11 Exciting Leadership Activities for Teens

A motivated, confident, and responsible child wins the hearts of everyone in society. He can reach his educational, social, and moral heights. He can play a constructive role within society.

We have to give our children education as well as leadership training in a fun way. Methods that they find fun as well as effective in learning.

To develop leadership skills and qualities in teens and kids, we have come up with 11 interesting, engaging, and leadership-focused activities and games for your children to instill the qualities of the best leaders in your children in a structured way.

So let’s get started.

Key skills that teens can develop through leadership activities:

Here are six basic building blocks of a great leader’s personality:

  1. Communication: Leaders are good communicators. Speaking well, speaking sweetly, and speaking with confidence make a leader stand out from the crowd.
  2. Teamwork: A leader knows how to get everyone together, work together, and get things done. He understands the importance of teamwork and fosters cooperation and trust among all members.
  3. Decision-Making: A leader has the ability to make a decision and then to stand firmly by his decision.
  4. Adaptability: Dealing with unexpected challenges and changes is also a great trait of a good leader. He controls the situation by keeping his nerves under control.
  5. Empathy: It is a sign of a good leader that he understands the emotions inside the words. He can listen to the unspoken words. He can feel the unexpressed feelings. 
  6. Problem-Solving: Leaders solve others problems. They know how to solve problems. They prioritize solving problems and put others before themselves.

11 Highly effective leadership activities for teens

These 11 activities can be very helpful in developing leadership qualities and skills in teenagers. We have carefully prepared this list for your kids and teens. If you do it with focus and consistency, the results will meet your expectations.

These easy and simple activities can be easily incorporated into daily life routines and are useful for children of all personalities and temperaments alike.

1. Trust Fall

An activity can be performed for many purposes, but your focus defines what results you want. A trust fall is an activity that can build trust, a very important component of the leadership skill set. It can be played with two players or with small teams. It also has an element of excellent communication.

Steps to perform:

  1. Because this activity involves falling and catching, you have to be careful that no child accidentally falls.
  2. Children should stand in a circle in an open space and be well aware of the rules and instructions of this activity.
  3. Pair them in such a way that one of them is the “faller” and the other is the “catcher.” Tell the catcher that his entire focus should be on catching his partner and keeping him from falling.
  4. Tell them that the faller will stand with his back to the catcher
  5. Switch turns after each activity and then give everyone a chance to share their experience of how they felt.
  6. When the faller falls believing that he will not be allowed to fall, will sow the seed of trust in his mind.

In this way, you can enjoy the activity by performing it best while focusing on the desired results. It can also polish the leadership qualities of your kids and teens in a better way.

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2. Human Knots

This activity is a well-known team-building activity that is played all over the world. It focuses on three basic building blocks of team building which are communication, collaboration, and problem-solving. By focusing on these things in this activity, you can develop your children’s leadership skills.

Steps to perform:

  1. If there is a group of 5 to 10 participants, then this activity can be performed well and there will be no complications.
  2. Gather participants in a circle.
  3. Have them stand shoulder to shoulder, facing the center.
  4. Instruct everyone to reach across the circle and grab the hand of someone standing across from them (but not someone directly next to them).
  5. Ask participants to raise their other hand and reach across the circle again to grab a different person’s hand.
  6. Participants will now be entangled in a human knot.
  7. Explain that the goal is to untangle the knot without letting go of each other’s hands.
  8. Participants must work together to step over, under, and around each other to unravel the knot.

Your discussion and reflection at the end of the activity are of primary importance. In this, explain the children’s personal experiences in terms of your desired outcomes and expectations, and give them time to focus on the actual results.

3. Marshmallow Challenge: Designing the tallest freestanding structure

Activities are the best source of enjoyment as well as learning in a well-structured way. When these activities are performed while focusing on leadership skills, you will begin to see positive changes in your children’s leadership qualities. In this leadership-focused activity, the following skills are involved:

  • Teamwork
  • Critical thinking
  • Collaboration
  • Communication.

