leaving clues for the next person about what the designated snack might be.
• Preparations : Several food items to make specific snacks will be needed, as well as a timer. Organize all the food on a pantry table. Students should be instructed to develop a nonverbal strategy for communicating their intentions. Tell your starting player in secret what snack you want them to prepare.
• Gameplay : The first person starts making the designated snack. After 30 seconds, they must exit the cooking area; the next team member takes over, and so on. The last player is responsible for plating the finished dish. The team wins if they create the correct snack.
• Results : With high pressure and limited conversation, this game teaches kids deduction and organizational skills on the fly, as well as how to work together to meet deadlines.

#4 Leaders You Admire

• Overview : This discussion-based game can be played in big or small groups. Players take turns discussing leaders they admire and what advice they think they would give them.
• Preparations : Give players a minute or two to think about the leaders they admire and their qualities. To make it easier, give kids a pen and paper to write down key points so they can remember.
• Gameplay : Go around the circle and ask each child to present their leader's advice.
• Results : You'll find similar and contradicting statements, which allows for discussing different leadership styles and common characteristics that make good leaders. With these youth leadership development activities, kids learn many leadership styles.

Confidence Through Challenges!

Conquer obstacle courses, climb, swing, and balance at our premier gyms in Arlington Heights and Libertyville. Enroll now for safe and skill-building challenges!

#5 Round Tables

• Overview : This simple game consists of four tables with different activities. Four groups compete against each other to see who can compete for their activity first.
• Preparations : You'll need four tables, different areas, a range of activities, and a timer. The activities can be puzzles, mix-and-match activities, etc., so long as the tasks have a series of steps.
• Gameplay : Time each table to see how long teams take to complete the task. The winning team completes the tasks the fastest.
• Results : This is an ideal activity to develop stewardship, especially for kids who won't naturally take on a leadership role.

#6 Leadership Values

• Overview : Similar to Leaders You Admire, Leadership Values is a suitable exercise to make teenagers do at the beginning or end of an activity-driven day. It's also great for families to play at the dinner table too.
• Preparation : Paper and pens for each participant.
• Gameplay : The game starts with explaining the importance of leadership behaviors and values. Participants reflect on the values they believe define a good leader. Then everyone has to individually circle five values on a paper provided to them that best completes the sentence: "_______" is an important leadership quality. You can create a list of teenage leadership examples like honesty, trust, patience, self-respect, etc. Once teenagers circled individual qualities, then have the group compare and discuss, asking for specific real-life examples where these qualities are applicable.
• Results : This helps teenagers create links between leadership qualities and real-life behavior. It's great to get them thinking about how leadership is present in everyday life.

#7 Keywords

• Overview : This exercise helps kids think about their daily roles and is suitable for children of all ages so long as they can read and write.
• Preparation : You only need some pens and paper.
• Gameplay : Get kids to write down words that come to mind when they think of specific roles — for example, sister, student, sports captain, etc. The keywords should reflect how they perceive themselves performing each role. Once they've finished writing down their keywords, kids should share why they see themselves that way and explain the activities associated with their roles. They can then use the keywords to write a leadership statement that reflects their approach to good leadership. You can also play a variation of this by providing each participant with a chart that prompts them to write characteristics under the following headings; problem solver, motivator, visionary, risk-taker expert, etc.
• Results : Like some of the other games on this list, Keywords encourages kids to reflect on the roles they play and develop their definitions of what they believe is a good leader.

#8 Minefield

• Overview : Minefield is a physical game that combines strategy and motivation leadership skills. For this activity, teenagers cautiously examine a minefield without stepping on "mines."
• Preparation : You will need large objects for the "mines" and blindfolds. Carefully place the objects around the room, leaving enough space for players to walk between and around.
• Gameplay : The game starts with teams memorizing "mines" - objects scattered around an open space or field. After which, they're blindfolded and have to navigate the minefield together. If group members step on a mine, the team has to go back to the start line and start again. A variation of this game can be played by two-player teams, whereby one member is blindfolded, and the other has to direct them through the space. How you play depends on the number of kids and their ages, as younger teens may be better with two-player teams than a large group, which can get rowdy quickly.
• Results : This fun-filled activity game fosters communication and collaboration as members must plan how to move across the space. Minefield also enhances memory and cultivates camaraderie among teens as they work together to reach a common objective.

Teamwork and Triumph!

Strengthen bonds and exceed goals through our customized teambuilding courses. Contact Hot Ground Gym now!

#9 Goal Pyramid

• Overview : The goal of this group game is to complete a series of steps that culminate in players building a cup pyramid. The number of players can range from five to thirty.
• Preparation : You needed to provide six plastic cups and a marker per player. All cups should be stacked at one end of an empty room.
• Gameplay : To begin, all players stand in a line at the other end of the room (the end without cups). Each player runs to the other end of the room and grabs a cup. Each player writes a specific goal on their cup. The players leave their cups on the ground and run to the cup area to take another cup. Upon returning to their 'area,' players write another step they plan to take to achieve their goal. They continue in this fashion until they have five steps and one goal written on separate cups. They must then stack their cups into a pyramid with the goal on top and wait for the rest of the group to finish—all players who create their pyramid and keep it from falling over, win.
• Results : This game sounds simple, but it becomes much more challenging once you have a large group of teens running around. As people run by, they may lose their markers, need help coming up with enough steps, or accidentally knock over other people's pyramids. In this game, kids learn problem-solving and goal-setting skills.

Some More Leadership Games for Teens

Here are some more leadership exercises for youth that offer character development without the kids realizing they are engaged in learning to be a leader.

