12 Easy To Do Leadership Training Activities

Leadership training activities are an excellent way to enhance leadership skills, promote team building, and improve overall productivity. These activities allow individuals to practice and develop their communication, problem-solving, decision-making, and critical thinking skills in a controlled and supportive environment.

This blog will explore 10 easy-to-do leadership training activities that can be implemented in various professional settings. These activities are designed to engage participants, foster teamwork, and enhance leadership skills. Whether you are a team leader or a new leader looking to develop your leadership abilities, these activities offer valuable personal and professional growth opportunities.

10 Engaging Leadership Training Activities

Leadership training activities are an effective way to develop essential leadership skills and qualities. These activities provide opportunities for individuals to practice and enhance their communication, problem-solving, decision-making, and critical thinking skills. Here are 10 engaging leadership training activities that can be easily implemented in various professional settings:

The Blindfold Game 

Skill in focus: Verbal communication, Active Listening

The Blindfold Game is a trust-building activity that requires participants to rely on their team members for guidance. It promotes practical communication skills and trust-building among team members. 

How do you do the blindfold game of leadership training?

1. Design an obstacle course with materials available near you in the workspace
2. Blindfold one of the participants
3. Assign the task to your team members: They have to navigate with the help of verbal instructions from their team
4. Discussion round: Talk about good and bad examples of verbal communication you observed

Role Reversal 

Skills in Focus: Understanding Different Perspectives

Role Reversal is an activity that allows participants to step into the shoes of others and understand different perspectives. It promotes active listening, empathy, and the ability to see things from different angles. 

How do role reversals help in leadership training? 

In this activity, participants are divided into pairs, each pair given a scenario or a problem to solve. Each person takes turns assuming the role of the leader while the other person takes on the role of a team member. This activity helps participants develop their leadership qualities, improve their active listening skills, and become more empathetic leaders.

The Shipwreck 

Skills in focus: Problem Solving, Critical Thinking

The Shipwreck activity challenges participants to make decisions under pressure. It promotes critical thinking, problem-solving, and decision-making skills. 

How is the shipwreck leadership training activity conducted?

In this activity, participants are presented with a hypothetical scenario where they are stranded on a deserted island after a shipwreck. They must work together to prioritize and make decisions about the limited resources available to them. 

Feedback Circle 

Skills in focus: Constructive Feedback Skills

The Feedback Circle is an activity that focuses on developing constructive feedback skills. It promotes emotional intelligence, effective communication, and the ability to provide feedback in a supportive and constructive manner. 

Steps to run a feedback circle leadership training

In this activity, participants sit in a circle and take turns providing feedback to each other based on a specific prompt or question. The Feedback Circle encourages participants to practice giving and receiving feedback, develop their emotional intelligence, and improve their leadership behaviors. This activity is valuable for enhancing leadership skills and fostering a culture of open and constructive communication within a team.

The Leadership Compass 

Skills in focus: Self-awareness

The Leadership Compass activity helps participants identify their leadership styles and develop self-awareness. It promotes team building and the understanding of different leadership traits. 

How can you run the leadership compass activity?

In this activity, participants complete a leadership style assessment and discuss the results with their team members. They explore the strengths and weaknesses of different leadership styles and how they can adapt their leadership approach to different situations. The Leadership Compass helps participants develop a deeper understanding of their own leadership traits.

The Minefield 

Skills in focus: Communication and Trust

The Minefield activity focuses on improving communication and trust within a team. It promotes effective communication skills, trust-building, and team bonding. 

How to conduct the minefield activity?

This activity is similar to the first blindfold game that we saw above. In this activity, participants are divided into pairs, one blindfolded and the other acting as their guide. The blindfolded participant must navigate through a “minefield” (a designated area with objects) with the help of their guide’s verbal instructions. The Minefield activity encourages your team to communicate effectively, trust their team members, and work together to overcome challenges.

Bridge Building 

Skills in focus: Collaboration and Problem-Solving

Bridge Building is an activity that focuses on collaboration and problem-solving skills. It promotes teamwork, leadership skills, and effective communication. 

How to conduct the bridge-building activity?

