Leading – Is Anyone Following

“A leader with no followers is just a guy taking a walk.”

Category: Breakout Session
Prerequisites: None
Activity Level: Low
Time:45 minutes to 2 hours
Location: Indoor / Outdoor

A Glimpse into Leading – Is Anyone Following?:

Many of us want to lead.  But if we are all leading, who is following?  In order to be good leaders, we must also be good followers and know when to be which.

This activity is about leading, following, trusting and communicating.

Many leadership styles emerge during this event. Some find it difficult to be responsible for another person’s safety and others find it exhilarating. To trust or give up control can be very hard for some people.

Some Details:

After pairing up, each individual takes turns leading the other person through obstacles and overcoming adversity. While a very simplistic activity, many people find it difficult to trust their partner and find they will ‘cheat’.

Because it is so simple, very few people take the time to strategize or find out exactly how far ‘X’ number of steps is for their partner. This create the scenario for a great lesson in coaching — we need to communicate with other people the way THEY hear it best, not the way WE hear it best. This is an activity every manager should master before going back to work!

With several variations, you can run this activity with both pairs alone and then all the pairs together at the same time to create a completely different level of communication.

Who should be interested in this session?

This activity is perfect for a group who must instruct or direct anyone. The need for good, clear communication in a style that the receiver will hear best is a VERY difficult concept to PRACTICE. You can tell someone all day long in the classroom, but try and actually do it. We instinctually refer back to what we know — that is our default. As supervisors, educators, managers, we need to be sure we are communicating in a way that the recipient will understand it.

Whatever the experience, this is a powerful learning opportunity. This exercise is a great way to start or finish an event, meeting, workshop or any other function in which it would be valuable for some self-examination and how you impact your group or team.