#1 A New You

Give children materials such as text, crayons, poster/construction paper, magazines, and scissors. Next, ask them to create a poster of themselves that clearly shows it's their picture - such as cutouts of their favorite things to do, foods they enjoy, pets, and anything else that makes them unique. Once done, they can use their posters as a visual aid to introduce themselves to the group. The intention is to improve self-confidence by speaking in front of a group.

#2 Same and Different

Get children to sit in a circle. The first child should point to another group member in the circle who is similar to them, either in appearance, hairstyle, or clothing color. Ask the child to note other similarities and differences between them and their chosen child. Leadership games for youth like this one promote belonging and celebrate diversity.

#3 Egg Movers

Have the children form groups of four or five and designate one leader for each team. Give each participant a spoon and an egg. The leader must then devise an effective way to move the eggs from one point to another, such as forming a line to pass the eggs along. Alternatively, the team can forego the spoons and run for it! The group with the most creative way of safely getting their egg across the finish line is the winner.

Ignite Your Child's Spirit

Watch your child conquer challenges, build resilience, and have a blast at Hot Ground Gym's thrilling obstacle courses. Enroll now for an exhilarating adventure!

#4 Stay on the Carpet

Give the group a small tarp or rug that can fit all the workshop participants inside its edges. Explain that the task is to flip the carpet or tarp over without anyone stepping off it. If someone does step off, the team will have to start over. These types of teen leadership games are excellent for team building.

Leadership Styles and Activities to Determine Them

There are many different leadership styles, but the most commonly identified are autocratic, democratic, and laissez-faire.

• Autocratic : Autocratic leaders rely solely on their authority to make decisions without consulting the group. They expect total obedience from those under their command and are not open to democratic participation in decision-making. Such leaders understand the power of their authority and use it to their advantage.
• Democratic : These leaders promote an environment of open communication and collaboration, where each team member is appriciated for their unique voice and expertise. They act as a spokesperson for the group and encourage participation from everyone, sharing the freedoms and responsibilities of leadership with all team members.
• Laissez-faire : Leaders who practice a laissez-faire management style avoid getting involved in day-to-day tasks. Instead, they provide duties and general direction while trusting their employees to find their way to complete the required tasks. These leaders believe their employees will remain motivated and accountable and only offer guidance when asked. As a result, each team member is allowed to succeed or fail based on their capabilities.

The First Activity

Provide a list of 10-12 scenarios that exhibit the three leadership styles. For instance, consider a scenario where a new sports coach is in charge of training and immediately starts by telling the team what change needs to do.

When some suggestions are made, the coach tells them he does not have time to consider them. Ask the group to determine which leadership style is exhibited in each scenario and to discuss whether it is effective or another technique would be more beneficial.

This leadership activity for youth encourages the participants to reflect on how they would react if they were in the same situation.

The Second Activity

Invite participants to think about the statement, 'Consider a time when you, or another leader, used the authoritarian (autocratic), participative (democratic) style of leadership.'

Ask them to reflect on the effectiveness of the style in question and if a different one would have been more successful. Get them to consider the impact it had on the group and what, if anything, they learned from it.

Prompt discussion about which style is easiest to use, or have them nominate their preferred style and why. When everyone is finished, bring the group together to share their insights on youth leadership ideas.

4 Ways Leaders Approach Tasks: Leaders Motivation

When teaching leadership skills to the youth, it's essential to be aware of the four ways leaders approach tasks so you can help teenagers identify their leadership style and improve their awareness as a facilitator.

• Will do : Does what others desire with a positive attitude.
• Get to : Does what they desire with a positive attitude.
• Have to : Does what others desire with a negative attitude.
• Must do : Does what they desire with a negative attitude.

Most people will fluctuate between these motivations, depending on the task, their capabilities, enjoyment, and context. Talking about leaders' attitudes can springboard a healthy discussion about group dynamics and leadership skills.

Youth leadership games and activities encourage teens to communicate with classmates in person, accomplish collective goals and improve emotional intelligence. No matter what grade, teens can engage in age-appropriate games that help them learn more about themselves and others.

Hot Ground Gym team-building activities and leadership games for middle schoolers and teens in high school are developed to help increase student leaders. We run several camps throughout the year and dynamic weekly classes for kids of all ages to build physical strength and character. Find out how to enroll your teen by contacting us today !

Experience Adventure at Hot Ground Gym!

Discover camps, obstacle courses, and teambuilding activities at Hot Ground Gym. Locations in Arlington Heights and Libertyville, IL. Book your adventure today!

related posts

13 Things to Do in Arlington Heights, IL, with Kids

12 Best Exercises for Kids

Top 6 Kids Summer Day Camps near Libertyville, Il

From Classroom to the Boardroom: Leadership activities for high school students

Leadership development for high school students

Famous entrepreneur, leader and investor, Shaan Puri once heard someone describe themselves as Patient + Relentless . 

This got me thinking about what traits make great leaders.  

What leadership skills can set you up for success? 

Confident + Problem Solver

You could be working at Tesla or Twitch or an NGO or even McDonald’s. Regardless, at some point in your career you will need to guide people. 

And as forward-thinking high school students, starting early on developing your leadership skills gives you an edge. 

With the right ones, it could help you unlock your potential and pave the way for a successful future. 

When it comes to leadership activities, I am inevitably asked two things: 

• Why are leadership skills so important? 
• What are the best leadership activities to take part in?

The answer to the first question is easy - participating in leadership activities will help you build essential skills, like teamwork, communication, decision-making, and problem-solving. It is also a way to explore your interests and establish meaningful connections. 

