Leadership Compass Activity

Time: Sixty Minutes

Source: The Guide to Building Effective Participant Councils

Purpose: To help participants identify their leadership style and see what style of leadership their fellow community members lean towards.

Directions: On four areas of your room, post the four directions – North, East, South and West. Provide each participant with the handouts that describe the work and the leadership traits of the four directions. Give them 5-10 minutes to reflect on the directions and then rank them, Number One being most like them and Number Four being least like them. Once they have completed that step, have them go to whichever direction they think their number one is. In those groups, give them 5-10 minutes to discuss why they felt they were a good match for this direction. Have them identify common strengths and weaknesses of their direction. Staying in their group, ask for volunteers to share some of what was discussed or insights people gained. Now ask the participants to go to the direction they ranked as their number four, the least like them. Again, give them 5-10 minutes to discuss why they felt they were NOT a good match for this direction and identify common strengths and weaknesses of this direction. Then ask for volunteers to share some of what was discussed or insights they gained.

Come back as a large group and provide participants with the handouts “Pitfalls When Styles Are Taken to Excess” and “Suggestions on Working with a…”

As a large group, discuss the following questions for 5-10 minutes:

· Is it better to have a group of the same leadership styles or with different leadership styles? Why?

· How does your leadership style help or hinder the group’s goals?
Decorating Your Bag of Individuality

Time: Thirty Minutes to Two Hours, depending on group

Source:

Purpose: To help participants identify their own leadership style, talents and skills and to help participants form a community.

Directions: Provide each participant with a paper bag, two pieces of blank paper and various arts and crafts materials. Instruct each participant to decorate their bag to express their unique leadership style, talents and skills. Upon completion of decorating the bag, have each participant write on their blank paper their goal for We Lead! and on their other piece of paper their goal for five years from now.

When everyone is done with their bags and goals, have participants form two circles. Each person is instructed to share their bags and their goals without staff facilitation. When the groups are finished sharing ask them to discuss the question: How will learning leadership skills help you accomplish these goals?

Bring all into the large group and share what they learned (about each other, how leadership will help them or anything else they discussed).

Compile the list of goals on a flip chart and post. Instruct the participants to place their written goals into their bags and hang bags on the wall.