The 18 Best Leadership Activities to Help Develop Your Team’s Skills

Ask 100 people what makes an effective leader and you’re likely to get 100 different answers. But run a leadership activity and you’ll be able to see right away who has the skills necessary to step into that position and what you need to do to improve that potential.

In this article, we offer examples of the best leadership activities you can use to strengthen the abilities of your team and take them to the next level.

Key takeaways

1. Leadership activities are practice drills that help you and your team prepare for real-world business challenges.
2. You don’t need a big budget to run these activities because many effective exercises use simple office supplies like paper and string.
3. Different games target specific goals, such as improving trust, sparking creativity, or sharpening problem-solving skills.
4. Hold these sessions regularly to create a company culture focused on growth, motivation, and teamwork.
5. Use a scheduling tool to help you find the time to fit training exercises into your busy work week.

Table of contents

• What are leadership activities?
• The best leadership activities for your team
• Get creative with your leadership activities

What are leadership activities?

Webster’s Third New International Dictionary defines leadership as: The quality of a leader and the capacity to lead; the act or an instance of leading.

That’s great as far as a definition goes, but experienced managers know that there’s much more involved than simply possessing the qualities and capacities necessary to lead. A successful leader will exercise those qualities and practice to improve.

Leadership activities provide that opportunity to practice. They are individual or team exercises that allow you to test and improve your abilities (and the abilities of your team) in a controlled situation.

These exercises are very much like the drills that most sports teams run to simulate an actual competition. By running these drills (leadership activities), you and your team can be well prepared for any situation that comes your way.

The best leadership activities for your team

1) Survival Leadership

Divide the participants into two teams and present them with a survival situation: a plane crash, a shipwreck, lost in the desert. Then present them with a list of items that might be useful in that situation.

Challenge the groups to choose five items that will help them survive. After the teams finish picking their items, ask them to justify their selections and how they would use those things to overcome their given circumstance.

This leadership activity stimulates critical, creative, and strategic thinking as well as problem-solving skills that can be useful in your business.

2) All Aboard

Divide your team into two groups and then challenge them to build a “boat” out of scrap materials you provide.

Once they’ve finished construction, instruct all members of the team to stand on some part of their creation. Then remove pieces one at a time while the individuals try to “stay on the boat” as best they can.

This activity encourages communication, teamwork, problem solving, and critical thinking.

3) What If

Invite your employees into your office one at a time and present them with a difficult hypothetical situation. Ask them to come up with a solution to the problem.

For example, “What if you lost an important client and cost the company a great deal of money because you didn’t follow procedure? How would you explain your actions and how would you solve the problem?”

This leadership activity demonstrates rationality, analytical thinking, accountability, and problem solving.

4) Minefield

For this exercise, you’ll need teams of two, a blindfold, and several “obstacles” (office furniture works well).

Blindfold one member of the duo and task the other member to guide the “blind” person through the minefield of obstacles using only the words right, left, forward, and backward. As an alternative, hold this activity at a park or playground for a nice out-of-office experience.

This leadership activity promotes communication, listening, and trust.

5) Leaders You Admire

First, divide your team into groups of no more than five and position them in different parts of the office (so they can talk freely). Task them with discussing leaders (living or dead) they admire and choosing one to be the representative of their group.

After a preset amount of time, bring everyone together and have each group present the leader they admire. As the organizer of this activity, be sure to ask why they chose the leader they did. Then highlight common traits and desirable leadership characteristics of one or all leaders mentioned.

This leadership activity improves teamwork and engagement and reveals traits and qualities everyone can emulate.

6) 30 Seconds Left

Give your team members a few minutes to think about the best moment of their lives. Stress that it could be a professional achievement, an exciting adventure, or a personal breakthrough. Anything goes, but let them know that they will be sharing with the rest of the group.

When everyone has their moment in mind, ask them to narrow it down to the best 30 seconds. Then go around the room and ask each person to describe the moment.

This leadership activity helps your team get to know one another (and themselves) and encourages bonding as a group.

7) Icebreaker

In this task, each participant must come up with five general “icebreaker” questions (e.g., “Who is more than six feet tall?”)

Once everyone is finished, go around the group and have each individual ask their questions. Count how many people raise their hand. The person with the highest number of points at the end of the round wins.

For example, if one question is, “Who has blonde hair?” and three people raise their hand, that’s three points.

