christopher bakerwww.musicstudentinfo.com

freelance musician & enterpriseleadership

Lesson Aims

• To introduce the concept of leadership to students• To introduce the importance of leadership in various situations

Lesson Outcomes

• All students will know what is meant by leadership in a variety of situations.

• They will have taken part in leadership exercises both as a leader and as part of the group.

• Most students will also have had the opportunity to be an observer and have commented on the leadership of others.

• Some students will also have had the opportunity to evaluate their own leadership potential.

Starter 5mins

Think about leadership. For example:“Learning and Leadership are indispensible to each other”. (John F. Kennedy)“The art of leadership is saying no, not yes. It is very easy to say yes”. (Tony Blair)“Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower”. (Steve Jobs, CEO and founder of Apple Inc.)

Starter 5mins

• Students• What makes a leader? • What are three characteristics of a leader? • Share your thoughts with a neighbor and compare

answers.

Be prepared to lead a group!

• Work in small groups. • During each activity, one person will be the leader

another will be an observer who will give feedback.• Allow three minutes in each session to give feedback. • Each leadership task should only last seven to 10

minutes. • The activities will mainly be discussions among the

group which have to solve a problem or lead to later activities.

Be prepared to lead a group!

• Each leadership activity is in a separate envelope and you will not see it until it is your turn to lead.

• The leader for each task will have to explain the activity to the group – the rest of the group cannot read the activity.

• The leader is responsible for making sure the group stays within the time limit and completes the tasks.

Activity

• Divide into groups of four and each group to sit on one of the tables.

• Then move from table to table completing the activities in the envelope.

• There are time limits and to choose a leader who must read out the task to the rest of the group.

• After each time slot, the groups must move to the next table.

LEADERSHIP ACTIVITY

• Work around each of the FOUR Leadership Activities

PLENARY

(This is an on-going activity in the feedback and discussions with the observers)

Extension/Home learning

Students to carry out the following activities:

a) Answer the questions: How much of a leader are they? Do they want to be more of a leader? Whatwill they do to improve their leadership qualities?b) Look at the teamwork section of the Merrill Lynch principles and decide which of these needleadership qualities as well as team qualities.

PTO for activities

Leadership activity 1

The group is lost on the moors during a night walk. The leader must make sure that the group is safe for the night and that they have a plan to get them back to base in the morning. Lead the group through a discussion about what needs to be done to make this happen. The group is quite well equipped with a tent and sleeping bags. They have only the food they are all carrying.

Leadership activity 2

The group has thought of an idea for a new product. The product is a new electric kettle that uses half the energy of the older design. The leader wants the group to come up with a new name and logo for the kettle which has to fit with the name of the company which is “We Boil for You”. If there is time the leader will ask the group to start thinking about how they can advertise the kettle.

Leadership activity 3

The group has to transport a vital component for a scanner to a hospital 300 miles away. It is a very fragile item which will need careful handling and packing. The leader has to lead the group in a discussion to decide how the item will be packed and how it will be transported to the hospital. The leader will need to use the discussion to find out the skill levels of each person so that they can decide who will carry out which parts of the task. By the end of the discussion the leader will have decided a method of packing and transporting the item. They will tell the group which part they will be carrying out and how the whole idea fits together.

Leadership activity 4

The group has to organize a party for eight children aged 4 -5 years old in a nursery. The leader will lead the group in a discussion of what they need to do for the party to be a success. By the end of the discussion the leader will have assessed the different skills of the people involved and be able to tell the group what will happen at the party, and what each person in the group will be doing at the time of the party.