Materials Needed:

  • Spaghetti sticks (around 20 per team)
  • One marshmallow per team
  • String or tape
  • Scissors
  • Measuring tape or ruler
  • Timer or stopwatch

Steps to perform:

  1. Make small teams of all the children with five or more members.
  2. Explain that the objective is to build the tallest free-standing structure that can support the marshmallow on top.
  3. Mix all the materials, make the same sets, and give one set to each team.
  4. Set a time limit, usually 15–20 minutes, and start.
  5. Teams work together to plan, design, and construct their structures using the only provided materials.
  6. The marshmallow should be on top, not on the side or suspended.
  7. The height of the structure built will determine the victory or defeat of any team.

At the end of the activity, bring everyone together and review the problems they faced during the activity, their solutions, and the strategies adopted to solve them. Discuss the steps that can be taken to improve them. Reviewing can be very beneficial for learning new leadership skills.

4. Egg Drop Challenge: Engineering the Perfect Solution

The Egg Drop Challenge is an endearing and popular activity for team building and leadership development among youth. It incorporates leadership and many other life skills such as creativity, problem-solving, effective communication, and teamwork. These skills are of great importance to children’s practical lives and play a vital role in their social, emotional, and academic success.

Materials Needed:

  • Eggs (preferably raw)
  • Various building materials (e.g., straws, popsicle sticks, cotton balls, rubber bands, tape, balloons, newspapers, plastic cups, etc.)
  • Scissors
  • Markers

Steps to perform:

  • The first thing you need to do is gather all the children together, explain the rules of the activity and make the purpose of playing it clear.
  • Then you have to make a team of three to five children with mixed qualities.
  • Then the sets of materials that you have made are to be given to each team.
  • Then set a reasonable amount of time in which you feel these activities can be easily completed (usually about 30 minutes) and set the timer.
  • Then you challenge each team to drop the egg from a certain height and see if the egg survives or breaks.
  • Encourage children during the activity. And get them to share their experiences after the activity.
  • Facilitate a debrief session. Review and focus on teamwork, problem-solving, communication, and leadership skills demonstrated during the challenge.

5. Blindfolded Obstacle Course

Communication is the key to leadership qualities, and communication skills, trust, and leadership skills are especially focused on in this fun activity. It helps improve children’s active listening and understanding skills in a fun way.

Materials Needed:

  • Blindfolds
  • Obstacles (papers, chairs, bottles, bags, etc.)
  • Space to set up the course (outdoors or in a large empty room)

Steps to perform:

  • Scatter all the materials in the selected area and create an obstacle course with a starting point and an endpoint.
  • Form teams of three children, with one child blindfolded and two children leading with instructions.
  • The blindfolded child starts at the beginning of the path and has to make it to the end with the verbal help of two other children.
  • When the child reaches the end, he says which child’s guidance helped him more and made it easier to move forward.
  • You can perform this activity by making different courses according to your convenience.

At the end of this activity, share the children’s experiences with each other and emphasize the importance of effective communication.

Related article: Conflict resolution for kids (+ free printable worksheets)

6. Student Government: A leadership learning source

Student government, also known as student council or student body government, is an organization within a school that represents the student body, advocates for student interests, and plans and organizes various school activities and events.

It can be a great way to demonstrate and polish the leadership qualities of children practically.

In these types of exercises, children practice their leadership skills properly, which gives them a real taste of leadership and challenges along the way. Which automatically brings about many positive changes within them. They also develop their personalities, their leadership skills, and many other related skills that are obtained as by-products.

Benefits:

  • Fosters leadership skills and civic engagement among students
  • Provides students with the opportunity to actively participate in shaping their school environment
  • Creates a sense of community and school pride through organized activities and events
  • Teaches responsibility, teamwork, and communication skills

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7. Public Speaking Competitions: Developing confidence in a public

It is very important to have self-confidence in a leader. Self-confidence is not necessarily innate; it can be acquired. The great public speakers of the world were not born with self-confidence, but they gained a lot of skills and made a name for themselves in the world.

  • To acquire this leadership quality, make children start with small steps and gradually increase.
  • Give the kids or teens a simple, easy topic to speak about in front of you first.
  • Let them express the knowledge they have acquired about this topic for five minutes.
  • When the time limit is over, then ask the child questions about that topic.
  • Then gradually, give them opportunities to speak to smaller audiences on similar topics. In this way, you will see an automatic, gradual increase in their self-confidence over time.

Related article: 109 Conversation starters for teens (Let’s talk confidently)

8. Escape Room: Solving puzzles and escaping under pressure

Escape room activities have their own special place within teenage leadership development. Like other leadership activities, it can also be a fun and engaging way to develop a teen’s essential skills, such as problem-solving, teamwork, communication, and critical thinking. 

Materials Needed:

  • Themed room or space
  • Puzzles and challenges (locks, riddles, hidden objects, codes, etc.)
  • Timer or stopwatch
  • Clue cards or instructions

Steps to play:

  • First, set the room according to the theme.
  • All the puzzles and challenges within it are arranged accordingly.
  •  Hide clues and objects in different places.
  • Then, after that, call all the children and tell them the roles of the activity.
  • When all are ready, start the timer. Usually, its time is 60 minutes, but you can adjust for your convenience.
  • Children then solve these puzzles and challenges, find clues, cooperate, collaborate, and communicate with each other.
  • Find clues and instruction cards, and complete their mission accordingly.
  • The goal is to solve all the challenges and escape from the room before the time runs out.

After the activity, all the children are brought together for a debrief session, in which all challenges, memorable moments, and potential improvements are discussed, focusing on their desired outcomes and leadership skills. goes, so that its indelible marks are recorded in the minds of children.

9. Role Reversal: Understand different perspectives

As the name shows, roll reversal means taking or acting out someone else’s role. Its main purpose is to understand others’ points of view, perspectives, and feelings, which is an excellent leadership trait and is very important for teenagers. It is an excellent activity to understand the feelings of others in a particular situation.

Steps to play:

  • First, explain the concept of the activity to the children.
  • Then create a specific scenario or situation in which the children are told their roles. For example, consider a scenario where siblings argue about sharing toys. One can take on the role of the older sibling, and the other can take on the role of the younger sibling.
  • Challenge them to think about how to behave in that situation and suggest the best ways to handle such a situation.
  • In this way, they will be able to understand each other’s feelings in different situations.
  • When they practice these roles, they will be able to prepare themselves to actually face such a challenge. 

It is an excellent activity for developing leadership qualities in children and is also very popular.

Related article: 33 Focused Self-care Activities for Teens

10. Outdoor Survival Challenge: Build resourcefulness and teamwork

The leadership quality hidden within a person emerges when he faces challenges. When faced with difficulties, the strength to fight them increases.

Imagine a scenario in which a person is alone or with a few people. There are limited resources. If a problem arises, how should it be addressed given the limited resources available? And to get yourself and your colleagues out of this trouble?

When teenagers work together in a simulated outdoor scenario to figure out a way to survive, they develop critical thinking skills and learn to work together for common interests. Resourcefulness skills are learned, so survival skills within a challenging environment are a means of leadership training within adolescents.

Related article: 17 Exciting Outdoor games for teens

11. Community Service Project: For civic responsibility and teamwork

Selfless service can lead to unprecedented leadership improvement in youth. 

Acts of kindness increase feelings of compassion in the heart. The spirit of goodness arises in the mind. The seed of putting others before oneself and considering their needs grows in thoughts, which is one of the traits and characteristics of leaders.

Doing work for others and helping others instills gratitude in a person. Gratitude is especially designated in leadership training for teens and kids.

All you have to do is complete a community service project selflessly from start to finish.

After that, arrange a follow-up session and share the good experiences of all the group members. In this session, focus on your desired results and encourage them to cheerfully participate in more such activities in the future.

Lead by Example Free Leadership Worksheet:

I’ve created a great PDF worksheet focusing on developing your teen’s leadership qualities. You can download it for free and solve it with your kids or teens and speed up their leadership development process.

Download the worksheet here.

Specific leadership programs or organizations tailored for teens

He who seeks finds. When you embark on the path of developing leadership in your children, you will surely find your destination.

To reach the destination, leaving the home and walking on the road is the first condition. You will find many paths and doors open, some of which are as follows:

Examples include:

  • Youth Leadership Program: These programs organize workshops, seminars, and mentoring opportunities to develop leadership skills.
  • Scouting Organizations: Scouts and similar groups teach leadership, outdoor skills, and community service.
  • Youth Councils: Many cities and regions have such councils. Check them out. There is sure to be an organization in your area that your children can benefit from.
  • Volunteer Organizations: These organizations focus on community service. Involvement in such selfless activities can inculcate many qualities in your children for the betterment of society.

