best leadership presentations

Home Inspiring Leadership Now

30 of the best ted talks on leadership that every great leader should watch – 2nd edition.

Last updated: 4 March 2020

>> Pssst! Want to discover insider secrets from some of the most dynamic and inspirational leaders and entrepreneurs? Join our Leader’s Edge 14-day free trial to receive practical tools on how to be a leader, run a business and live a successful, fulfilling life!

Love inspiring Ted Talks on leadership? So do we!

That’s why we put together this list of our  crème de la crème TED Talks on leadership.

So next time you’re needing a little boost, take a 20-minute break to listen to one of these and learn from some of the most forward-thinking and innovative experts to discover what’s given them their little-known edge.

1.  How Great Leaders Inspire Action , by Simon Sinek

With more than 29 million views , Simon Sinek is now on the A-List of leadership gurus, after he gave this incredible talk.

As Sinek himself says, “As it turns out, all the great inspiring leaders and organizations in the world, whether it’s Apple or Martin Luther King, Jr. or the Wright brothers, they all think, act and communicate the exact same way. And it’s the complete opposite to everyone else. All I did was codify it, and it’s probably the world’s simplest idea. I call it the Golden Circle.”

For Sinek, the difference between these inspirational leaders and everyone else is they start with “why,” which is the core concept of his Golden Circle . By asking why, how and what, you can set yourself on a trajectory of tremendous success that, statistically speaking, very few people attain.

2.  The Puzzle of Motivation , by Dan Pink

To be an effective leader, you need to know what makes people “tick,” and especially what motivates them in the workplace to give you their best. Interestingly enough, money only takes you so far.

In this compelling video –which has clocked over 13 million views – Pink (author of  Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us ) untangles the web of motivation in a way that makes sense for leaders. Here’s a hint : traditional rewards aren’t always as motivating as we think.

3.  Why We Have Too Few Women Leaders , by Sheryl Sandberg

Sandberg left Google to become Facebook’s COO in 2008. In this video, she looks at why so few women make it to the C-suite, and offers up three important pieces of advice to women who want to buck the trend and get there. The key, in Sandberg’s view, is ensuring women remain in the workforce.

As it turns out, having more women remain in the workforce has other positive benefits on society and households, such as equal earning and equal responsibility between partners. As Sandberg notes, households that demonstrate this equality also have half the divorce rate.

4.  The Difference Between Winning and Succeeding , by John Wooden

To be a successful leader, what better place to start than by defining exactly what you mean by success? The man affectionately known as “Coach” redefines success to be much more than merely winning. Coach James Wooden explains this difference with profound simplicity, and urges everyone to pursue the best in themselves. The Coach’s 17-minute talk is uplifting as much as it is inspiring.

5.  What Makes us Feel Good About Our Work ? By Dan Ariely

Dan Ariely is a behavioral economist who has gained a deeper understanding of human motivation than most economists could ever hope for. He even designed experiments that would help solve the mystery of motivation, which is what this video is all about.

As it turns out, money isn’t the only thing that motivates us to work. It isn’t exactly joy, either. The real motivation for going to work every day is to make constant progress and lead a life of purpose . Strong leaders care about the bottom line, but are about much more than that. They have a sense of purpose, and get out of bed every single day to fulfill it.

6.  Why Good Leaders Make You Feel Safe , by Simon Sinek

Simon Sinek’s material is so good that he’s the only one to appear twice on this list. You know building trust among your followers is important, but actually doing it is another thing entirely.

Sinek’s video on the topic will take your understanding of trust to a whole new level. After all, humans are emotional species who struggle with insecurities and vulnerabilities. A good leader brings his or her employees into a circle of trust. This is especially important in today’s economy, where jobs are destroyed as fast as they are created. Leaders have a responsibility to make their workers feel safe.

7.  Dare to Disagree , by Margaret Heffernan

When it comes to forming your dream team, the last thing you should do is surround yourself with what Heffernan calls “echo chambers” who only tell you what they think you want to hear. Mastering the art of disagreement is essential to effective leadership. Leaders must also be willing to cope with others disagreeing with them. Only through disagreement are ideas challenged.

Hefferman outlines a rubric for avoiding echo chambers and allowing ourselves to experience what she calls constructive conflict.

“So what does that kind of constructive conflict require? Well, first of all, it requires that we find people who are very different from ourselves. That means we have to resist the neurobiological drive, which means that we really prefer people mostly like ourselves, and it means we have to seek out people with different backgrounds, different disciplines, different ways of thinking and different experience, and find ways to engage with them. That requires a lot of patience and a lot of energy.”

8.  Lead Like The Great Conductors , by Itay Talgam

You’ve no doubt heard leadership described through the metaphor of conducting an orchestra. Itay Talgam operationalizes that metaphor by sharing what leaders can learn from 6 different 20th-century conductors. Don’t worry, this TED Talk requires no formal background (or interest) in the symphony.

Talgam describes the “magical moment” when a conductor turns chaos into blissful music. It’s a very small gesture, “not very pomp, not very sophisticated.” And suddenly, out of the chaos, noise becomes music.

9.  As Work Gets More Complex, Six Rules to Simplify , by Yves Morieux

Everyone knows that a staggering number of people are disengaged from their work. Yves Morieux argues that our reaction to the unfathomable complexity of modern work has a lot to do with that disengagement. Traditional organizational management certainly doesn’t help, either. His antidote includes 6 refreshing ways to engage in what he calls “smart simplicity.” The first rule is understand what your colleagues actually do. This is especially important for business leaders if they wish to simply the workplace and boost employee engagement.

10.  What It Takes To Be A Great Leader , by Roselinde Torres

Roselinde Torres has developed a deep understanding of what makes leaders effective. She poses 3 laser-like questions that will spur your own thinking on what it takes to be a great leader.

In a world filled with executive leadership programs and expensive seminars, Torres argues the best way to learn leadership might be right under your nose. Torres’ 9-minute talk is candid and to the point.

11.  A Life of Purpose , by Rick Warren

His book, Purpose-Driven Life, has sold more than 30 million copies. The church he pastors, Saddleback Church, has more than 22,000 members. Clearly, Rick Warren understands a few things about leadership.

This video is an intimate presentation of his own thoughts and crises around leadership. For anyone who’s ever looked at their existence and said, “There’s got to be more to life than this” will certainly find solace in Warren’s 21-minute talk.

12.  Listen, Learn… Then Lead , by Stanley McChrystal

Stanley McChrystal is a 4-star general who spent decades in the military. What he gleaned about leadership that can build a shared sense of purpose among an incredibly diverse set of followers boils down to how well you listen and learn, as well as how you position failure.

McChrystal’s view of leadership can be summarized with the following quote:

“[A] leader isn’t good because they’re right; they’re good because they’re willing to learn and to trust. This isn’t easy stuff.”

13.  Got a Wicked Problem to Solve? First, Tell me How you Make Toast , by Tom Wujec

Making toast is simple, right? But what happens when someone asks you to draw how you make toast? Suddenly things get interesting, and complicated.

This simple exercise reveals much about leading solutions to complex problems. Tom Wujec invites listeners to run the exercise themselves while explaining what he’s learned from observing thousands of people draw toast. From this talk, leaders will learn some important truths about how to handle real-world challenges .

14.  Everyday Leadership , by Drew Dudley

Drew Dudley’s whole approach is to make sure everyone understands how to bring out the leader within. Too many people think great leadership is reserved for extraordinary people.

His humorous take will remind you of all the little things leaders do each day. Leadership may be self-taught, but certainly isn’t reserved to a special segment of society. Dudley reminds us that leadership is an everyday act that should be celebrated.