This leadership activity is ideal for relieving tension, developing interpersonal communication, encouraging discussion, and creating a sense of connection between team members.

8) Leader’s Task

This is a three-part leadership activity, so allow plenty of time for participants to complete the tasks. You may even want to spread this activity out over several days. Here’s how it works.

Part 1: Assign your team to write an essay on a given leadership topic or organize a debate on that same topic. Create a rubric you can follow to determine two or three winners.

Part 2: Divide the other members of your team into two or three smaller teams (depending on how many winners you have from part one). Appoint the winners of part one as the leaders of these small groups.

Part 3: Take the leaders aside and give them an assignment. The leaders’ task is to organize their team in order to complete the assigned project successfully.

The leaders can do this however they like, but the first team that manages to achieve the goal wins the reward.ADD_THIS_TEXT

9) Leadership Race

Before gathering everyone together for this leadership activity, write a list of 20 or more leadership qualities in the form of “I am…” statements.

For example:

• I am comfortable making important decisions with plenty of lead time.
• I am comfortable making important decisions with no lead time.
• I don’t blame others for my problems.
• I am approachable even during stressful times.
• I have a positive attitude in the face of adversity.

When it’s time to conduct the activity, line up all of the participants side by side facing you. Read each leadership quality statement out loud and instruct the participants to take one step forward if the statement applies to them.

Tell them beforehand that they must be ready to explain why they feel that they possess these qualities. Everyone doesn’t need to justify every quality, but as the game progresses toward the end, ask the remaining participants to rationalize their steps forward.

Continue reading statements until you have a winner.

This leadership activity helps your team members get to know themselves and their colleagues better. It can also help you identify those with real leadership ability to whom you can begin to assign more responsibility.

10) The Round Table

For this activity, you’ll need four round tables of the same size. Before the activity starts, create a different complex, multi-step task for each table.

Divide your employees into four teams — one for each table — and assign a leader to each. The leader can only communicate, direct, and delegate the work at hand, but they can’t actually do the work.

Begin the activity and time how long it takes each team to complete the task. Record the results and move each team to the next table. You can keep the same leaders or assign new ones each time you move.

Time all teams on all tables and the team with the lowest overall total wins.

11) Skyscraper

For this leadership activity, you’ll need plenty of everyday items, such as:

• Tape
• String
• Blocks
• Newspaper
• Toothpicks
• Uncooked pasta

Find your own unique items to make this activity more interesting and fun. You’ll also need a bag of marshmallows for the building process and for the end.

Divide everyone into at least two teams (depending on how many supplies you have) and challenge them to build the tallest tower possible using only the items provided in a set amount of time (e.g., 15-20 minutes).

The skyscraper must stand on its own and must support a marshmallow placed at the very top. The team with the tallest skyscraper wins.

This activity rewards group communication, collaboration, problem-solving, innovation, and team/leadership dynamics.

12) Untangle

This leadership activity depends on how well everyone communicates and works together to achieve a common goal. In the process, one or two leaders will typically emerge to help and guide the team to success.

Here’s how it works.

Arrange everyone shoulder to shoulder in a circle. Instruct them to place their right hand in the right hand of someone on the other side of the circle.

Next, instruct them to place their left hand in the left hand of a different person (can’t be standing right next to them).

Once everyone has joined hands, challenge the group to untangle themselves without breaking the chain. If they break the chain, they have to start over from the beginning.

You can set a time limit on this exercise or allow it to progress to completion.

13) Blind Retriever

In this activity, you’ll need a few random objects and a blindfold. Split your team into small groups and have each group pick one “driver.” Everyone else in the group is a “retriever” and must wear a blindfold.

Scatter the objects around the office and then instruct the driver to stand or sit in a specific spot where they must stay throughout the exercise. They must then use only their voice to guide their blindfolded teammates to pick up the items. The first team to pick up all their objects wins.

This exercise is perfect for building clear communication and building trust under pressure.

14) The Perfect Square

Gather your team in a circle and have everyone hold on to a long piece of rope that is tied together at the ends. Once everyone has a firm grip, instruct them to put on blindfolds. The challenge is simple but tricky: work together to form a perfect square with the rope.

Because they can’t see, the team must rely entirely on verbal communication and active listening. This activity highlights who steps up to organize the group and how well the team can follow a plan when they are working in the dark.