How can teenagers incorporate leadership activities into their daily lives?

Below are some tips. Teenagers can easily incorporate these activities into their daily routine lives. Yes, they can master leadership skills. Let them prove themselves to be good future leaders.

  • Tip one is, set daily, weekly, and monthly goals. Then teens must break these goals down into small steps. It will pave the way for you. It will enable you to face bigger challenges.
  • Tip two is, make active listening a part of your life. Whether it’s at school, at home, or with friends. This habit will greatly ease your path. This is a personality trait of great leaders.
  • Tip three is, Remember! There are lessons to be learned from both success and failure. Accept accountability with grace. You are responsible fo your decisions and actions.
  • Tip four, promote teamwork and cooperation. Actively participate in group projects. Play your role in building trust among members.
  • Tip five is: Integrity, empathy, and resilience are the core qualities of leadership. Don’t miss them. Always associate them with your personality.
  • Tip six, challenges require a solution-oriented mindset. Think critically. Find innovative ways to solve problems.
  • Last but not the least, participate in volunteer work. Show your passion, enthusiasm, and dedication.

Challenges teenagers often face when participating in leadership activities

If the goals are big, then the passions should also be big. Challenges are overcome with great passions. After each domination, the personality of a person becomes better than before. And after conquering every challenge, the growth of human personality increases significantly.

In the human mind automatically the idea starts to arise that “Yes, I can do it”, “Yes, I am capable of it”, “Yes, I have that much ability.”

Teenagers may face the challenges like: 

Parents and educators need to provide guidance and support to help teens overcome these obstacles. If children get a supportive environment at home and at school, many challenges will automatically disappear. Because it will cause courage and motivation.

Related article: 14 Focused conflict resolution activities for teens

How to overcome resistance or reluctance along the way towards goal achievement?

Teenagers may resist participating in leadership activities because of fear of failure, lack of interest, or social anxiety.

Some practical tips to overcome resistance:

  • Start Small: Take manageable leadership roles initially.
  • Highlight Interests: Don’t force youth to do something uninteresting. Help them find leadership opportunities that match their personality and mood.
  • Emphasize Personal Growth: Instill in them how important these activities are to their personal lives and future success.
  • Lead by Example: Have you had any leadership experience? How was it? What did you learn? Sharing is a good thing. It will cause motivation.
  • Provide Support: Offer guidance.Your emotional support throughout their leadership journey will multiply their courage.

How can teenagers balance their studies with leadership development?

It’s possible with effective time management and organization.

Teens should prioritize their studies. If they allocate dedicated time for leadership activities, they can easily balance their work life routine. Parents and educators should consider themselves responsible for providing guidance on effective time management to their youth.

Leadership opportunities available within school settings

Schools offer various leadership opportunities for students, including student government, clubs, sports teams, and academic organizations. These roles allow teens to develop leadership skills in a familiar and structured environment.

You may also like: 31 Focused Executive functioning activities

How can teenagers use their leadership skills to make a positive impact on their communities?

Teenagers can make a positive impact on their communities by:

  • Engaging in volunteer work and service projects that address local needs
  • Raising awareness about important issues through campaigns and social media
  • Mentoring younger students or peers to share their leadership knowledge
  • Demonstrating responsible and ethical behavior in their communities.

Infographic: Leadership activities for teens

It’s never too late to step into leadership development. Incorporate leadership qualities into your children’s personalities in interesting ways. Developing leadership during the teenage years is even more important and beneficial. For this purpose we have prepared a beautiful and leadership-activities-focused infographic for your kids and teens that is given below. Take advantage of it.

A beautiful and eye-catching infographic describing the leadership activities for teens with relevant images and steps to perform those activities

Conclusion:

Such activities are not only a source of enjoyment, but they are also a great way to learn many lifelong skills. You will get similar results depending on what you focus on within the activity. It means you focus the activity and target it towards your desired outcome.

These activities are very interesting, engaging, and easy to perform with kids and teens. These are excellent tools for leadership training, learning, and development.

Now you can do them in your classroom. Can be done with children whenever they want and can be adjusted for their own convenience. 

These different activities promote teamwork and active listening in your children, instill confidence, improve their communication skills, and make them emphatically active.

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