The answer to the second needs a bit more attention. 

This blog reviews some exciting leadership activities that high school students like you can take part in to improve your leadership qualities. 

Why are leadership activities important for high school students? 

To be a good leader, you must have a good understanding of your strengths, your weaknesses and your emotions. 

Leadership skills can enhance every area of your life. 

High school is not just about academic growth. Your personal growth is just as important. 

The secret no one wants you to know is this: it’s actually all very simple.

• You have a great idea. 
• You can lead people. 

When you have strong leadership skills, you have the confidence to navigate any situation and you are better at making decisions. 

You will need to be able to develop a plan of action in any given situation. 

This is how leaders succeed. 

High school students who participate in leadership building activities tend to have higher levels of confidence and self-esteem because you are given opportunities to take on significant responsibilities and contribute to purposeful activities. 

It could be in one week or one month - the results show itself. 

Engaging in leadership activities can be transformative.  

Also, leadership activities help students develop and improve your soft skills, which are just as important. Skills such as communication, decision making, problem solving, teamwork, and time-management all help you navigate your career. 

Eventually you will realize that you are filled with a sense of purpose. With the responsibility that is entrusted on you, the contributions you make will be invaluable.  

The benefits of participating in leadership activities. 

Participating in leadership activities has a profound impact on your future, whether you’re in college, the workplace, one of the Big Four, or involved in your local community. 

Leadership is not just about leading people, but also about taking responsibility for yourself and your actions. 

Developing your character through leadership involves teaching yourself how to make ethical decisions; how to solve problems, and how to work collaboratively. 

Besides the known benefits of confidence and independence, they also provide you the opportunity to network and build meaningful relationships. 

You are also unconsciously training yourself to deal with people from different cultures, problem solve and work through ideas. 

The world runs on business - and your success depends on being able to convince people to choose your idea. 

These are few of the benefits:

• Develops critical thinking and problem-solving skills 
• Boosts confidence and self-esteem
• Enhances teamwork and communication skills 
• Develops time-management skills 
• Helps in decision-making 
• Improves leadership qualities 

Best Leadership Activities for High School Students

Finding the right activities can sometimes feel like mindlessly scrolling through TikTok. 

BUT THERE IS GOOD NEWS: You don’t have to look far. In fact, here are 8 different activities that we have curated for you. 

• Business bootcamps:  

As students you can benefit greatly from participating in youth-focused programs such as BETA Camp or other tech programs . Such cutting-edge programs provide training and experiences to cultivate leadership qualities within you. 

These learning experiences can be instrumental in building your confidence as well as shaping your personality. Plus it also helps you improve your resume and stand out from the crowd when seeking opportunities in the future. 

• Debate club: 

Joining a high school debate club will definitely help develop your critical thinking, communication, and persuasion skills. By engaging in structured debates, you learn to analyze arguments and identify flaws in reasoning. It’s one of the best ways to develop the ability to think critically and logically. 

• Volunteer work: 

Service learning projects are an excellent way to develop your leadership skills.  Participating in volunteer work or community service requires empathy, but you learn teamwork, and leadership skills too. 

As you give back to the community, you learn to be compassionate towards people, which teaches you to think beyond yourself and consider the needs of others. 

• Student government: 

Getting active in student government is another way to develop leadership qualities, practice decision-making skills, and grow your confidence.  By taking an active role in shaping the policies that affect your peers, you learn to weigh the potential outcomes of each decision. 

• Sports teams: 

Being a part of a sports team helps develop teamwork, communication skills, and leadership skills. Team sports teach you to work towards a common goal while respecting the strengths and weaknesses of others. 

• Public speaking: 

Entering in public speaking competitions is another great way to develop communication skills and confidence. What better way to learn how to convey your thoughts by expressing them in a clear, concise and convincing manner. For example, Toast Master or Model United Nations are good places to start with. 

Mentoring younger students or peers requires communication as well as problem-solving skills. By sharing your knowledge and expertise with others, you can help them develop new skills, while you learn how to guide and lead others. 

• Organizing events

Planning and executing events, such as fundraisers or community get-togethers require not only leadership skills such as decision-making, but also budgeting finances and delegation. Collaborating with others enables you to develop teamwork skills and gives you the opportunity to learn how to interact with others while respecting diverse opinions and ideas. 

What might start out as a boring, run-of-the mill activity can instantly turn into something that provides direction. 

A routine task might turn into an opportunity for growth and self discovery. 

How leadership skills can be transferred to academic and career pursuits.

High school education has the potential to mold students into successful individuals. However, it can also be daunting and overwhelming. With the proper strategies though, it is possible to navigate through these years successfully. 

The reason why you are on this page is because you have goals . 

You are ambitious. You want more out of High School. 

You know that right now it is essential to explore your interests, develop skills for your future and build connections with your peers. 

Academic education is a vital component, but it goes beyond just that. 

It’s nothing complex. 

And yet, it’s everything . 

For academic pursuits, leadership skills can help an individual develop effective communication skills, encourage collaboration and provide guidance and motivation. 

Similarly in the professional world, individuals who possess leadership skills can take on managerial roles and lead teams effectively.  

Moreover, when you demonstrate strong leadership skills, people are bound to push your name forward. 

BETA Camp graduates who have demonstrated leadership  

While we're on the topic of talking about successful leaders. Let’s look at a few leaders that have come out of our camp: 

• Rhett Jones  

A former student of BETA Camp who went on to become a successful entrepreneur. He is currently building Texas’ best public bike park in his neighborhood in Austin

From chess player to entrepreneur, Suma and her team built a successful productivity tool to help teens. 

