The Top 5 Leadership Development activities for managers

Managers lead. It is not a choice – it’s a leadership job requirement. And, of course, effective leadership development is critical to managers’ success. In this blog for leadership development activities, we will help you discover the best leadership activities for managers that are useful for growth and development. Whether you are a manager looking to improve your team’s performance, an entrepreneur looking to build a successful business, or an individual looking to advance your career, you will find valuable information and insights here. So, join us as we delve into the world of leadership development and discover ways to unleash your full potential as a leader. 

What is Leadership Development?

Leadership development is the process of improving leaders’ abilities to lead effectively. This process can include developing the skills, knowledge, and behaviors necessary to lead a team, organization, or community. The goal is to create effective, efficient, and ethical leaders who can achieve goals, inspire, and motivate others and positively impact their organizations.

Follow the link to read in detail about what is leadership development.

What Are Leadership Development Activities?

Leadership development activities are the activities that help in developing a manager’s skills and abilities in leadership. In this regard, leadership development activities are designed to support leaders in developing the skills, knowledge, and capacities required for effective leadership.  Leadership development activities aim to help leaders improve their leadership abilities and skills, increase their awareness of the different leadership styles, and develop a deeper understanding of the leadership process. Leaders must recognize their strengths and weaknesses as leaders and develop themselves accordingly. This ensures they can effectively lead teams or organizations to achieve their leadership development goals. Here are 10 exampled of leadership development goals for managers!

Why are leadership development activities required?

• Leadership development activities help managers to sharpen their skills and abilities. These activities help managers improve how they communicate, lead, and problem-solve.
• Leadership development activities help managers to develop team-building skills. These activities help managers to identify and develop leadership qualities such as determination, confidence, and accountability.
• Leadership development activities help managers to develop stress management skills.
• These activities help managers better understand and manage different types of stress. 

As you can see, leadership development activities are essential for helping you improve your leadership skills and abilities. In addition, these activities allow you to learn about effective leadership styles and strategies in a safe and supportive environment. This valuable training will help you become a more effective leader in your organization and the community. Here is an interesting take on the importance of developing leaders for a self-propagating culture.

5 Examples of Leadership Development Activities

Leadership Book Club

A leadership book club is a great way to develop leadership skills and gain insights from experts in the field. A leadership book club is a group of individuals who read and discuss leadership and personal development books. Here are a few steps on how you can start and organize a leadership book club:

• Identify the members: Invite individuals from your organization or community interested in developing their leadership skills.
• Choose the books: Select various books on leadership, management, personal development, and related topics. Mixing classic and contemporary books and different perspectives is a good idea.
• Set a schedule: Decide on the frequency of meetings and the time and place. For example, it could be bi-weekly, monthly, or quarterly.
• Assign roles: Assign a leader or facilitator for each meeting, who will lead the discussion, and ensure that everyone is prepared and that the conversation stays on track.
• Discussion questions: Prepare a set of discussion questions in advance to guide the conversation and ensure everyone has a chance to contribute.
• Facilitate the discussion: Encourage everyone to share their thoughts and insights and respect different perspectives.
• Reflect & apply: After discussing, reflect on the learnings and how to use them in your personal or professional life.
• Follow-up action: Encourage members to take action on what they have learned and share their progress with the group.

Leadership book clubs are a great way to gain new insights and perspectives on leadership, learn from experts, and develop critical thinking and communication skills. It also provides an excellent opportunity to network and learn from other people’s experiences. 

Leadership Theater 

Leadership Theater is a role-playing activity designed to help individuals develop their leadership skills. This is one of the leadership development activities that allows you to practice making decisions, solving problems, and communicating effectively in a simulated real-world setting. Here is an example of how to conduct a Leadership Theater:

• The activity is designed for a team of 6-8 participants.
• The participants are divided into small groups; each group gets a scenario they must act out.
• The scenario is based on a real-world leadership challenge, such as managing a crisis, leading a team through a significant change, or negotiating with a difficult stakeholder.
• Each group is given a set of objectives and specific roles to play. For example, one participant may be the team leader, while another may be the spokesperson for the group.
• The group must act out the scenario and make decisions as a team.
• The activity is facilitated by an experienced leader who observes and provides participants’ feedback.
• After the activity, the group discusses what they learned and how they can apply it in real-life leadership situations.
• The facilitator also provides specific feedback on areas of improvement and what the group did well.

This role-playing activity can be a valuable tool for developing leadership skills. It allows participants to practice decision-making, problem-solving, and communication in a safe and controlled environment. It also allows participants to learn from their mistakes and receive feedback from an experienced leader. 

