Are you looking for fun, engaging, and educational student leadership activities? TEEN TRUTH is here to help!
Over the years, our team has developed valuable student leadership materials and programs for our Student Leadership Summit. We are happy to share some of these activities with schools for free! You can also check out 3 FREE Student Leadership Worksheets and our Guide to Creating Student Leaders. Continue reading to check out some of our student leadership activities!
How to Motivate Your Student Leaders
We think it is important that our leaders understand the stages of MOTIVATION. If you want to motivate your leaders, you must first understand these three words: COMPLIANT. OBLIGATED. OPPORTUNITY.
Leaders that are Compliant: these types of leaders will NOT last. Essentially these student leaders are just responding to the demands, rules, or will of the adviser.
Leaders that lead out of Obligation: these types of leaders are taking a step in the right direction because they feel some responsibility, but still, in the end, their mindset is more of a HAVE TO versus a GET TO.
Leaders that see the Opportunity: these types of leaders need little or zero external support. They see their leadership role as an opportunity to serve, to give back, to make a difference, to create school spirit. These types of leaders are self-motivated to go above and beyond.
Leadership Activities
Leadership activities are great ways for students to develop essential skills, such as communication, decision-making, and teamwork. These activities are designed to help students take charge and learn how to guide others toward achieving a common goal. Leadership activities for students might include organizing school events, leading group projects, or participating in debates where they can express their ideas confidently. These activities allow students to practice leadership in real-life situations and learn how to make decisions that affect a group.
One common leadership activity for students is running a school campaign or fundraiser. Students involved in these activities learn how to plan, communicate with others, and motivate their peers to take action. Another popular leadership activity is volunteering in the community, where students can take charge of projects that benefit others. By stepping up as leaders in these activities, students can improve their problem-solving skills and gain confidence in their abilities.
Leadership activities can also be used in the classroom, where students may be asked to lead discussions or teach a lesson. This helps them learn how to manage a group and ensure that everyone is engaged. Participating in leadership activities for students can also improve their organizational skills as they learn to manage multiple tasks at once. The more leadership activities students participate in, the more they develop the skills they need to become strong, effective leaders.
Leadership Team Building Activities
Leadership team building activities are designed to help students work together as a group while developing leadership skills. These activities encourage cooperation, communication, and trust between team members, which are all important qualities for effective leaders. Leadership team building activities might include challenges that require the team to solve problems together, such as escape rooms or obstacle courses. These activities help students learn how to collaborate, listen to one another, and share ideas to find solutions.
One example of a leadership team building activity is a ropes course, where students work together to complete physical and mental challenges. In these activities, students must rely on one another to succeed, teaching them the importance of trust and communication in leadership. Another activity could be group discussions where each member of the team takes turns leading parts of the conversation, helping them practice leadership in a supportive environment.
Leadership team building activities also include games or exercises that require critical thinking, such as building a structure from limited materials or solving puzzles under time pressure. These activities teach students how to think on their feet, make quick decisions, and keep calm under pressure—essential qualities for any leader. By participating in leadership team building activities, students learn how to motivate and guide their peers while working toward common goals. These activities are a fun and engaging way for students to develop their leadership potential and learn the value of teamwork.
Leadership Activities for Students
Leadership activities for students are excellent ways to develop the qualities needed to become a strong leader. These activities help students learn to take initiative, make decisions, and work well with others. Leadership activities for students can include a wide variety of projects, such as organizing events, leading class discussions, or even taking on leadership roles in clubs or sports teams. These experiences help students build their confidence and develop the skills they will need in their future careers.
One common leadership activity for students is running a student club or organization. In these activities, students must coordinate meetings, plan events, and motivate other members to get involved. Another leadership activity for students is volunteering for leadership roles in school events, such as homecoming or graduation planning committees. By stepping up in these ways, students learn how to manage large projects and lead groups of people toward achieving specific goals.
Leadership activities for students can also include internships or mentoring opportunities, where students work alongside adult leaders or older peers to gain real-world leadership experience. Participating in these types of activities allows students to observe experienced leaders and learn from their actions. In addition, leadership activities for students often include opportunities for self-reflection, where students can evaluate their performance and identify areas for growth. These activities are valuable in helping students understand their strengths and areas for improvement as they develop into effective leaders.
3 Ways to get your leaders to SEE the OPPORTUNITY:
Leadership Starts with You, but it’s Not About You: help student leaders see the bigger picture in why they do what they do.
Bigger than Self Cause: help student leaders understand that leadership needs to be about something bigger than themselves.
Plug into your Passion: help student leaders find something that they are passionate about and then encourage them to use that passion to serve (lead) others.
We know that in order to build great programs we need leaders who lead from OPPORTUNITY, not obligation or compliance.
Free Student Leadership Activity & Lesson Plan
When there’s a job that must be done, where should a leader start? There are a handful of answers to this question, but not all of them are equally effective. We’ve designed this lesson plan so that your student leaders would have the opportunity to learn and truly understand one of the most important concepts behind great leadership: a unified outlook on the mission, the vision, and the values of the group.
If you’re looking for a lesson plan that will teach your student leaders how to rally together and create a focused, collaborated effort, then this is ideal for you. So, without further delay, here are the objectives and the link to the free lesson plan!
Leadership Objective
1. To have student leaders understand the importance of “pulling on the same side of the rope” with examples from real life.
2. To have student leaders know the importance of mission, vision, and values.
3. To have students leaders know the difference between a company with No Mission vs. Knowing the Mission vs. Being on a Mission.
Use This Simple Activity to Ignite Your Student Leaders
Have you or your leaders ever heard someone say:
- “We’ve always done it this way!
- Or, “It worked last year, so let’s just do it again this year.”
- Or even, “Why change anything? That’s just more work.”
These statements are completely DE-motivating to new and returning leaders in your program. They diminish any hope of creativity and freshness!
On the other hand, student leaders naturally want to CREATE, to make their own mark, to explore new roads to school spirit and service.
Here’s Our Leader Creativity Activity
That’s why we created this simple activity. It’s designed to help launch a discussion on how current student leaders can BUY into what your program is trying to accomplish.
My Favorite Decision-Making Tool for Leaders
In my last grad school class with Dr. Garcia, he handed me a sheet with a large oval in the middle. Around the outside of the oval were several small circles. He said, “JC, I like what you’re doing with TEEN TRUTH, but you’ll have some big decisions coming up. This little tool should help. Imagine that big oval is your giant meeting table, and the people on the outside of this table are your board of directors. They’ll help guide your decision process whenever you have questions or troubles.”
I understood the value of the exercise immediately, and filled that puppy out that same night. My board of directors included all of the heroes from my life: my parents, my old football coach, Martin Luther King, Dr. Garcia, and of course Batman.
That sheet has never steered me wrong, so I was delighted when TEEN TRUTH’s activity director, Stephen Admundson, submitted the exact same assignment for your student leaders!
CLICK HERE to download Dr. Garcia’s board of directors leadership activity.
My board of directors sits here at my desk for me to view anytime I need. The question is will you take the time to write down your board of directors? Or will you just pass this assignment on to your students?
My hope for you is that Dr. Garcia’s leadership activity can guide you and your students, just like it has for me.
A Quick But Effective Leadership Exercise
For this simple but effective leadership exercise, everyone needs a pen and a paper. Place a blank sheet of paper in front of you, in the landscape direction. And use the following script: We are all going on a vacation. Close your eyes. Keep them closed and I will tell you when it is okay to open them. We are going on a vacation to a tropical island, so draw an island in the middle of your paper.
- To the left of the island, draw a ship
- You are surrounded by water, so put some fish in the sea
- This is a tropical island, so put a palm tree on the island
- It is a nice day, so put some birds in the air
- That ship didn’t get there by itself, so put a sailor on the ship
- The sailor might get hungry, so put some coconuts on the palm tree
- Sailors like to see where they are going, so put portholes on the ship
- Sailors like to see entertainment, so draw a hula dancer on the island
- It is a sunny day, so put a sun in the sky
Okay everyone open your eyes and see how you did…200 points possible. Person with the most points wins!
- 10 points if your island is in the middle
- 10 points if your ship is to the left of the island, but not touching it
- 15 points if you have more than one fish
- 20 points if the base of the palm tree is on the island
- 15 points if more than two of the birds are in the air
- 20 points if the sailor is on the ship, not swimming
- 15 points if any coconut is on the tree
- 25 points if any porthole is on the ship
- 25 points if the hula dancer is dancing on the island
- 20 points is the sun is to the left
- 15 points if the sun is to the right
- 10 points if the sun is in the middle
LEADERSHIP LESSON EXPLANATION USING THE ACTIVITY EXPLAINED ABOVE:
- Don’t rush the PROCESS, rather enjoy it. Don’t be in a rush to get to the PRODUCT.
- Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance
- Trust the vision even though you can’t see the end product.
- Guidance is key. Model what you want others to do.
- Go Beyond. Go the 2nd Mile. Exceed Expectations. (More fish)
- Successful leaders have VISION.
- Take calculated risk. Don’t be afraid to “fail”.
- No idea (drawing) is a bad idea (drawing).
- Anticipate the little things and do them without being asked or told.
The Leadership Pyramid Progression Chart
As you meet with your student leaders to reflect on the past year, you may find this simple pyramid extremely helpful. The purpose of this tool is to guide your students to the next step of their leadership career. From the sort of leader who can handle only a few independent tasks all the to a leader who can make decisions autonomously with confidence, this chart will help point them to the next level.
Draw the pyramid on your board, and have students reflect on what each level means to them. Once you’ve highlighted the key components of each step, ask your students where they think they are and have them set goals for the future.
Four Levels of Leadership: https://fourseasonsofschoolculture.com/four-levels-of-leadership/
Each step in this process is an important developmental stage, and it’s a good idea to encourage your students to be honest with themselves and to recognize that, regardless of where they are starting, simply by taking the time to analyze their current leadership skills, they are utilizing an important ability which will improve them as leaders and as students.
Building Better School Leaders One Activity At A Time
If you end up using any of these student leadership activities, we’d love to hear how it goes!
For even more leadership resources check out:
JC Pohl, LMFT
President & CEO, TEEN TRUTH