• Rishi Kothari 

Rishi went on to raise over $1.6M for Otto after attending BETA Camp. He learned that without research, your product has no demand.  

From high school senior to creative agency founder, Jane honed her leadership skills at BETA Camp. She showed a keen interest in a creative field and was particularly interested in marketing. 

As a young entrepreneur she learned to communicate expectations with other team members.   

These are just a few examples of many successful leaders who have learned new skills with BETA Camp. 

Let BETA Camp guide you through skills that will set you up for success. The benefits of BETA Camp are many; it’s faster than anything else, it’s actually fun, and it will teach you skills you couldn't learn anywhere else. 

Be a Leader, Start today 

The best leaders are those who constantly strive to learn, grow and develop their skills. 

Leadership development is a great way to improve your leadership qualities, nurture your soft skills, and achieve your long-term goals. 

With the right tools, you can gain valuable insights into yourself, your team and the business environment. Whether it's joining a debate club or being a part of a sports team, high school students have plenty of choices to choose from.

Soon your traits will be not just Confident + Problem Solver , but Patient + Relentless or Fierce + Nerd or Creative + Strategic . 

If you want to be a leader and succeed in your personal and professional life, start participating in leadership activities today. 

Don't let the fear of failure hold you back, take the first step, and see the magic happen. Soon you will be able to lead with confidence and success. 

You can always start with BETA Camp .

Where will your startup journey take you?

Secure your spot in BETA Camp Summer 2024

Related Posts

Master the Art of Storytelling in Business

How Anagha started her career in medicine as a freshman in high school

Meet the BETA Camp alumni on track to qualify for the Olympics

Join beta camp.

7 Successful Teen Entrepreneurs (and how they did it!)

How to write a cover letter in high school with NO experience | Examples & Tips

Every MIT Summer Program for High Schoolers, Ranked (and how to get in!)

7 Fun High School Activities For Encouraging Leadership Skills

Leadership is one of the most sought-after traits in a workplace or any other social setting. The National Association of Colleges and Employers gives a figure of 68.6% of employers who are looking for graduates with quality leadership skills. While on the other hand, most employers think only 33% of employees demonstrate leadership qualities. This statistic gives us all the more reason to ensure that high school students pick up this trait in their early years. 

The art of leading others can encourage students to be better communicators, increase creativity, improve their network and become more efficient individuals. Teens can easily incorporate leadership activities into their schedules in many forms. Whether you choose to engage in team-building activities or volunteer at a local shelter home, we’ve got you covered with seven things to do that will boost your leadership skills.

Why Is Leadership Important For High Schoolers?

Young adults can develop many important qualities by engaging in leadership-related activities. It is essential that they put time and effort into these tasks as this will leave a strong impact on them for the future.

• Discipline: Discipline is a skill that can often be misunderstood and implied in a way that can have a negative impact on your productivity. Discipline in its best form aids you to become more efficient and acknowledge the tasks at hand. It also helps build good habits and break ineffective patterns.
• Mutual Respect: Students learn yet another important quality that will encourage them to develop better relationships. To respect another person’s opinions and views is of utmost priority to foster a healthy classroom, family, or work environment.
• Problem Solving and Critical Thinking Skills:  When students engage in leadership activities, they are often forced to think out of the box and come up with creative solutions to solve the problem at hand. Putting effort into finding solutions can be helpful even when their academics are brought into the picture.

So if you are wondering how to introduce leadership and team-building activities to your high-school students, check out some great activities and projects that your students can undertake to inculcate these values.

List Of Leadership Activities

1. genie’s carpet.

This is a simple classroom or home activity that you can make your students do without the help of many resources. All you will need is a large carpet to get started. Divide your students into four or five teams and ask them to stand on the carpet. The students may fold the carpet in half during each round while ensuring that all their team members still have their feet on the carpet. This is an excellent activity to develop communication and problem-solving skills.

2. Join a Volunteering Service

Students can organise a community clean-up drive, put together supplies for an elderly care home, volunteer at a pet adoption centre, or gauge attention towards a cause through social media or other online forums. With plenty of online as well as offline volunteering opportunities available, high school students can choose to engage in any one of these activities using their skills. Students can learn responsibility and the importance of collaboration and inclusivity to make a difference.

3. Jigsaw Puzzles

Jigsaw puzzles have always been something that sparked joy in us as kids. As there is no lack of jigsaw puzzles curated for a young adult demographic in the market, it doesn’t hurt to use this fun game to aid in building our leadership skills. Puzzles are the way to go if you want to introduce your students to activities that will stimulate their minds, improve their critical thinking, and boost their social skills.

4. Think Like Your Role Model

This is an activity that can be conducted in class that will prompt students to research and compile facts and information on their role models. Students can be asked to find out what kind of approach had been taken by their role models for leadership and discuss their findings with the other students in class. This will help them analyse patterns and methods used by some of these people and help them improve their listening and communication skills with their peers.

5. Engage in School Student Council and Sports Activities

One of the best ways to learn leadership would be to actively get involved in school activities such as those held by the student council or a sports team. There are many roles that students can fulfil in these areas, each helping them learn important lessons of work ethic passion, conflict resolution, risk-taking, and so on. Students can also choose to join or start clubs of their interest, such as a literature club or an outdoor activities club.

6. Apply for an Internship

Although applying for an internship may not be the first thing on your mind, internships can teach you volumes about leadership, time management, and productive routines that you can incorporate into your personal values. Students can learn how to work with a team of people and observe people who take up leadership roles in such institutions. These opportunities will also be a great addition to your future college applications.