1. Gather some materials of daily use (notepads, pens, cups, etc.) in your workspace
2. Divide your team into small groups
3. Assign the task: create a bridge that can support the weight of a specific object or cross a designated gap

The Great Egg Drop 

Skills in focus: Creativity and Innovation

The Great Egg Drop is an activity that promotes creativity, innovation, and leadership development. It encourages participants to think outside the box and come up with innovative solutions to protect an egg from breaking when dropped from a height. It also promotes teamwork and a sense of camaraderie among participants.

How do we conduct the egg drop activity for leadership training?

1. Assign common objects from the workplace to your team members
2. Share the task: design and build a contraption to protect their egg

Scenario Planning 

Skills in focus: Strategic Thinking and Planning

Scenario Planning is an activity that focuses on strategic thinking and planning. It promotes critical thinking, decision-making, and the ability to anticipate and prepare for future challenges. 

How do you do the scenario planning activity? 

In this activity, participants are presented with different scenarios or challenges and must work together to develop strategic plans to address them. Scenario Planning encourages participants to think strategically, analyze potential outcomes, and make informed decisions.

Leadership Reflections 

Skills in focus: Self-awareness and Personal Growth

Leadership Reflections is an activity that focuses on self-awareness and personal growth. It promotes self-reflection, self-improvement, and the development of leadership qualities. 

How can you do the leadership reflections activity? 

In this activity, participants are given time to reflect on their leadership journey, strengths, weaknesses, and areas for growth. They can engage in journaling, group discussions, or self-assessment exercises on leadership skills to better understand their own leadership qualities. Leadership Reflections activity encourages personal development, fosters self-awareness, and helps new leaders identify areas for improvement and growth.

Bonus Leadership Training Activities

While the above set consisted of simple and easy to start leadership training activities for your team, those listed below will need you to collect some materials and define the rules pretty clearly before you start:

The Marshmallow Challenge 

Skills in focus: Teamwork and Innovation

Materials: Spaghetti sticks, marshmallows 

The Marshmallow Challenge is a popular activity that focuses on teamwork and innovation. It encourages participants to work together, think creatively, and develop strategies to build the tallest tower using only spaghetti, tape, string, and marshmallows.

How does the marshmallow challenge work?

Divide participants into teams of 3-5 members each for this activity. Try to mix up people from different departments or with varied skill sets to encourage diverse perspectives. Present the challenge to the teams. They have a limited time (usually around 18 minutes) to build the tallest free-standing structure and can use only the materials provided (spaghetti). The catch is that the marshmallow must be at the top of the structure and supported by the structure itself, not just balanced on top. Discuss how the skills and insights gained from the challenge can be transferred to real-world situations.

Tower of Babel 

Skills in focus: Cross-functional Teamwork, Communication

According to the biblical story, people once spoke a single language and decided to build a tower that would reach the heavens to symbolize unity and ambition. God confused their language to thwart their plans, so they could no longer understand each other. As a result, they could not effectively communicate and coordinate their efforts in building the tower. The Tower of Babel effectively simulates the dynamics of a work environment where cross-functional collaboration is key to achieving success, making it an effective leadership training activity for nurturing well-rounded leaders.

How to create the Tower of Babel?

Divide participants into small groups and assign each group a specific role or character from the story (e.g., builders, leaders, God). Ask them to role-play a scenario where they attempt to build the tower, facing the challenges of communication breakdown and cultural differences. Introduce communication challenges similar to those faced in the story. For example, provide instructions in a language unfamiliar to the participants or ask them to complete a task with limited verbal communication.

Read more: 5 Easy & Fun Icebreaker Office Games For Teams

Conclusion

In conclusion, leadership training activities are crucial in developing essential skills for effective leadership. By engaging in interactive and engaging exercises like trust-building blindfold games and decision-making scenarios, teams can enhance communication, problem-solving, and collaboration. Incorporating a variety of leadership training activities, from feedback circles to strategic thinking games, can cater to diverse learning styles and maximize leadership potential. Elevate your leadership skills by embracing these activities in structured training sessions and everyday situations to cultivate a continuous growth and development culture.