Are you in search of some situational leadership activities?
In today’s dynamic work environment, the ability to adapt your leadership style to meet the needs of your team and the situation at hand is crucial. Situational leadership fosters flexibility, ensuring teams remain effective and harmonious.
In this article, let’s see 10 team building activities for developing situational leadership skills in the workplace. These exercises can help your employees understand different leadership styles, and respond quickly to challenges.
10 Situational Leadership Activities for the Workplace
Here are some engaging team building exercises to boost situational leadership skills among your employees:
#1. Leadership Simulation Game
This exercise hones adaptability and understanding of various leadership styles in dynamic situations.
Time: 10-20 minutes
Materials: Scenario cards, and leadership style cards
Participants: Any number of people in a group
Instructions
- Divide the participants into groups, giving each several scenario cards depicting different business challenges. Scenario examples could include handling a tight project deadline, resolving a team conflict, or driving innovation in a complacent team.
- Provide each group with a set of leadership style cards (e.g., autocratic, democratic, laissez-faire, transformational, etc.).
- Groups select the most appropriate leadership style for each scenario, discussing their choice and reasoning.
Debrief
During the debrief, discuss why certain leadership styles were chosen for specific scenarios. Highlight the importance of adapting leadership styles to fit different situations and how they can positively impact team dynamics and performance.
#2. Leadership Role Play
This activity focuses on practicing situational leadership skills in a safe and controlled environment.
Time: 15-20 minutes
Materials: Scenario cards
Participants: Pairs
Instructions
- Divide the participants into pairs, with one person acting as the leader and the other as an employee.
- Provide them with a scenario card depicting a common workplace situation (e.g., an employee asking for a raise, or a team member not meeting deadlines).
- The leader must be assigned a particular leadership style to handle the scenario while the employee acts out their role.
- After the role play, switch roles and assign a different style to the leader.
Debrief
Facilitate a conversation about how different leadership styles influenced the outcomes of the role play scenarios. Emphasize the importance of adaptability and understanding the needs of team members in leadership roles.
#3. Feedback Loop Exercise
This activity is designed to fine-tune the communication skills integral to effective leadership. It emphasizes the critical nature of feedback in nurturing a team’s growth and development.
Time: 15-20 minutes
Materials: Feedback scenario cards, and feedback guidelines sheet
Participants: Small groups of 3-6 members
Instructions
- Distribute a feedback scenario card and a feedback guidelines sheet to each group. Each card presents a different situation where feedback is necessary (e.g., a project completed with great success or a task that didn’t meet expectations).
- Group members take turns practicing giving constructive feedback to one another, adhering to the guidelines provided.
- After each round of feedback, the group discusses what was effective and what could be improved. They must do it by focusing on the manner and content of the feedback delivered.
Debrief
Facilitate a group conversation about the experience of giving and receiving feedback. Highlight the role of empathy, specificity, and actionability in constructive feedback.
#4. The Trust Bridge
This activity is designed to construct a figurative “bridge” of trust through shared experiences and open communication.
Time: You decide
Materials: Personal story prompts
Participants: Teams of 3-6 members
Instructions
- Begin by sharing an unexpected personal story that portrays a challenge or vulnerability, encouraging team members to do the same.
- Engage in a guided discussion where each member reflects on the stories shared, focusing on the themes of trust and overcoming obstacles.
- Facilitate a trust circle, where team members express what trust means to them and how it can be strengthened within the team.
Debrief
Discuss the pivotal role of mutual trust in a team’s dynamics and its direct correlation to enhanced collaboration and efficiency. Identify actionable steps to foster a deeper sense of trust among team members moving forward.
#5. The Leadership Ladder
This activity helps team members understand their preferred style and encourages them to explore other styles as well. It is one of the best situational leadership activities.
Time: You decide
Materials: Situation cards
Participants: Teams of 3-8 members
Instructions
- Introduce the Leadership Ladder chart, illustrating a range from autocratic to laissez-faire leadership styles.
- Provide situation cards to each team, each depicting a unique management scenario (e.g., handling a tight project deadline or managing a conflict within the team).
- Participants decide where they would place themselves on the ladder for each situation, explaining their choice to their team.
- Teams discuss how different styles could lead to different outcomes in each scenario.
Debrief
Reflect on the variety of leadership styles preferred in different situations. Identify the benefits of versatility in leadership approaches and the impact on team dynamics as well as outcomes.
#6. The Creative Quotient
This activity aims to unlock the creative potential of each member, allowing the team to explore unconventional solutions to challenges.
Time: You decide
Materials: Art supplies (markers, paper, clay, etc.), and problem scenarios
Participants: 3-6 individuals in a group
Instructions
- Present a common problem scenario and challenge teams to come up with the most creative solutions using any of the provided art supplies.
- Encourage teams to think beyond conventional approaches, fostering an environment where wild ideas are welcomed and valued.
- Each team presents their creative solutions, explaining the thought process and how it could be realistically applied.
Debrief
Highlight the importance of creativity in navigating complex issues and the value of diverse thinking styles. Discuss how fostering a creative environment can lead to innovative outcomes and solutions that might not emerge through traditional problem-solving methods.
#7. The Empathy Exercise
This activity is designed to enhance understanding and compassion among team members. It is one of the amazing situational leadership activities for the workplace.
Time: You decide
Materials: Scenario cards, and Reflection notepads
Participants: Any number of people in a group
Instructions
- Distribute scenario cards detailing personal and professional challenges that someone might face.
- Ask team members to reflect on how they would feel and what actions they would take if they were in those situations.
- Facilitate a group discussion where participants share their reflections, focusing on the emotions involved and the importance of understanding diverse perspectives.
Debrief
Summarize the session by emphasizing how empathy promotes a supportive work environment where everyone feels heard and valued. Highlight the impact of empathy on collaboration, problem-solving, and overall team morale.
#8. The Future-Forward Brainstorm
This activity is geared towards stretching the team’s future-thinking skills. It encourages your team to think ahead and envision innovative solutions that could meet the needs of tomorrow’s world.
Time: You decide
Materials: Large poster boards, markers, and sticky notes
Participants: Small groups of 3-6 members
Instructions
- Split the team into small groups and assign each a sector (technology, healthcare, environment, etc.).
- Challenge them to identify potential future trends or issues within their sector.
- Each group brainstorms innovative solutions or products that could address these future challenges.
- Groups then present their ideas, discussing the potential impact and feasibility.
Debrief
Wrap up by reflecting on the importance of forward-thinking in the workplace. Discuss how anticipating future trends can not only avert crises but also uncover opportunities for growth and innovation.
#9. The Delegation Wall
This activity allows team members to visualize their workload and practice delegating tasks effectively.
Time: 10-20 minutes
Materials: Sticky notes, markers, and a whiteboard
Participants: 3-8 members in a group
Instructions
- Distribute sticky notes and markers to all members of the group.
- Instruct each individual to jot down the tasks they usually manage on a sticky note and display them on the whiteboard.
- Facilitate a group discussion to identify tasks that can be assigned to different members. Then, have these tasks placed beneath the corresponding group member’s name.
Debrief
Explore how delegation is not a one-size-fits-all approach but should be adaptive, mirroring the principles of situational leadership. It’s crucial to recognize that the effective assignment of tasks depends on both the context of the work and the capabilities of team members.
#10. Plane Crash
This activity is designed to spark creativity and group decision-making under pressure. Here the participants must work together to survive a hypothetical plane crash scenario.
Time: 10-20 minutes
Materials: A list of items
Participants: 3-8 members in a group
Instructions
- Start by presenting the group with a scenario where their plane has crash-landed in a remote location. They have a list of items that survived the crash, but they can only take a limited number to ensure their survival.
- Distribute a list of 10-20 items like a compass, rope, first-aid kit, water bottles, etc.
- Instruct the group to discuss and make a list of the top 5 items they will take with them in order of importance.
- Give them a time limit of 10 minutes to reach a decision as a group.
Debrief
Discuss how the group made their decision and the importance of collaboration as well as critical thinking under pressure. Emphasize the value of working together in a team to overcome challenges and achieve a common goal.
Want Some Unique Leadership Development Activities?
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Or Want Some Unique Team Building Activities?
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Final Words
As a leader, it’s important to recognize when to delegate tasks and how to adapt your approach based on the situation. Developing situational leadership skills is essential for any team to be successful. Hopefully, the above activities can help your employees achieve that and build a stronger, more cohesive team.