Magic Carpet

The “Magic Carpet” activity is one of the leadership development activities designed to help you develop your problem-solving and decision-making skills in a fun and interactive way. It is not a commonly known activity by that name, and it is likely a customized or in-house activity developed by a specific organization or company.  Here is an example of how to conduct the “Magic Carpet” activity:

• The activity is designed for a team of 4-6 participants.
• Divide the participants into small groups, each given a scenario they must solve.
• The scenario is based on a real-world problem or challenge, such as managing a crisis, leading a team through a significant change, or negotiating with a difficult stakeholder.
• Each group is given a set of objectives and specific roles to play. For example, one participant may be the team leader, while another may be the spokesperson for the group.
• The group must use problem-solving and decision-making skills to devise a solution for the problem.
• The group must present their solution to the rest of the participants and the facilitator.
• The facilitator will provide feedback and coaching to the participants.
• After the activity, the group discusses what they learned and how they can apply it in real-life leadership situations.

The “Magic Carpet” activity is a fun and interactive way for individuals to develop problem-solving and decision-making skills. It provides a safe and controlled environment for individuals to practice these skills and receive feedback from an experienced leader. It also allows individuals to learn from their mistakes and improve their performance.

The Marshmallow Challenge

The Marshmallow Challenge is a leadership development activity designed to help you develop your problem-solving and teamwork skills. It is a simple yet powerful activity that teams of all sizes and skill levels can do. The challenge is to build the tallest freestanding structure using only the materials provided and within a set time limit. The structure must support a marshmallow on top. Here is an example of how to conduct the Marshmallow Challenge:

• The activity is designed for teams of 4-6 participants.
• Give the teams a set of materials, such as dry spaghetti, tape, string, and a marshmallow.
• Each team has 18 minutes to build the tallest freestanding structure that supports the marshmallow on top.
• The teams can use all the materials provided to build their structure.
• At the end of the 18 minutes, the teams present their structures and measure the height.
• The team with the tallest structure wins.
• After the activity, the teams discuss what they learned and how they can apply it in real-life leadership situations.

The Marshmallow Challenge is a fun and interactive way to develop problem-solving and teamwork skills. It encourages creative thinking, collaboration, and effective communication among team members. It also allows teams to learn from their mistakes and improve their performance. Additionally, the Marshmallow Challenge is a great way to foster a culture of experimentation and learning and to encourage participants to think outside the box.

Explore your Values

“Explore Your Values” is one of the leadership development activities designed to help you understand and align their values with their leadership style and actions. Here is an example of how to conduct this activity:

• This activity is designed for teams of 4-6 participants.
• Give each team a box filled with different objects, such as pictures, quotes, symbols, and words, that represent different values.
• Each team member must choose five objects that best represent their values and explain why they selected them.
• Once all team members have shared their objects, the team must then arrange them to represent their shared values.
• The teams can visually represent their shared values using different materials, such as paper, markers, and glue.
• After the activity, each team presents its visual representation and explains what it represents and how it aligns with its team’s goals and actions.
• The facilitator can also ask the teams to reflect on aligning their actions with their shared values and develop an action plan.
• Follow-up action: Encourage teams to take action on their findings and share their progress with the group.

This activity can be a powerful tool for developing leadership skills because it helps individuals understand and align their values with their leadership styles and actions. It also allows individuals to reflect on their actions, identify leadership development areas and make necessary changes to align their actions with their values. This activity can also be a great way to foster a culture of integrity, authenticity, and moral leadership within an organization. Here the the 3 books for leadership development which every manager must read! You must have noticed how these activities talk about building your skills like problem-solving, decision-making, etc. But is there a way for you to assess how good you are at these skills? Yes! There is. Risely offers you free self-assessments.
Not only that, Risley offers you a variety of activities that help you learn and develop leadership skills. So, no need to think about crating or finding your own activity. Just sign up for a free 14-day trial and start learning!

Conclusion

Leadership development activities are critical for leaders to be influential. In addition to training and development activities, leadership activities such as feedback sessions and team-building activities also help build skills, foster leadership, and improve team cohesion. As mentioned above, leadership development activities can take many shapes and forms. However, they aim to help leaders develop communication, team-building, and leadership skills. Leaders who want their teams to succeed must prioritize leadership development activities. While leadership development activities are a great way to build skills organization-wide, leaders must ensure that the activities align with the team’s working style, or the training may prove ineffective.