15.  Tribal Leadership , by David Logan

It’s easy to think that as a species we have evolved far beyond the days of tribalism, but management consultant David Logan argues that effective leaders understand the 5 kinds of tribes that still crop up naturally in nearly any setting. Logan’s talk takes you through the 5 tribes, or stages, beginning with “Life sucks” and ending with “Life is great.”

16. Learning From Leadership’s Missing Manual , by Fields Wicker-Miurin

If you missed the opening line of this article, Fields Wicker-Miurin will remind you that leadership is self-taught. People who are looking for the holy grail leadership manual will wait forever in vain.

Leadership comes from within , but that shouldn’t stop you from developing the qualities that people admire in a great leader. Instead of looking for a how-to manual, learn the inspiring story of a local leader in your community. They’re not as far away or elusive as you might think.

17. How To Make Work-Life Balance Work , by Nigel Marsh

Leaders may be workaholics, but they also value work-life balance. That’s Nigel Marsh’s main thrust in this 2010 talk. Marsh shows you how to share a balance lifestyle between family, personal time and productivity. He also drops some inspiration from his books Fit, Fifty, and Fired Up and Overworked and Underlaid (yes, he has a great sense of humor).

Achieving an ideal work-life balance may seem like a jigsaw puzzle, but isn’t nearly as hard as our productivity-obsessed culture makes it out to be. Through small changes, you can have a big impact on work, relationships and life in general.

18. The Key To Success? Grit , by Angela Lee Duckworth

Successful consultant-turned-teacher Angela Lee Duckworth reminds us that success requires hard work and grit. While this is nothing we don’t know, why are these characteristics so difficult to apply? As Duckworth says, “as much as talent counts, effort counts twice.”

Duckworth’s quick talk is an essential listen for anyone getting suckered into taking shortcuts. As it turns out, all the old adages about success and hard work are true.

19. The Secret Structure Of Great Talks , by Nancy Duarte

The ability to move others through motivational speech is one of the greatest qualities of a true leader. Author and CEO Nancy Duarte gets it, and that’s why she developed this 18-minute talk to help aspiring leaders take their presentation skills to the next level.

Duarte dissects the speeches of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Steve Jobs to uncover the essential qualities of a great presentation. If leadership is your passion, be prepared to spend a lot of time talking in front of people.

20. How To Start A Movement , by Derek Sivers

Don’t let the name of this short TED Talk fool you – Derek Sivers isn’t calling for revolution or political anarchy. Using interesting footage, Sivers shows you how surprisingly easy it is to start a movement. As they say, it takes two to tango. That’s all that’s needed for leaders to inspire a movement.

21. Got A Meeting? Take A Walk , by Nilofer Merchant

“Sitting has become the smoking of our generation.” – Nilofer Merchant

In her TED Talk, business innovator Nilofer Merchant offers a simple message about the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle . Leaders spend a lot of time in meetings. Merchant suggests you turn your next one-on-one meeting into a “walking meeting.” Not only do you hit two birds with one stone – by meeting and elevating your heart rate – the simple act of walking allows your ideas to flow much better than they otherwise would sitting in a cramped office.

22. The Leaders Who Ruined Africa, And The Generation Who Can Fix It , Fred Swaniker

Africa has struggled to live up to its development goals, and its leaders are to blame, says TED Fellow and founder of the African Leadership Network Fred Swaniker.

Having lived throughout Africa, Swaniker highlights the vital role true leaders play in building a society, and what can happen in their absence. Swaniker’s description of the next great African leaders is anybody who wants to make a difference in their society, especially where strong institutions are lacking.

23. The Happy Secret To Better Work , by Shawn Achor

It’s generally assumed we have to work to be happy, but what if we have it backwards? That’s the argument psychologist and CEO Shawn Achor makes in this 2012 talk. Achor says we need to be happy independently of work , and only then will we be able to increase productivity and success in the workplace.

Searching for happiness in the workplace can be a deep rabbit hole that often leads to less happiness overall. This is an important message for leaders, who seek to inspire other people in their line of work. It just so happens that developing happiness outside the 9-5 hours is the most important for our health and success.

24. How to Fix a Broken School? Lead Fearlessly, Love Hard , by Linda Cliatt-Wayman

You don’t have to be a teacher to appreciate Linda Cliatt-Wayman’s inspirational talk about her time as principal at a failing school in Philadelphia. It didn’t take long for her to realize that leadership was more than just “laying down the law.” We won’t spoil it for you, but let’s just say she managed to turn around her struggling school. There were 3 key principles that helped her get there.

25. Trial, Error and the God Complex , by Tim Harford

If the title of Tim Harford’s TED Talk doesn’t pique your interest, nothing will. Harford, an economics writer who studies complex systems, talks about the importance of trial and error in achieving success. Except he doesn’t just “talk” about it, but presents the findings of his studies on complex systems.

As the title suggests, Harford’s talk centres on the concept of a God complex – refusing to admit the possibility of being wrong regardless of the complexity of the situation – and the importance of trial and error in achieving better results.  Go down the list, virtually every successful business leader used trial and error to perfect their craft.

26. The Surprising Habits Of Original Thinkers , by Adam Grant

“The greatest originals are the ones who fail the most, because they’re the ones who try the most.” – Adam Grant

Suffice it to say, all aspiring leaders want to be recognized for their creativity and originality. While creativity often lies within, psychologist Adam Grant studies the lives of “originals” – thinkers whose ideas transform the world. Over the course of 15 minutes, Grant explains the unexpected habits of original thinkers, and their fearlessness in the face of failure.

Fear of failure is one of the biggest inhibitors to success in all of life’s endeavors. While never easy, leaders must learn to overcome that fear. Studying the habits of original thinkers will teach aspiring leaders they “need a lot of bad ideas in order to get a few good ones.”

27. Your Body Language Shapes Who You Are , by Amy Cuddy

Four years and more than 38 million views later, Amy Cuddy’s powerful TED Talk has resonated with many aspiring leaders. As a social psychologist, Cuddy explains how “power posing” – showcasing a posture of confidence even when you don’t feel confident – can affect your brain chemistry and move you to positive action.

While some of the findings presented in the study are controversial among social scientists, Cuddy’s talk is a great reminder of the importance of projecting confidence in every situation . Whether that holds up to tests of academic rigor are less important.

28. How to Get Your Ideas To Spread , by Seth Godin

If you think the answer to Seth Godin’s talk is “social media,” try again. This TED Talk took place back in 2007, a few years before social media became as ubiquitous as it is today. As a leader, getting your ideas to spread requires more than just a Twitter handle. Godin, himself an author and marketing guru, explains the importance of standing out, and why even the craziest ideas can become the most successful ones.

29. Secrets Of Success In 8 Words, 3 Minutes , by Richard St. John

Analyst and bestselling author, Richard St. John, managed to condense 7 years of interviews into an unforgettable 3-minute presentation about what it takes to be truly successful. Believe us, nobody is as cognizant of your time as St. John. This 3-minute talk is normally presented as a 2-hour presentation to high school students.

30. Why We Do What We Do , by Tony Robbins

No list of inspiring TED Talks is complete without Tony Robbins, the globally renowned life success coach who has spent decades helping people achieve their dreams. Robbins shattered many preconceived notions about his work a mere 36 seconds into his presentation.

“I’m not here to motivate you, you don’t need that, obviously. Often that’s what people think I do, and it’s the furthest thing from it. What happens, though, is people say to me, ‘I don’t need any motivation.’ But that’s not what I do. I’m the ‘why’ guy. I want to know why you do what you do.”

He then goes into detail explaining the “invisible forces” that make us do the things we do. He also high-fives Al Gore in the front row. With more than 18 million views, Robbins’ TED appearance is one of the most popular.

There you have it. More than 8 hours of pure leadership inspiration to help turn you into the type of leader others admire, respect and want to follow.

>>To discover more invaluable leadership lessons from some of the most successful and inspirational leaders and leadership experts, become a Leader’s Edge monthly member to receive practical tools on how to be a leader, run a business and live a successful, fulfilling life! Hurry, join now to take advantage of our 14-day FREE trial !

Inspiring Leadership Now

You may also be interested in...

6 Strategies Women in Management Should Try

What Is Employee Experience (EX) And Why Is It Becoming A Management Trend

Legal stuff.

• Terms And Conditions
• Privacy Policy
• Earnings & Disclaimer
• Terms Of Use

7 brilliant ways successful leaders start presentations

.chakra .wef-1c7l3mo{-webkit-transition:all 0.15s ease-out;transition:all 0.15s ease-out;cursor:pointer;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;outline:none;color:inherit;}.chakra .wef-1c7l3mo:hover,.chakra .wef-1c7l3mo[data-hover]{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;}.chakra .wef-1c7l3mo:focus,.chakra .wef-1c7l3mo[data-focus]{box-shadow:0 0 0 3px rgba(168,203,251,0.5);} Jacquelyn Smith

.chakra .wef-9dduvl{margin-top:16px;margin-bottom:16px;line-height:1.388;font-size:1.25rem;}@media screen and (min-width:56.5rem){.chakra .wef-9dduvl{font-size:1.125rem;}} Explore and monitor how .chakra .wef-15eoq1r{margin-top:16px;margin-bottom:16px;line-height:1.388;font-size:1.25rem;color:#F7DB5E;}@media screen and (min-width:56.5rem){.chakra .wef-15eoq1r{font-size:1.125rem;}} Future of Work is affecting economies, industries and global issues

.chakra .wef-1nk5u5d{margin-top:16px;margin-bottom:16px;line-height:1.388;color:#2846F8;font-size:1.25rem;}@media screen and (min-width:56.5rem){.chakra .wef-1nk5u5d{font-size:1.125rem;}} Get involved with our crowdsourced digital platform to deliver impact at scale

Stay up to date:, future of work.

“The beginning is the most important part of the work.” —Plato

When we speak, we have about 60 seconds to capture our audience’s attention, establish credibility, orient them to our topic, and motivate them to listen, says Darlene Price, president of Well Said, Inc., and author of “Well Said! Presentations and Conversations That Get Results.”

If you waste those precious opening seconds with a joke, an agenda, an apology, housekeeping details, a string of thank-yous, or a rambling, pointless paragraph littered with “ums” and “uhs,” your audience’s minds are likely to drift, and you may not get them back. “You need to put the art in the start, the most important part of the work,” says Price.

That’s a tall order for any speaker — and it requires us to develop and rehearse a well-crafted, attention-getting opener.

Price offers seven options:

1. Tell a captivating story.

“Of all the starters in your toolkit, storytelling is among the most powerful and consistently successful,” Price says. “As humans, we’re hard-wired to enjoy and learn from stories. From bedtime stories and campfires, to Broadway theaters and boardrooms — heroes, villains, conflict, plots, dialogue, and lessons learned draw us in, remind us of our own lives, and hold our attention.”

The story can be about you personally, which tells the audience first-hand why you’re invested in and passionate about the topic. Or you can tell a story about another person who the audience can learn from. “Another option: Tell a fable, wisdom tale, historic event, or anecdote,” Price says. “The idea is, start with a brief 60- to 90-second narrative that launches your speech and captivates your listeners, and make sure the story encapsulates the key point of your message.”

She suggests you consider these questions as you craft your version of “Once upon a time”: What challenges have you (or another) faced in relation to your topic? How did you (or another) overcome them? Who or what helped you or harmed you? What lessons were learned? What do you want your audience to gain, feel, or do as a result of the story?

2. Ask a rhetorical, thought-provoking question.

“As Shakespeare wrote in ‘The Merchant of Venice,’ ‘If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die? And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?'” says Price. “As a speaker, you ask rhetorical questions for persuasive effect; you don’t expect the audience to answer aloud, rather silently to themselves.

When crafted and delivered well, rhetorical questions influence an audience to believe in the position of the speaker. “Clearly, Shakespeare’s character Shylock is leading his listeners to think ‘yes’ four times in order to justify revenge against Antonio. What do you want your audience to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to?”

In addition to yes or no questions, you can also arouse curiosity and motivate your audience to think about the answer, she says.

3. State a shocking statistic or headline.

Price says the vice president of sales for America’s leading healthcare IT company successfully sells software solutions to hospitals by starting her presentations with the following:

“According to a new study in the Journal of Patient Safety, medical errors leading to patient death are much higher than previously thought. Preventable adverse events, known as PAEs, cause up to 400,000 deaths per year for patients who seek care at a hospital. That means medical errors are the third leading cause of death behind heart disease and cancer. Our vision is to create a world free of medical errors, and we need your help.”

“The statistic, bold claim, or headline needs to be directly related to the main purpose of your presentation,” Price explains. “Its impact ideally persuades the audience to listen and respond positively to your recommendation and next steps.”

4. Use a powerful quote.

“Employ the wise words of a well-known person, because the name allows you to tap into his or her credibility, likeability, and notoriety,” she says. The quote must have meaning and relevance to the audience.

Imagine you’re urging a group to reach consensus, or giving a talk on conflict management. You could open with: “Mark Twain once said, ‘If two people agree on everything, one of them is unnecessary.’ Even though some of us disagree on the xyz issue, each of us is necessary in reaching a resolution.”

5. Show a gripping photo.

A picture is worth a thousand words — “maybe even more,” Price says.

“Use photos instead of text, when possible,” she suggests. A quality photo adds aesthetic appeal, increases comprehension, engages the audience’s imagination, and makes the message more memorable.

Price offers the following example of an effective use of an image:

The president of an electronics equipment company needed his managers to cut costs. Rather than showing mundane charts, graphs, and spreadsheets, he opened the meeting by asking, “What sank the Titanic?” When everyone in unison replied, “an iceberg,” he displayed a beautiful high-definition image of an iceberg on the screen: the tip of the iceberg was clearly visible above the water; the much larger portion was dimly visible below the surface of the water.

“The same thing is about to happen to our company,” he continued. “Hidden costs — the dangers beneath the surface — are about to sink this company. I need your help.” This visual metaphor spawned a creative, productive brainstorming session that inspired every business unit manager to diligently hunt for what they labeled the “icebergs,” says Price. The result was saving millions and ultimately the company.

6. Use a prop or creative visual aid.

“A prop is a magnetic tool that hooks your audience and keeps them watching — or listening,” Price says. A visual aid can also help emphasize a point.

Price uses the example of a sales VP at a large insurance company, who happens to be an avid tennis player. She says he wanted to kick off his annual meeting with a bang — so he “brilliantly used his tennis racquet to emphasize ‘acing the competition,’ ‘rallying together as a team,’ and winning a ‘grand slam’ through great customer service.” Year after year, other speakers were compared to this leader’s creative ability to present a motivational message, she says.

“Think about how you could use items like a big wall clock, a colorful gift bag, juggling balls, a deck of cards, a bunch of carrots, or another prop, to introduce your topic, captivate the audience, inject humor, and drive home your message.”

7. Play a short video.

Imagine kicking off a product management meeting with a video of compelling customer testimonials, or opening a fundraising event for endangered species by showing an Amur Leopard playing with her cubs in the wild.

“Videos evoke emotional responses,” Price explains. “Unlike text and bullet points on a slide, you can employ people, pictures, and sound to reel in the audience, add drama, and communicate the gist of your message quickly.”

As Walt Disney said, “I would rather entertain and hope that people learned something than educate people and hope they were entertained.”

This article is published in collaboration with Business Insider . Publication does not imply endorsement of views by the World Economic Forum.

To keep up with the Agenda  subscribe to our weekly newsletter .

Author: Jacquelyn Smith joined Business Insider as the careers editor in February 2014.

Image: an empty meeting room is shown. REUTERS.

Share this:

• Share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)

Don't miss any update on this topic

Create a free account and access your personalized content collection with our latest publications and analyses.

License and Republishing

World Economic Forum articles may be republished in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Public License, and in accordance with our Terms of Use.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.

The Agenda .chakra .wef-n7bacu{margin-top:16px;margin-bottom:16px;line-height:1.388;font-weight:400;} Weekly

A weekly update of the most important issues driving the global agenda

.chakra .wef-1dtnjt5{display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;-webkit-flex-wrap:wrap;-ms-flex-wrap:wrap;flex-wrap:wrap;} More on Future of Work .chakra .wef-17xejub{-webkit-flex:1;-ms-flex:1;flex:1;justify-self:stretch;-webkit-align-self:stretch;-ms-flex-item-align:stretch;align-self:stretch;} .chakra .wef-nr1rr4{display:-webkit-inline-box;display:-webkit-inline-flex;display:-ms-inline-flexbox;display:inline-flex;white-space:normal;vertical-align:middle;text-transform:uppercase;font-size:0.75rem;border-radius:0.25rem;font-weight:700;-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;line-height:1.2;-webkit-letter-spacing:1.25px;-moz-letter-spacing:1.25px;-ms-letter-spacing:1.25px;letter-spacing:1.25px;background:none;padding:0px;color:#B3B3B3;-webkit-box-decoration-break:clone;box-decoration-break:clone;-webkit-box-decoration-break:clone;}@media screen and (min-width:37.5rem){.chakra .wef-nr1rr4{font-size:0.875rem;}}@media screen and (min-width:56.5rem){.chakra .wef-nr1rr4{font-size:1rem;}} See all

Green job vacancies are on the rise – but workers with green skills are in short supply

Andrea Willige

February 29, 2024

Digital Cooperation Organization - Deemah Al Yahya

Why clear job descriptions matter for gender equality

Kara Baskin

February 22, 2024

Improve staff well-being and your workplace will run better, says this CEO

Explainer: What is a recession?

Stephen Hall and Rebecca Geldard

February 19, 2024

Is your organization ignoring workplace bullying? Here's why it matters

Jason Walker and Deborah Circo

February 12, 2024

How to be a great leader

What makes a great leader? These TED Talks offer surprising, nuanced approaches on how to inspire and empower others to do their very best.

How great leaders inspire action

Learning from leadership's missing manual

Lead like the great conductors

Everyday leadership

What it takes to be a great leader

Trial, error and the God complex

Tribal leadership

Listen, learn ... then lead

Inspiring a life of immersion

How to start a movement

Why we have too few women leaders

Ideas and insights from Harvard Business Publishing Corporate Learning

Powerful and Effective Presentation Skills: More in Demand Now Than Ever

When we talk with our L&D colleagues from around the globe, we often hear that presentation skills training is one of the top opportunities they’re looking to provide their learners. And this holds true whether their learners are individual contributors, people managers, or senior leaders. This is not surprising.

Effective communications skills are a powerful career activator, and most of us are called upon to communicate in some type of formal presentation mode at some point along the way.

For instance, you might be asked to brief management on market research results, walk your team through a new process, lay out the new budget, or explain a new product to a client or prospect. Or you may want to build support for a new idea, bring a new employee into the fold, or even just present your achievements to your manager during your performance review.

And now, with so many employees working from home or in hybrid mode, and business travel in decline, there’s a growing need to find new ways to make effective presentations when the audience may be fully virtual or a combination of in person and remote attendees.

Whether you’re making a standup presentation to a large live audience, or a sit-down one-on-one, whether you’re delivering your presentation face to face or virtually, solid presentation skills matter.

Even the most seasoned and accomplished presenters may need to fine-tune or update their skills. Expectations have changed over the last decade or so. Yesterday’s PowerPoint which primarily relied on bulleted points, broken up by the occasional clip-art image, won’t cut it with today’s audience.

The digital revolution has revolutionized the way people want to receive information. People expect presentations that are more visually interesting. They expect to see data, metrics that support assertions. And now, with so many previously in-person meetings occurring virtually, there’s an entirely new level of technical preparedness required.

The leadership development tools and the individual learning opportunities you’re providing should include presentation skills training that covers both the evergreen fundamentals and the up-to-date capabilities that can make or break a presentation.

So, just what should be included in solid presentation skills training? Here’s what I think.

The fundamentals will always apply When it comes to making a powerful and effective presentation, the fundamentals will always apply. You need to understand your objective. Is it strictly to convey information, so that your audience’s knowledge is increased? Is it to persuade your audience to take some action? Is it to convince people to support your idea? Once you understand what your objective is, you need to define your central message. There may be a lot of things you want to share with your audience during your presentation, but find – and stick with – the core, the most important point you want them to walk away with. And make sure that your message is clear and compelling.

You also need to tailor your presentation to your audience. Who are they and what might they be expecting? Say you’re giving a product pitch to a client. A technical team may be interested in a lot of nitty-gritty product detail. The business side will no doubt be more interested in what returns they can expect on their investment.

Another consideration is the setting: is this a formal presentation to a large audience with questions reserved for the end, or a presentation in a smaller setting where there’s the possibility for conversation throughout? Is your presentation virtual or in-person? To be delivered individually or as a group? What time of the day will you be speaking? Will there be others speaking before you and might that impact how your message will be received?

Once these fundamentals are established, you’re in building mode. What are the specific points you want to share that will help you best meet your objective and get across your core message? Now figure out how to convey those points in the clearest, most straightforward, and succinct way. This doesn’t mean that your presentation has to be a series of clipped bullet points. No one wants to sit through a presentation in which the presenter reads through what’s on the slide. You can get your points across using stories, fact, diagrams, videos, props, and other types of media.

Visual design matters While you don’t want to clutter up your presentation with too many visual elements that don’t serve your objective and can be distracting, using a variety of visual formats to convey your core message will make your presentation more memorable than slides filled with text. A couple of tips: avoid images that are cliched and overdone. Be careful not to mix up too many different types of images. If you’re using photos, stick with photos. If you’re using drawn images, keep the style consistent. When data are presented, stay consistent with colors and fonts from one type of chart to the next. Keep things clear and simple, using data to support key points without overwhelming your audience with too much information. And don’t assume that your audience is composed of statisticians (unless, of course, it is).

When presenting qualitative data, brief videos provide a way to engage your audience and create emotional connection and impact. Word clouds are another way to get qualitative data across.

Practice makes perfect You’ve pulled together a perfect presentation. But it likely won’t be perfect unless it’s well delivered. So don’t forget to practice your presentation ahead of time. Pro tip: record yourself as you practice out loud. This will force you to think through what you’re going to say for each element of your presentation. And watching your recording will help you identify your mistakes—such as fidgeting, using too many fillers (such as “umm,” or “like”), or speaking too fast.

A key element of your preparation should involve anticipating any technical difficulties. If you’ve embedded videos, make sure they work. If you’re presenting virtually, make sure that the lighting is good, and that your speaker and camera are working. Whether presenting in person or virtually, get there early enough to work out any technical glitches before your presentation is scheduled to begin. Few things are a bigger audience turn-off than sitting there watching the presenter struggle with the delivery mechanisms!

Finally, be kind to yourself. Despite thorough preparation and practice, sometimes, things go wrong, and you need to recover in the moment, adapt, and carry on. It’s unlikely that you’ll have caused any lasting damage and the important thing is to learn from your experience, so your next presentation is stronger.

How are you providing presentation skills training for your learners?

Manika Gandhi is Senior Learning Design Manager at Harvard Business Publishing Corporate Learning. Email her at [email protected] .

Let’s talk

Change isn’t easy, but we can help. Together we’ll create informed and inspired leaders ready to shape the future of your business.

© 2024 Harvard Business School Publishing. All rights reserved. Harvard Business Publishing is an affiliate of Harvard Business School.

• Privacy Policy
• Copyright Information
• Terms of Use
• About Harvard Business Publishing
• Higher Education
• Harvard Business Review
• Harvard Business School

We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies and revised Privacy Policy .

Cookie and Privacy Settings

We may request cookies to be set on your device. We use cookies to let us know when you visit our websites, how you interact with us, to enrich your user experience, and to customize your relationship with our website.

Click on the different category headings to find out more. You can also change some of your preferences. Note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our websites and the services we are able to offer.

These cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with services available through our website and to use some of its features.

Because these cookies are strictly necessary to deliver the website, refusing them will have impact how our site functions. You always can block or delete cookies by changing your browser settings and force blocking all cookies on this website. But this will always prompt you to accept/refuse cookies when revisiting our site.

We fully respect if you want to refuse cookies but to avoid asking you again and again kindly allow us to store a cookie for that. You are free to opt out any time or opt in for other cookies to get a better experience. If you refuse cookies we will remove all set cookies in our domain.

We provide you with a list of stored cookies on your computer in our domain so you can check what we stored. Due to security reasons we are not able to show or modify cookies from other domains. You can check these in your browser security settings.

We also use different external services like Google Webfonts, Google Maps, and external Video providers. Since these providers may collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to block them here. Please be aware that this might heavily reduce the functionality and appearance of our site. Changes will take effect once you reload the page.

Google Webfont Settings:

Google Map Settings:

Google reCaptcha Settings:

Vimeo and Youtube video embeds:

You can read about our cookies and privacy settings in detail on our Privacy Policy Page.

Moxie Institute

10 Tips For Impressive Presentations To Senior Leadership And Executives

• Posted on February 7, 2022

10 PRESENTATION TIPS TO IMPRESS SENIOR LEADERS

Tip 1: prepare, tip 2: begin with the end in mind.

• What do you want this audience to feel when they’re done?
• What do you want them to know when you’re done?
• What do you want them to do, when you’re done?

TIP 3: BE CLEAR AND CONCISE

Tip 4: tell stories, tip 5: keep slides minimal.

Provide extra information in your slide notes

TIP 6: CHANNEL NERVOUS ENERGY INTO USABLE ENERGY

The best way to feel confident is to practice.

5 to 7 full rehearsals

TIP 7: PRE-PRESENTATION WARM UP

Breathe low and slow.

WARM UP YOUR BODY

Warm up your mouth, tip 8: have vocal executive presence, tip 9: commanding the space.

Presentation power posing

TIP 10: AUTHENTIC SPEAKER PERSONA

• Case Studies
• Communication Skills
• eBooks & Resources
• Leadership & Influence
• Conferences & Events
• Sales & Service
• Slide & Visual Design
• Storytelling & Speech Writing
• TED Talks & TEDx
• Testimonials
• Uncategorized
• Videos, Podcasts, & Webinars
• Virtual Communication

Presentation Design | The Ultimate Guide

Executive Presence Ultimate Guide

Overcoming Fear of Public Speaking Ultimate Guide

Interpersonal Communication Skills Ultimate Guide

Failing Forward: 5 Mindset Shifts To Bounce Back From An Awful Presentation

Public Speaking Tips to Improve Your Presentation Skills – Ultimate Guide

Sign up for weekly expert advice, free ebooks, & special offers.

The CEO’s secret to successful leadership: CEO Excellence revisited

In March 2022, McKinsey senior partners Carolyn Dewar, Scott Keller, and Vikram Malhotra launched CEO Excellence: The Six Mindsets That Distinguish the Best Leaders from the Rest (Scribner/Simon & Schuster, March 2022), a New York Times and a Wall Street Journal  best-selling book that revealed the characteristics of the world’s most successful leaders. The authors studied nearly 8,000 CEOs across the globe and across various sectors to determine what set these leaders apart from the rest. Through detailed interviews with 67 successful CEOs, they uncovered the mindsets, approaches, and practices that informed their leadership styles and delivered powerful results.

Since 2022, CEO Excellence has gone on to sell more than 161,000 copies and is being translated into 14 languages. To commemorate the second anniversary of this international business bestseller, McKinsey Global Publishing leader Raju Narisetti sat down with Dewar, Keller, and Malhotra once again. In this retrospective, the authors revisit their journey of writing the book and reflect on its global impact. They also offer more practical insights for CEOs and aspiring leaders who are eager to excel in an increasingly challenging operating environment. An edited version of the first installment of this three-part conversation follows. Be sure to check back next week for the second part of the discussion, which will focus on the authors’ personal reflections and on their latest research.

Defining successful leadership

Remind our audience: Why did the three of you set out to write this book?

Scott Keller: We tell a little story at the beginning of the book about when it dawned on us that we should write it. But beneath that story are three things that we recognized. One is that this is a very important role. All the research conducted by some of our colleagues for a book called Strategy Beyond the Hockey Stick , which came before ours, suggested that high-performing CEOs and the high-performing companies they led  dramatically outperformed the others.

If you are a company that has stayed in the top quintile of performance for more than ten years, you have 30 times the value creation for your stakeholders than the next three quintiles combined. They call it “the power curve.” That’s a lot of extra value created.

Second, there’s a lot of research on the CEO effect. The CEO effect essentially looks at, “How much do the actions a CEO takes affect company performance?” The research suggests that, over the past 50 years, the importance of what the CEO does for a company’s performance has increased twofold.

There are 70 million people who work for the top 2,000 companies in the world. It touches an incredible amount of souls and lives. When you think about the ethical, social, and environmental impact of big companies, you start to say, “That’s really important.” That’s a big deal. Then, you say, “Well, how are we doing as leaders in the role of the CEO?” And then you get to the statistics that say, “Two in five CEOs within 18 months of taking the role are struggling. One in three, after three years, are asked to leave.”

There’s some data that suggests that 60 percent of CEOs feel like they’re making it up as they go, because the role is one you can’t really prepare for. It’s one you’ve never had before. The third realization is this: “What is out there to help CEOs excel in this really important role?”

Sure, there are biographies from CEOs, and they’re well written. But they’re typically exciting because of a combination of personality, business context, and unique situation. They’re hard to generalize.

Then there’s work done by academics, which tends to be very descriptive. There’s work done by headhunters, which tends to be very trait-based: What traits do you need to have to become a CEO? But there are very few handbooks that ask, “How do I do the role well?” Those were the things that made us say, “Look, it’s an important role. It’s really hard. There’s not a lot of help out there. Why not McKinsey, and why not us to help fill that void?” To fill that void, we said, “We’re going to do two things.” First, we want to really clarify, “What is the role of a CEO?,” because we couldn’t go to a source and get the answer to that. Second, and most importantly, we want to answer, “What is it that separates the best from the rest?”

First, we want to really clarify, ‘What is the role of a CEO?,’ because we couldn’t go to a source and get the answer to that. Second, and most importantly, we want to answer, ‘What is it that separates the best from the rest?’ Scott Keller

To do that, we had to first identify, “Who are the best?” We had our own methodology for that, which was rigorous, and it took into account a number of factors, not just financial performance, but social, ethical, and environmental impact.

We wanted a group that had been tenured—so they had to “eat their own cooking,” so to speak—and that had been in the role for a long time. We wanted those who had won the approval of their shareholders and stakeholders. We also wanted a very diverse group. So our methodology was adjusted to make sure we had geographic, ethnic, racial, and gender diversity.

We ended up with 200 CEOs who we felt represented the best CEOs of this century to date. We then said, “Let’s get a statistically valid sample of them, interview them, and try to understand what separates the best from the rest.”

What did we actually find? Well, if you say to us, “What is the role of a CEO?,” we’re now crystal clear on what that is. We would say the irreducible core of the role consists of six things you will need to do:

• set the direction
• align your organization on that direction
• mobilize your leaders to deliver on that direction
• work with your board
• connect with a group of stakeholders
• manage your personal effectiveness

Whether you’re a great CEO or not, these are the six roles of a CEO. Six feels like a lot, but it’s a big job, and it’s a hard job, as we just described. I think all of our CEOs looked at that list and said, “You know what? That’s a good taxonomy.”

Then we had to answer the question, “What separates the best from the rest?” We started asking a lot of questions about what these CEOs did. There weren’t a lot of patterns that emerged. We then adjusted our approach using a technique called laddering. In operations, the technique is essentially the equivalent of what they call the “five whys.”

In operations, if a machine stops working, you say, “Why?” Well, the engine burnt out. Why? Because it overheated. Why? Because it didn’t get enough ventilation. Why? Because it was too close to the wall. Now we know the root cause, and we don’t just change the motor. We actually move the machine away from the wall. When applied to leadership, the laddering technique takes you from actions and behaviors to just how people think about the world and about their mindsets.

When we began that form of inquiry, we started to see concrete patterns of, “Ah, this is how this group of excellent CEOs thinks about direction setting. This is how they think about aligning the organization.” The power of mindsets is pretty profound.

To articulate the six mindsets that separate the best from the rest, you need to say, “What is it about direction setting? How do these leaders approach it? What do they think about it that causes them to act? What predisposes them to act in a certain way?”

Imagine you get handed the keys to drive an organization that’s worth $30 billion and has 20,000 employees. It would be easy to have a mindset that says, “OK, discretion is the better part of valor here. Do no harm is the first thing that I need to think about,” and to be relatively conservative.

Our CEOs did not have that mindset. They had the opposite mindset, which was, “Be bold. Fortune favors the bold.” They were consistently considering, “How do we take the next step, that change in performance?” We describe a lot of what they did that comes out of that. But “Be bold” was the mindset that really separated the best from the rest.

On the topic of aligning your organization, we often link to the Einstein quote of not everything that counts can be counted. I think people get that. When you think about organization, culture, talent, and more, people often think of that Einstein quote.

It matters, but it’s hard to count. We call it soft. Our CEOs didn’t think about it that way. The CEOs we interviewed said, “We’re going to put the same level of rigor and discipline into the ‘soft’ stuff that we put into all of our financial and operational work.”

They found ways to do that, because they had the mindset that said, “We will put rigor and discipline into the soft stuff.” Very powerful.

As for mobilizing leaders—the team and leaders that are close to you—the CEOs considered dynamics. They thought less about the mechanics of, “What do we meet on, with whom, and when,” and a lot more about, “What is the psychology of our team?” It was about dynamics, not mechanics. Are people showing up as what I would call thermostats, not thermometers?

It’s easy to show up and report what’s going on, in the way a thermometer would. But to actually do things that change the outcome is what you want in your leaders. Are people showing up as “we” versus “me”? They think about the psychology on a number of dimensions and work on that psychology. That’s more about where they put their time rather than the mechanics of how to run the team.

A lot of CEOs see their board as, “My job in relation to my board is to help them do their fiduciary duties.” Our CEOs? “My job as CEO is to help the board help the business.” Regarding stakeholders, it was less about thinking of the actions in relation to stakeholders and more about the motivations.

It begins with the why. Reed Hastings [cofounder and chairman of Netflix] gave a great, simple example of this. He said, “When I talk to the media, I know they want to be truth tellers. That’s why they got into the job. But they also have to be entertainers, because that’s how they get cut-through on their stories.

“So when I talk to the media, I understand their why. I understand what they’re solving for. And I give ‘em a bit of both. And I then get cut-through on what I want, which is the message to get through for Netflix.” So starting with why versus starting with what, who, when, or where is very important when it comes to stakeholders.

Finally, in terms of personal effectiveness, you are accountable for everything. It would be easy to have the mindset that says, “I need to do anything that needs to be done around here.” Our CEOs did not have that mindset toward their role.

They said, “I need to do what only I can do as the CEO and with the capabilities I have.” They were very focused on areas where they would get involved and delve more deeply, rather than letting themselves get spread thin in a way that adds very little value to other leaders and to the company. So that’s the answer as far as the six roles of the CEO and the mindsets that separate the best from the rest.

The book was the first time you put it all together: the audience is CEOs and aspiring CEOs. What was the response?

Carolyn Dewar: The response has been tremendous. It really has. Maybe even surprisingly so to us, to our colleagues, and to others, in terms of people’s openness and willingness to learn and share.

There could be a myth out there that, “Well, they’re CEOs. They must all be perfect already. They already know what they’re doing.” This opened the conversation that these are hard jobs. There’s volatility in the world right now, too.

It’s OK if we don’t all have all the perfect answers. There are some truths based on the data, on some insights, and on some patterns in terms of what mindsets work well. But I found that people were really excited to engage in questions like, “What does that mean for me? How do I learn? What does that look like?” I found this to be true even for—and perhaps less surprisingly so—folks who aspired to the role, who are trying to look ahead and say, “What do I need to do?”

This is the case for new CEOs in the role who are going up a very quick learning curve and trying to juggle all kinds of things. It’s even the case for those who’ve been in the role for a long time. When we played it back to the 67 high performers we interviewed, for example, Satya Nadella [Microsoft CEO and executive chairman] and Jamie Dimon [Chase CEO), all these folks who’ve been in the role for many, many years, they saw something in it, too.

Seeing it written out that way, even the six elements of the role, there was recognition that prompted, “Wow, I’ve never seen it laid out that way. And now that I see it that way, I understand why I’m so tired, why this job is so hard, why it’s so important.”

There was a broad recognition that the insights resonated and that they were true, but then there was a real hunger to engage and have hundreds of one-on-one conversations asking, “What does this mean? How do I think it through? How can I apply this in the day-to-day?”

There was a broad recognition that the insights resonated and that they were true, but then there was a real hunger to engage. Carolyn Dewar

The part that has made me most excited is actually seeing all of the versions that people have created. Tons of folks have shared in real time or have sent us photos of the crib sheets that they’ve created—or the worksheets, or the thing that they’re now using as a bookmark.

The idea that there are these CEOs around the world who are now using this book in their back pocket as a practical tool really makes you realize that you are never too seasoned in the role to learn. That message has really resonated.

I guess there’s a reason why the book shows up in a Netflix documentary.

Vik, you’ve spent a lifetime listening to CEOs and then talking to them. What was the response?

Vik Malhotra: One thing of the many things that surprised me was that I thought we were writing the book for either current or aspiring CEOs. It really has turned out to be a book about leadership.

There are a lot of people in an organization who have the aspiration to be a leader . It may not just be the CEO. It could also be the business unit head or a CXO [chief experience officer]. They’re eager to learn the leadership lessons here, too. They may realize that they may not end up having to do everything these great CEOs do. But there are plenty of learnings in there, particularly if you run through the list of dimensions. This is certainly true when it comes to setting the direction, aligning the organization, mobilizing through leaders, and managing the effectiveness of your own personal operating model.

Those four dimensions resonate with anyone who has an aspiration to be a leader. You get into more CEO-like territory when you start working with the board or begin dealing with a broader range of stakeholders.

I was very inspired by the fact that at least two-thirds of the book resonated with anyone who wanted to be a leader. They were grasping for lessons, frameworks, and ideas. They loved the stories. So when someone like Ajay Banga [president of World Bank Group] says, “You know, I boiled my vision down to two words, which is kill cash,” they say, “Oh, my God. It can be that simple,” right?

Of course, there are lots of cascading elements that come off it. But they understood the boldness. It’s one thing for a consultant to tell leaders, “Be bold.” It’s another thing when they actually see practical examples of people who’ve done it. They see the success play out, market cap, company growth, and societal impact.

There’s a large group of people out there who just want to be leaders, but not necessarily CEOs. Yet they got a lot out of this book. Then there was the next group, who were the aspiring CEOs. It might be a step or two away, sometime in the next three to five years.

It’s one thing for a consultant to tell leaders, ‘Be bold.’ It’s another thing when they actually see practical examples of people who’ve done it. Vik Malhotra

There were brand-new CEOs as well. They were hungry for a framework for thinking about their role. They were hungry to learn actions they might take: “Here are some things I can do about being bolder in my direction tomorrow,” or “Here are things that I can do in terms of shaping one element of my culture better,” or “Here are some actions I can take on talent.”

I’d say the more tenured CEOs were a mixed bag. There were clearly people who got the joke that, “If you’re going to be a CEO for nine years, there are probably three S-curves here.” They were eager to learn in terms of, “OK, if I’m approaching my three-year point, what does it mean to be bold, given what I’ve done relative to the go-forward picture?”

But there were others who were actually quite comfortable in their skin. They felt like they understood the role. That was OK, too. I haven’t quite done the math yet on whether their companies ended up in a better spot than the others. One day, we’ll do that. Once in the role for a while, some CEOs are very inquisitive, but there are others who are less so.

Scott Keller: Could I add two quick things on that topic? There are over 1,000 reviews now on Amazon, and a 4.7 rating, which is more than we could ever dream of. This reinforces the applicability far beyond senior executives.

There are over 1,000 reviews now on Amazon, and a 4.7 rating, which is more than we could ever dream of. This reinforces the applicability far beyond senior executives. Scott Keller

Raju Narisetti: Astonishing.

Scott Keller: But those 1,000 reviews aren’t from CEOs. They’re written by people from all walks of life, all geographies and profiles. We’ve also been asked to be guest lecturers at business schools: at Wharton, Stanford, and Harvard.

Carolyn Dewar: And INSEAD.

Scott Keller: And INSEAD. It has been interesting to see how hungry these students are to learn from this, as well. I would just reinforce that. The second thing I would say is, in my experience, at least, there are a couple of very senior CEOs who received the book from multiple places and were encouraged to reach out to us.

I would then go and talk to them, and say, “You received the book from four different people. You received it from a couple of people on your board and a couple people on your team. What’d you think of it?”

They would say, “Oh, it’s great. Beautiful articulation of the role.” When I asked, “Did you get any insights from it?” they would say, “Well, it just reinforced all that I’m doing.”

The self-serving bias is real. Tenured CEOs have a self-serving bias. We then said, “Well, why do you think four people handed it to you? What was on their mind? What did they think you could learn?”

“Oh, I don’t really think anything.” For a few of those CEOs, we’ve had them participate in the 360° review process. In the back of the book, there’s a way to do that. It was a real eye-opener for them to say, “Wow, actually, I thought I was great on aligning the organization, but you’re telling me I’m far from great.”

That was very helpful when they took that extra step to understand, “Well, I know how I view myself in relation to all this. But how do others view me?” That’s actually part of our ongoing research. One of our next steps is to create a very simple way to get that type of feedback on a regular basis for a CEO. So being a good CEO means understanding how people perceive you vis-à-vis how you perceive yourself on the six elements of the role.

Talk about the global response. Was it different from what you thought it might be?

Vik Malhotra: I would say that, first, there’s been a broad embrace globally. All three of us have been traveling, speaking to our colleagues, speaking to clients, all around the world: Japan, India, Germany, the UK, Latin America.

While these timeless lessons clearly apply, regardless of context, and geography, and the like, there are some important differences in certain countries. I don’t think you change how you think about being a leader, but you have to factor these differences in.

While these timeless lessons apply, regardless of context, and geography, there are some important differences in certain countries. I don’t think you change how you think about being a leader, but you have to factor these differences in. Vik Malhotra

The biggest difference that struck me was, if you go to India or you go to many parts of Latin America, family-owned businesses are at the big level. This is very much written [in the book] from a corporate lens. I have personally had to think through, if I’m talking to you and you’re the CEO of a family-owned business, how I could slightly adjust the narrative around how you can be bold in that context.

What does it take to be bold in that context? How do you shape culture? How do you actually understand that the stakeholders there may not have the same motivation about shareholder return? They may be more worried about dividend flow to the family. So you have to adjust to that. As we went global, being able to adjust the narrative was an interesting learning. The other difference in the US and globally is seen in the way in which start-ups and founder-owned businesses are run.

Carolyn Dewar: I live in the Bay Area. I get this question all the time.

Vik Malhotra: And there’s a version of this for founder-led companies because they have different dynamics that you need to factor in. I don’t think we change the narrative too broadly. But you’ve got to factor in what they’re worried about.

Carolyn Dewar: Yes, and there is potentially a private CEO or portfolio company CEO.

Vik Malhotra: Yes.

Scott Keller: Yes, and I would add government organizations.

Raju Narisetti: That’s right.

Scott Keller: Not-for-profits have their own flavors, as well.

Carolyn Dewar: Yes.

Scott Keller: It all applies, but there’s definitely tailoring in terms of ownership structure and leadership history for founder-led organizations.

Based on the time you spent with CEOs, what’s been different in the last two, three years?

Vik Malhotra: In the grander context of things, there are a few things that are different. Decision making is a whole lot faster than it’s ever been. There is a need for you as a leader, a CEO and a leader, to make decisions, often with imperfect data, in weeks, days, even hours. Relatively speaking, 20 years ago, you didn’t have that same—

Scott Keller:  That speed.

Vik Malhotra: You didn’t have that same pace of decision making. The speed of decision making is very different. The push on important trends that we’re facing didn’t exist—sustainability, DE&I [diversity, equity, and inclusion]. Those are new things that people have to factor in.

The one element that actually feels a little different and maybe less timeless is the engagement of the external stakeholders. I think if you go back 20 years ago, maybe that was 10 percent of their responsibility.

Today, it’s not unusual for it to be 30, 40, 50 percent of some CEOs’ responsibilities, particularly when you factor in the customers, regulators, analysts, trade unions—the world at large. So there are some real changes in today’s world relative to history.

I still think the timeless messages all apply. But as a leader, you likely do have to move more quickly. You have to be cognizant of the many more stakeholders than perhaps there have been historically. And you certainly have to be cognizant of some very important long-term trends that are, in the grander scheme of things, relatively new.

Scott Keller: I’ll pick up on one of the strands there, Vik. When we wrote the book, it was in the peak of the pandemic and everything going on there, the George Floyd murder, the Capitol riots, and there was kind of a strong push saying, “CEOs need to get out there, and talk about all these issues, and be really frontward facing.”

I feel pretty good about when we talked about what we put in the book and said, “Look, there is a time to speak out, absolutely—if it affects your business and your business values, if it’s a place you can make a difference, if you can actually understand where your stakeholders stand and make an informed decision.”

There is a time to speak out, absolutely—if it affects your business and your business values, if it’s a place you can make a difference, if you can actually understand where your stakeholders stand and make an informed decision. Scott Keller

We tried to get a real middle-of-the-line, “You are going to have to speak out. This is going to be important, but you shouldn’t be out there opining on everything under the sun. It’s probably not your role, nor are you well informed enough or able to necessarily do that in the right sort of ways.” I feel good that we got that—right. But it’s been fascinating to see the swings—to witness those varying conversations. The second thing I’d say is, in a world that has gone from a blog-length thing that was considered short to a short Twitter headline and now a TikTok post, there’s now a higher premium on the ability to cut through with elegant simplicity.