7. War Zone

Separate your students into groups and gather them in an open space( like a park or a school playground). The students should be tasked to cross a designated area where an opponent team will prepare to catch them from within that zone. Students will learn how to collaborate and brainstorm ideas to deceive/capture their rivals. This activity will provide an important premise to teach students the benefits of group effort and improve decision-making.

As said by Rosalynn Carter, “A leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they don’t necessarily want to go, but ought to be.” 

Successful and effective leaderships skills take patience to cultivate in oneself. Regularly participating in activities such as the ones mentioned above or more within your school or community will create a drastic difference in your communication, listening, and understanding methods and help you become a good leader. A leader can be both authoritative as well as collaborative, and discovering what kind of a leader you want to be is crucial to facing your future endeavours.

Sananda Bhattacharya, Chief Editor of TheHighSchooler, is dedicated to enhancing operations and growth. With degrees in Literature and Asian Studies from Presidency University, Kolkata, she leverages her educational and innovative background to shape TheHighSchooler into a pivotal resource hub. Providing valuable insights, practical activities, and guidance on school life, graduation, scholarships, and more, Sananda’s leadership enriches the journey of high school students.

Explore a plethora of invaluable resources and insights tailored for high schoolers at TheHighSchooler, under the guidance of Sananda Bhattacharya’s expertise. You can follow her on Linkedin

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

• Mathematics
• Reading and Writing
• Intervention
• Professional Learning
• Virtual Events
• What is Phonics?
• Teaching Grammar
• Vocabulary Games
• What is Virtual Learning?
• About Sadlier
• Find a Sales Representative
• International Distributors
• International Programs
• Online Catalogs
• Sadlier School Site Map
• Pricing & Ordering Information
• Sadlier’s W-9
• Sadlier’s Sole Source Letter
• Sadlier’s Credit Application
• Privacy Policy
• Return Policy
• Terms & Conditions

Sadlier's English Language Arts Blog

• Author Interviews
• Interactive Read Alouds
• Close Reading
• Vocabulary/Vocab Gal
• Writing with Vocabulary
• Assessments
• Charts/Posters
• Graphic Organizers
• Back to School
• End of School
• Classroom Management
• Grammar & Writing
• Thinking Routines
• About Our Bloggers

August 10, 2023 VG Seasonal Activities Fall , VG Writing with Vocabulary 6-12 , Vocab Gal , ELA Seasonal - Winter , ELA Seasonal Back to School , ELA Resources - Activities , ELA 9-12 , ELA PD - Leadership , ELA PD - Other , ELA PD - Classroom Management , ELA PD - Vocabulary , ELA Resources - Games , ELA Focus - Vocabulary

5 team-building activities for high school students, by: vocab gal.

In this article, you'll discover how team-building activities benefit high school students, ways to ensure team-building activities will be successful, and a variety of classroom-tested activities. Plus, download free printable team-building activities that can be used at the start of a new school year or new semester!

Benefits of Team-Building Activities for Students

Many students might groan and roll their eyes if asked to participate in these activities, but they do have significant benefits. Furthermore, many teachers might be loath to take the time to conduct these activities, although they bring with them enormous gains. Benefits of team-building activities for students include:

Provide a common experience among peers

Allow students to feel more comfortable in group settings

Require students to develop communication skills through conversations

Encourage students to learn academic content with and from one another

5 Fun Team-Building Activities for Students  

It’s critical to help develop students’ social interaction skills, which can easily be done in the classroom through team-building activities. When team-building activities are used routinely in classrooms, the classroom space becomes a shared, safe zone where students feel comfortable and ready to learn. These short games not only allow students to gain valuable skills but also develop empathy and often improve their self-esteem. 

Most activities should only take between five and ten minutes and can be used once or on multiple occasions. Classroom time is valuable, and these activities are designed to minimize time and maximize outcomes.

Activity #1– Make a Burger

Class time: 5–10 minutes, group size: 5–7 students, resources needed: burger template cut out into pieces, tape, skills focus: teamwork, trust-building.

This is a rather quick and silly team-building activity for high school students. Instruct the class that they are to work in groups to make a full hamburger that starts with a bun, and that has pickle, lettuce, tomato, cheese, meat, and another bun in that order. Tape one ingredient onto each student’s back and instruct students to work together to find all the necessary ingredients and then line up in order. The first group to do so correctly wins.

You can either play silently, or you can tell students to say what ingredient is on their backs, but instead only provide hints.

Academic Focus: Replay this game using vocabulary words and definitions, planet names, math problems and solutions, and so on.

Activity #2– Vocab Improv

Group size: any range between five students and a full class, resources needed: list of academic vocabulary to use, example video, skills focus: trust building.

Have students stand in a circle. The first student chooses a subject-related word and acts out a motion that corresponds with the word’s meaning in some way. The rest of the students in the group then echo the word and the motion together. The next student in the group chooses a new word and acts out a corresponding motion. The rest of the students then echo that word and motion, followed by the first student’s word and motion. This sequence repeats until all students in the group have their own word and motion and have reiterated everyone else’s word and motion.

To begin the game, the first student says his/her word and motion and then says another student’s word and motion. That student must say his/her word and motion and pick another student’s word and motion.

The game repeats until a called-upon student cannot recall another’s word and motion fast enough (three seconds) and is “out.” When only two people are left, both are winners.

Caveat: no student can reiterate the previous student’s word and motion.

Academic Focus: By creating motions tied to academic vocabulary and reiterating these words and motions numerous times, students develop deep connections to these words.