15) Silent Lineup

Challenge your team to line up in a specific order, such as by height, birth month, or years on the job, without speaking a single word. Instead, they need to use hand signals, facial expressions, and body language to figure out where everyone belongs in the line.

When you remove the ability to talk, people have to find new ways to lead and follow. This exercise is a fun way to improve non-verbal communication and shows how leaders can guide a group even when things aren’t clearly spelled out in a traditional meeting.

16) Scavenger Hunt

Create a long list of tasks or items for your team to find that can’t be completed by a single person. Designate a team leader and then task them with splitting the group and delegating tasks in order to get the list done in a specific amount of time.

This activity is excellent for practicing delegation and time management. It teaches leaders that they don’t have to do everything themselves. Instead, they should empower their team members to take ownership of specific parts of the project.

17) Tallest Tale

Give your team a random starting sentence, like “The office door wouldn’t open.” Each person must add one sentence to the story, but it has to build on what the person before them said. The goal is to create a logical, funny, or exciting story that makes sense from start to finish.

This activity focuses on active listening and adaptability. It helps your team learn to stay present and support each person’s contribution to the bigger picture.

18) Building Instructions

Build a model out of blocks and hide it behind a screen. Organize everyone into small groups (even teams of two will work) and have them pick a Leader and a Builder.

When the exercise starts, the Leader then has to go look at the model and then return to the Builder and instruct them how to recreate it. The team that recreates the model correctly first is the winner.

This leadership activity focuses on the power of clear, precise communication and teaches leaders that their vision is only as good as their ability to explain it to the people doing the work.

Get creative with your leadership activities

With a bit of imagination, you can even create your own leadership activities for a truly tailored experience. Isolate a leadership trait that you want to encourage and then design a game or task that allows participants to exercise that trait.

To really encourage leadership in your team, conduct these activities at least once per month (as time permits).

Schedule time for leadership activities

In today’s fast-paced business world, finding time to run these leadership activities can be difficult. Scheduling time to develop your skills, and the skills of your team, is essential if you want to succeed. The Sling app can help.

Sling is a powerful suite of tools dedicated exclusively to scheduling your employees’ busy work lives. The intuitive and easy-to-use interface can help you carve out the time necessary for you all to take part in one or more leadership activities.

Sling also provides task lists, time tracking, and messaging tools to ensure that your team finishes everything efficiently and on time. Conducting leadership activities, as well as your regular business duties, has never been easier thanks to the power and flexibility of the Sling app.

For more free resources to help you manage your business better, organize and schedule your team, and track and calculate labor costs, visit GetSling.com today.

This content is for informational purposes and is not intended as legal, tax, HR, or any other professional advice. Please contact an attorney or other professional for specific advice.

See Here For Last Updated Dates: Link

Frequently asked questions

Why should I use leadership activities with my team?

Leadership activities may seem like just games, but they’re actually vital tools for building a stronger business. When you engage your team in these exercises, you’re helping them develop essential skills like communication, problem-solving, and critical thinking.

These activities also allow your employees to step out of their daily routines and skillsets where they can get a view of the big picture that governs how your company operates. By investing time in these sessions, you create a culture of growth and trust.

And, ultimately, a team that practices leading together will perform better, stay motivated, and help your business run like a well-oiled machine.

How do I choose the right activity for my group?

Keep in mind that not every leadership activity fits every team or situation. To choose the right one, start by looking at your team’s specific needs and what skills they need to develop.

Could your employees improve their communication? Try an activity like Minefield. Could they exhibit a bit more creativity and innovation? A Skyscraper challenge might help.

It’s also important to consider the size of your group and the time they have available. The goal is to challenge your team without introducing unnecessary stress.

By doing your best to match the activity to your goals and what your team needs to excel, you ensure that everyone stays engaged and gains valuable new skills.

Do I need a lot of expensive supplies to get started?

Definitely not! Many leadership activities don’t require a big budget, or any budget at all for that matter. You can lead plenty of successful sessions using nothing more than everyday items that you already have around the office, such as pens, paper, string, or even uncooked pasta.

In fact, activities like Leaders You Admire and What If only require your team’s focus and participation.

While it’s true that some exercises might need a few basic supplies, the real value comes from the discussion and the lessons learned, not the materials used. This makes it easy for you to start developing your team’s skills without spending a fortune.

Find the article useful? Share with others: