39 Best Leadership Activities and Games for Effective Team Development

Good leaders can make or break a team. While more and more people are being asked to step into leadership roles, the path to becoming a good leader is long and not always straightforward. This is where leadership activities come in. Leadership activities are a great way of developing the skills and competencies needed to be an effective leader.

What are leadership activities?

Leadership activities are exercises designed to help develop leadership skills and enable leaders to be more effective in their roles. They can include activities that help train new leaders and improve core leadership skills like problem-solving, active listening, or effective group management. You’ll also find that the best leadership development activities give leaders tools and techniques they can use on the job. It’s one thing to know that leaders need to be good listeners, but quite another to be given a framework and toolkit that means you are a great listener who always helps their team feel heard and understood.

Core Leadership Competencies

Anyone in a leadership role has both a big influence and responsibility for their team. In order to be a good leader, there are several aspects they need to pay attention to:

• Setting the climate of a workplace
• Making decisions
• Inspiring team members
• Setting values for their team
• Improving team spirit and cohesion
• Being responsible for their team’s communication and wellbeing
• Developing leadership skills in other team members

The Importance of Leadership Development

Learning the why and how of being a great leader alongside practical techniques and frameworks is one of the easiest ways to become a better leader. It's not easy to learn these skills, especially when so many leaders don't receive effective training or support. Using exercises and activities to improve leadership skills in a safe, experiential environment can help leaders be more effective in their role. Leadership activities are also effective at introducing leadership concepts and learning how to solve common leadership challenges.

Implementing Training and Workshops

There are a number of tools to help you with leadership development. Coaching, peer support circles, and leadership development workshops can all help one to become a better leader. You might run these leadership training activities during a workshop, add them to an ongoing learning program or simply introduce them to managers as needed. A bespoke leadership development workshop is also a natural place to include these activities. A well-structured and carefully designed agenda is the foundation of an effective session.

To summarize the focus areas, here is a breakdown of leadership development components: