Life Skills & Leadership: Unit 4, Session 1: What is a Leader? | Page 7 of 91
four papers each with one name on it. For each name you write, add a word or two about who they are,
such as ‘my older brother’ or ‘the leader of the youth club’ in case others don’t know the person. Write
clearly because other people have to read your papers.”
- Collect the papers, shuffle them, and randomly distribute three to each person. Spread the remaining
papers on a table or on a small area of the floor so people can see them. Say:
“I’ve given you three papers each with the name of a leader. Please look at them and put them in order,
with the one you think is the best leader on top.”
Note: In this activity, it is possible that a participant might get a paper with the name of a person they do not know. That is
fine. They may also not think any of their papers have names of good leaders. That is fine, too. In either case, these
participants will be ready for the next step, which is to see the papers other people have and trade for names of people
they do think are good leaders.
- Pause a moment for participants to sort their papers. Then say:
“You may have the name of a leader that you wrote and you have other names that you did not write.
Some may be names of leaders whom you do not know. Most likely, you have some that you think are
good leaders and some you think are better leaders. I would like you to get papers with the names of
three people who you think are outstanding leaders. When I give the signal, move about the learning
space and look at the names of leaders that other people have. Trade your names for names of people
you think are better leaders. Try to get three papers with leaders you really like.
“You must make at least one trade – even if you like all your leaders already. If you can’t find a paper
you like to make a trade with another person, you can trade for one of the papers on the table (or
floor).
- Give a starting signal and allow several minutes for people to make their trades. Then say:
“In a minute, I’d like you to form a small group of three to six other people.
“In your group, look at all the leaders you have and choose three that you can all agree are the best.”
(Pause while groups are formed.)
- Distribute flip chart paper and markers or crayons. Show Flip chart 2: Our Leaders and say:
“For each of the three leaders you chose, I would like you to write her or his name, one thing she or he
helped achieve as a leader, and her or his strongest leadership qualities. You can use the list of
leadership qualities we made earlier or write different qualities you discover. Be prepared to share
these ideas with the rest of the group.”
- Invite each group to describe one of its leaders and her or his leadership quality. Have groups continue
sharing their leaders one at a time until each has given all of their leaders, or until you have about 7- 10
minutes left for discussion.