Try playing this game throughout the year, and have students use their peers’ previous words and motions to call upon them, as well as current words and motions.

Activity #3– Best Parts of Our School

Class time: 5–20 minutes (each part of this activity can take place on a separate day), group size: 4–6 students, resources needed: best parts of our school handout, skills focus: teamwork, leadership.

Often, students feel disgruntled about school, so this team-building activity for high school students encourages everyone to look for the positive, rather than the negative.

First, each individual should complete the top of the handout, listing three specific aspects of the school they like. Then, assign students to groups of approximately four to six, making sure that students work with people they do not know well, rather than simply working with friends. Have the students each share three ideas in their groups, and then work together to choose which ones to include in a group list of five positive aspects about their school. Next, each group selects a representative to go to the board to write down his or her group’s list.

Finally, the representatives work with the whole class in order to combine the top five lists into one class-wide top ten list. Try to post this list so students remember both working together and the positive aspects of school!

Academic Focus: Ask students to use academic vocabulary in their lists or to utilize strong writing techniques, such as action verbs or figurative language, when creating each point.

Activity #4– Create a Vocabulary Game Board

Class time: 10–60 minutes (each part of this activity can take place on a separate day), group size: 2–3 students, resources needed: activity directions, game board instruction sheet, two game board templates, game piece template, blank game cards.

Students love to play board games, so asking them to design their own provides them with a new and exciting challenge. Have students work together, possibly by formatively assessing their understanding of a concept and then grouping them in high-medium-low understanding groups. Alternatively, grouping them in like-understanding (all highs, all mediums, all lows) partnerships can also allow for thoughtful outcomes.

Have students discuss and agree upon an overall theme for the game, then complete each aspect of the board game including:

Activity Directions

Game Board Instruction Sheet

Two Game Board Templates

Game Piece Template

Blank Game Cards

Academic Focus: Take any unit that needs further review or understanding and ask students to create a board game that highlights various aspects of the concept.

Activity #5– Your Enigmatic Self

Class time: 5 minutes (spread out over multiple days), group size: 3–4 students, resources needed: enigmatic self handout.

Students write down three aspects of themselves that no one else knows. Assign students to groups of three or four and ask them to read their information to each other.

Each day, have one member of the group read all of the group’s fact sheets to begin the class and have the rest of the students guess which group member is which. Have students celebrate one another’s unique selves, and make sure to reiterate the need to respect each other.

Academic focus: Encourage students to use academic vocabulary when describing themselves.

How to Ensure Team-Building Activities Are a Success

In order for activities to be successful, classroom leaders must establish clear expectations.

INSIST ON A SAFE ZONE The most important aspect of team-building activities is that they demonstrate that the classroom is a safe zone. When working through the team-building activities with students, I emphasize my number one rule, which is mutual respect and acceptance. Students must remain positive and respectful toward their fellow learners, and that includes me!

ESTABLISH TRUST TO BUILD COMMUNITY In a classroom, a sense of community is vital in order for students to produce authentic writing, receive constructive feedback from peers, and have meaningful discussions. Emphasizing in each activity the importance of trusting one another, classroom leaders build a sense of classroom community.

EMPHASIZE EMPATHY AND ESTEEM These team-building activities encourage students to empathize with their classmates who may be different from them and will also help to build up their own self-esteem as they work with others. Classroom leaders must stress the need for students to learn from one another and to respect the similarities and differences that all of their classmates bring to each activity.

ENCOURAGE LEARNING I always like to ensure that there is an academic purpose to all aspects of classroom activities, so, as a classroom leader, I ask students to use academic vocabulary and utilize their prior learned knowledge during discussions.

(SOMETIMES) FRAME AS A COMPETITION Finally, if a classroom leader faces significant resistance from students, framing the activity as a challenge or competition can motivate them. Do remember to emphasize that the competition or challenge being carried out can be completed by everyone and that respect and ethical behavior are paramount, as some students may attempt to cheat in order to win.

The Best Time to Use Team-Building Activities

Team-building activities can happen throughout the school year. They can be used for a myriad of reasons and for a multitude of purposes.

Some classroom leaders may want to use these activities at the beginning of the school year in order to establish a classroom culture and then continue to use activities once or twice a quarter to re-establish concepts, review learning, or deepen rapport.

Other teachers may use them later in the year or at the start of the second semester in order to re-focus a classroom or for a specific unit of study.

Alternatively, classroom leaders can employ team-building activities at the end of the year to encourage more authentic peer review for assignments or as a new challenge for students.

In Conclusion

Team-building is fun and has a huge number of benefits, from developing classroom community to reinforcing academic concepts. Each of the five team-building activities allows students to learn with and from each other and deepens connections between peers.

As students become more and more disconnected from their peers and their learning because they spend much of their time on social media, team-building activities are a great way to reconnect students to their school and to their education and to have fun while doing so.

404 Not found

• Let’s Connect
• U.S. History
• Government & Civics
• Global Issues
• Student Council & Leadership
• 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

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 

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!

Feature image photo credit: Perry Grone

25 Winter School Spirit Ideas Perfect For Your Student Council

5 introduction lesson ideas for the first days of leadership class.

Related Posts

How to Start Your Middle or High School Student Council

9 Things Great Student Council Advisors Do

7 Essentials for How to Write A Student Council Constitution

Upcoming Summer 2024 Application Deadline is April 14, 2024.  

Click here to apply.

Featured Posts

PCACAC's 2024 Conference - Should You Attend It?

RMACAC's Conference in 2024 - Should You Attend?

CEISMC's Summer P.E.A.K.S Program At Georgia Tech - Is It Worth It?

10 Kinesiology Summer Programs for High School Students

The Junior Scientist Internship by BioBus - Should You Apply?

15+ Life Sciences Research Topics for High School Students

11 Health Science Summer Programs for High School Students

The Ultimate Guide to Penn GEMS - Should You Apply?

8 Pharmacy Programs for High School Students

8 Awesome Business Camps for High School Students

8 Free Leadership Programs for High School Students

Joining a leadership program in high school is a great investment in personal and professional growth, especially while applying to college. Such programs offer a unique opportunity to develop essential leadership skills, enhance communication abilities, and foster teamwork. Engaging in leadership activities during your formative high school years will not only build confidence, but also instill a sense of responsibility and initiative. Additionally, participation in a high school leadership program provides a platform to connect with like-minded peers, mentors, and opportunities that can shape a promising future. It is a chance to gain practical experience, develop a strong work ethic, and lay the foundation for your successful and impactful leadership journey ahead.

However, most leadership programs often charge hefty amounts, or offer limited financial aid, which can be a deterrent for quite a lot of high schoolers. 

In this blog, we’ve highlighted 8 free leadership programs that you can make the best of! 

1. HOBY Youth Leadership

The Hugh O'Brian Youth Leadership (HOBY) is a renowned organization dedicated to empowering and developing young leaders. Named after actor Hugh O'Brian, who founded the program in 1958, HOBY aims to inspire high school students to become effective and ethical leaders in their communities. The organization hosts leadership seminars and programs across the United States, providing participants with opportunities for personal growth, community service, and networking. Through interactive workshops, discussions, and hands-on activities, HOBY aims to encourage students like you to explore your potential and make a positive impact on society. 

The program focuses on fostering qualities such as communication, critical thinking, and social responsibility, preparing you for leadership roles in your school and beyond. HOBY’s State Leadership Seminar welcomes school and community nominated students to 3-4-day seminars each spring and summer, with locations varying from the East Coast to the West.  

Location: See here  to find your closest State Leaderships Seminar location.

Dates: Dates vary, see here to find out when the State Leaderships Seminar is in your area. 

Registration: Students are nominated by other peers. See here . 

Eligibility: High school sophomores. 

2. National Student Leadership Conference (NSLC)

The National Student Leadership Conference (NSLC) is a dynamic and immersive leadership program designed to help students who are seeking to explore their interests and develop essential leadership skills. Through a variety of specialized conferences in fields such as business, medicine, law, and more, NSLC provides you with hands-on experiences, engaging simulations, and interactions with professionals and experts in their chosen fields. 

This unique program not only fosters academic enrichment but also emphasizes the importance of leadership, teamwork, and critical thinking. With campuses at top universities across the United States, NSLC offers a transformative experience that will empower you to envision and pursue your potential future career path while honing the leadership qualities that will serve you well in any endeavor. Some of NSLC’s programs do require tuition, but the others don’t, so make sure to apply for the right one!

We have covered all there is to know about the NSLC in this blog. 

Location: The conference is hosted across 13 different prestigious universities, see here .

Dates: NSLC’s programs are split into many different fields of interest, with the dates varying. See here  for the full list and schedule. 

Registration: NSLC does have suggested seasonal deadlines, but will continue to accept applications if space is available in a program or on a program’s waitlist. Apply here . 

Eligibility: 6th-12th grade students. 

3. Sadie Nash Leadership Project

The Summer Institute by The Sadie Nash Leadership Project is a unique leadership initiative tailored for high school women and gender-expansive students aspiring to delve into the realms of diversity and inclusion within leadership. Spanning six weeks, the program encompasses enriching experiences such as field trips, workshops, and insights from guest speakers and leaders across the broader NYC area. 

Through mentorship, workshops, and community engagement, the Sadie Nash Leadership Project strives to amplify diverse voices, instill confidence, and cultivate a sense of agency in its participants.  By emphasizing the intersectionality of leadership and social justice, Sadie Nash is at the forefront of creating a generation of dynamic and socially conscious leaders poised to make a positive impact in their communities and beyond.

Location: Program available in New York, NY and Newark, NJ.

Dates: Summer Institute runs for 5 weeks at locations in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and Newark.

Registration: The application cycle for Summer Institute 2024 will open in the Spring of 2024.

Eligibility: Young women and gender-expansive youth who are enrolled in high school and live in New York City or Newark.

4. Bank of America Student Leaders Program

The Bank of America Student Leader program is a prestigious initiative designed to empower and inspire the next generation of community leaders. This competitive program provides high school students with a unique opportunity to engage in a transformative eight-week summer internship, gaining firsthand experience in nonprofit work and community service.  Through paid positions at local nonprofits, immersive leadership training, and a week-long leadership summit in Washington, D.C., participants develop essential skills, expand their understanding of social issues, and cultivate a commitment to positive change. The program, supported by Bank of America's commitment to youth leadership and community development, will equip you with the tools and networks necessary to make a meaningful impact in your community.

We have covered this program in detail here !

Location: Internship locations vary.

Dates: 8 weeks (Summer 2024).

Registration: Applications for the 2024 program are now being accepted through January 17th, 2024.

Eligibility: High school juniors and seniors.

5. MIT Leadership Training Institute

MIT conducts this annual Leadership Training Institute, spanning twelve Sundays in the spring. Participants are organized into small cohorts guided by Leadership Development Mentors. The experience involves introspective discussions on leadership principles, followed by the implementation of a substantial community service initiative addressing local issues. 

Additionally, a project development segment focuses on community service, translating acquired training into tangible social impact. 

For almost two weeks between February and May, the MIT Leadership Training Institute employs a dual approach of theory and practice to cultivate the leaders of tomorrow. Their sessions integrate a leadership development component, fostering confidence, character, and essential leadership skills. 

Location: Boston, Massachusetts.

Dates: Vary but fall between   February 11, 2024 to May 11, 2024.

Registration: Rolling admissions until December annually.

Eligibility: High school students. 

6. Subiendo: The Academy for Rising Leaders 

Subiendo, a competitive initiative hosted at UT Austin for high school rising juniors and seniors, provides an introduction to the McCombs School of Business. The program encompasses leadership seminars, case studies, campus tours, and interactions with current students. Participation in the program is entirely cost-free, with a particular emphasis on encouraging students from underrepresented groups to apply. During the week-long program, students will reside on campus, and all associated educational, boarding, and meal expenses will be covered by the University.

This program is designed to prepare young leaders, like you, in addressing the needs of the next generation by practicing with and talking through problem-solving issues in healthcare, energy/environment, and education. 

Location: Austin, Texas.

Dates: 5 days (June 11 – June 15, 2023).

Registration: January 31, 2023. 

Eligibility: High school juniors and seniors. 

7. Indiana University’s Young Women’s Institute

Throughout your visit, you will actively engage in a series of enriching experiences that include attending workshops conducted by distinguished faculty members from the Kelley School of Business and gaining valuable insights and knowledge. IU’s YWI also offers countless networking opportunities as you will get to interact with accomplished Kelley alumni and current peers, fostering connections that will extend beyond the day's events. 

A highlight of the program involves a hands-on exploration of a real-world business case project, allowing you to apply your skills in a practical context.  Additionally, the program serves as a platform for honing leadership and communication abilities, with tailored activities aimed at personal growth. Lastly, you will have the chance to connect with like-minded women who share a passion for business, creating a supportive community for ongoing collaboration and inspiration.

We’ve covered this program in detail here !

Location: Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. 

Dates: Dates vary, see here . 

Registration: TBD

Eligibility: Women who are juniors and seniors in high school. 

8. FBI NAA Youth Leadership Program

The Youth Leadership Program (YLP) by the FBI National Academy Associates aims to empower future leaders. Tailored to nurture the intellectual curiosity and impactful aspirations of exceptional young individuals, this Youth Leadership Program provides many opportunities that will allow you to flex your leadership muscle in a new and nationally-known setting (with the Federal Bureau of Investigation).

The overarching goal of YLP is to cultivate a community of influential leaders who are not only socially conscious, but also committed to serving others. By fostering connections through association, the FBI’s Youth Leadership Program endeavors to create a network of individuals dedicated to making a positive impact on the world.

Location: The FBI Academy in Virginia. 

Dates: June 20th-28th, 2024. 

Registration: Applicants should contact their local FBINAA Chapter and coordinate with the Chapter YLP Coordinator for specific information on that Chapter’s application process.

Eligibility: High school sophomores and juniors. 

If you’re looking for an incubator program that helps you establish a developed startup in high school, consider the Young Founders Lab! 

The   Young Founder’s Lab   is a real-world start-up bootcamp founded and run by Harvard entrepreneurs. In this program, you will work towards building a revenue-generating start-up that addresses a real-world problem.   You will also have the opportunity to be mentored by established entrepreneurs and professionals from Google, Microsoft, and X. 

You can access the application link   here !

Lumiere Research Scholar Program

If conducting independent research in leadership, business, or workplace practices interests you, you could also consider applying to the Lumiere Research Scholar Program , a selective online high school program for students, founded with researchers at Harvard and Oxford. Last year, we had over 4000 students apply for 500 spots in the program! 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.

Mandy Brenner is a current junior at Harvard University. She is concentrating in History and Literature and loves to read and write in her free time.

Image Source: Bank of America Student Leaders logo

Colorado High School Activities Association

Student Leadership 4/9/2024 11:15:25 AM

NASC Recognizes 23 Colorado Student Councils as NCOE

• Awards of Distinction
• Superintendents Summit
• Principal Leadership Academy
• National Superintendents Academy
• Technology Leadership Academy
• National Institute
• Business, finance, policy, compliance, operations
• Transportation
• Personnel, HR, unions
• Legislation/legal affairs
• Professional Development
• Assessment & Standards
• Career & Technical
• Online learning
• Literacy/ELL
• Social studies
• Mathematics
• Health and wellness
• Special education
• College and career readiness
• Student behavior
• Instructional technology
• Social media
• Superintendents
• Solution Showcase – 2022
• Digital Magazine
• Web Seminars – DA Ed Talks – Podcasts
• Top Ed Tech Products

• Solution Showcase
• Business, finance, policy
• Legislation/Legal affairs
• Career & Technical
• Online Learning
• Social Studies
• Health & wellness

Eclipse offers Indiana high school students unique opportunity

With Madison County in the crosshairs of totality for Monday’s solar eclipse, local educators have been working for weeks to connect students with the scientific side of the rare celestial spectacle.

Science teachers in several area school districts have used resources from NASA, supplemental lesson plans, games and other methods to help their students appreciate and learn from the eclipse.

Read more on Government Technology.

Most Popular

These 15 big city suburbs have the best schools in the..., why one superintendent says collaboration is more important than ever, 4 superintendents are switching places as hiring surge continues, k12 turnover keeps school boards busy hiring new superintendents, how to bring more men of color into district leadership, artificial intelligence: will it soon take the place of plagiarism.