Now CEOs have a company direction that they need to convey to 50,000 people around the world. How can they do that in six words or less in a way that’s emotive and powerful and gives all the information someone needs?

For example, having that conversation not just around the vision of the company but answering the question, “What’s the employee value proposition? What’s the proposition for customers, what we’re delivering for shareholders?” It was psychologist George Shultz who said that understanding goes from being simple to complex to elegantly simple.

On the far side of complexity is elegant simplicity. It becomes such a big tool for CEOs now to get cut through at scale. I love Piyush Gupta, what he did with DBS [Group], which is a Singapore-based bank that was the worst bank in Singapore when he took over, objectively speaking. And now, in most polls and measures, it’s the best bank in the world.

“We are a technology company that makes banking joyful.” That’s what you need to know about DBS. Six words: technology company that makes banking joyful. “Technology company” tells you a ton about where they’re investing assets, about how they think about product development, about running the place generally, the speed of decision making, and more.

“Making banking joyful” tells you a ton about what their customer experience is meant to be like and all of the investment they’ll put into it, what they expect of their colleagues and employees. There’s just so much richness in those six words that CEOs are able to get to the elegantly simple messaging around the things that matter. It might even be the bold moves.

“Here’s the five bold moves we’re making that are going to make the biggest difference.” They’re all crisp. There’s a real premium on that, and there will continue to be a premium on having more acuteness as we move forward—because the way that media and people digest information has changed. That’s my take on something that I feel has changed.

Carolyn Dewar is a senior partner in McKinsey’s Bay Area office, Scott Keller is a senior partner in the Southern California office, and Vik Malhotra is a senior partner in the New York office. Raju Narisetti is the leader of McKinsey Global Publishing and is based in McKinsey’s New York office.

Explore a career with us

Related articles.

Actions the best CEOs are taking in 2023

Staying ahead: How the best CEOs continually improve performance

Stepping up: Becoming a high-potential CEO candidate

Sign up free

17 Leadership Training Topics

January 23, 2022

Jeanellie Avelino

In this article, you’ll find 15 leadership training topics that can help new, existing, and aspiring leaders in your business develop competencies and improve their leadership skills, qualities, and potential.

This way, they can become the kind of great leaders that their team truly respects and genuinely wants to follow.

Read on to learn more about leadership development examples and effective leadership topics that can help your organization’s management flourish in their leadership roles.

What are leadership training topics and why are they important?

Leadership training topics teach your learners the different skills and tactics that'll help them become effective and successful leaders. These training topics can also help them understand their job as a leader and look at problems as challenges and opportunities to grow.

Participating in leadership training trains them on what their team expects from them, as well as the critical aspects that drive your company's productivity and efficiency. Finally, excellent management training helps them gain confidence to do their best work and find areas of leadership that need improvement and growth. EdApp offers the best leadership training courses available today. Everything from leadership strategy , emerging leadership styles , and future-ready leadership are all covered.

Examples of leadership training topics

1. communication skills.

The ability to communicate effectively is a key skill and one of the competencies that marks a good leader, which is why this leadership training topic should be a priority for your leadership training or workshop. Playing the role of someone who is followed by others, leaders must know how to present their ideas with clarity, share new knowledge with a broad set of audience, and give direction to their team. To be a good communicator, it is also integral for them to master the art of listening. Whether it’s about the problem-solving for team members’ concerns, feedback, or new ideas, effectively listening to them can help leaders open their minds and fully understand their perspectives. Leaders who can communicate and listen well to their followers show effective sports leadership and breed relationships of trust and loyalty, which is a critical component of any business’s success.

EdApp has a range of free microlearning courses that can help leaders in your organization strengthen their communication skills. Their course on Effective Communication taps into different strategies to improve communication skills when speaking with someone directly, whether in public or virtually. They also offer this course about Speaking with Confidence , which highlights the communication skills needed by leaders in order to speak as fluently and confidently as possible. As a key hallmark of all EdApp courses, all lessons are delivered in bite sizes, which makes them easier to comprehend and follow. Plus, it will only take leaders a few minutes to complete them, which is perfect for their busy schedules. 

Start using the best leadership training tool!

Sign Up Free

2. Leading under pressure

Leaders have a lot of responsibilities resting on their shoulders. From problem-solving, making decisions, and motivating their team, they face a great amount of stress and pressure. Before they break down and fall into a panic mess, it would be highly beneficial that you teach them the ropes on how to lead effectively under pressure. Help them develop the mental and emotional strength they’ll need to overcome crises and any other high-pressure situations that may come their way.

You can make use of EdApp’s Leading Under Pressure as a resource for your leadership training. This course was developed in collaboration with award-winning rescue diver John Volanthen. Here, he shares his experience in lifetime planning and executing some of the world’s most complex rescue dives to show the leaders and aspiring ones on how to effectively lead in high-pressure environments and make it a practiced skill. Each lesson in this course only takes a few minutes to complete, so it’s perfect for leaders who are often jam-packed with busy schedules.

3. Time management

Another essential leadership training topic that training managers should focus on is time management. Leaders, whether we like it or not, usually have too many things to deal with or worry about. By initiating this training topic, you can encourage them to work smarter, and not harder. The idea is to help them work on their management skills to produce more sustainable and high-quality work in less time for maximum effectiveness. After all, overworking is not and should never be a standard of good work. Bear in mind that great leaders who know how to effectively manage their time, both personally and professionally, are more likely to make better decisions, perform consistently, and positively impact their team members. 

EdApp’s The Ultimate Guide to Personal Productivity can be used by leaders to learn how to manage their overcrowded schedules and get more things done on time. This training course contains a combination of bite-sized lessons and gamified quizzes, which makes it more fun and motivating to take than leaving them with a thick pile of modules to read. 

Online learning platform Coursera also offers a great time management course on Work Smarter, Not Harder: Time Management for Personal & Professional Productivity . This online course aims to help professionals, such as team leaders, overcome hindrances to effective time management and influence them to maintain a balance between their work and life schedules. This course will take learners about 10 hours to finish, which is not exactly ideal for those with short attention spans. 

4. Conflict resolution

Workplace conflict is something that even great leaders can never escape from. When handling a team with varying perspectives, beliefs, and priorities, there will always be days of disagreement and opposition of interests or ideas, and some might even lead to some heated arguments. But rather than fearing them, learning how to resolve conflicts can transform such catastrophic situations into growth opportunities and even foster stronger relationships among team members. These interpersonal skills don’t come easily to others, but they can be learned and mastered through consistent training and learning.

Feel free to roll out EdApp’s course on Managing Difficult Conversations to show leaders in your organization the benefits of embracing difficult conversations and arguments with their team members. This course will walk them through some tips on problem-solving, yielding negative feedback, and delivering an authentic apology. E learning platform Compliance Training Group also offers Conflict Resolution Training, which is designed to help supervisors and employees resolve conflict in a timely and effective manner. It also discusses how to control anger in the workplace and initiate open, honest dialogue during conflict resolutions. Unfortunately, this course is not free and each single user enrollment costs 9.99 USD.

5. Employee engagement

Needless to say, discussing employee engagement must also be prioritized in your leadership training programs. Leaders are responsible to ensure that their teams remain passionate and committed to their jobs so that they can give their very best all the time. Other than that, keeping their team members engaged can also lead to work satisfaction and increased interpersonal skills. As we all know, employees who are genuinely happy and well pleased in their team tend to stay longer and actively participate in advancing organizational goals.

However, ensuring consistent employee engagement is easier said than done. Lend your team leaders a helping hand by introducing them to different strategies they can adapt to stimulate engagement with their employees. Apart from discussing this training topic with them, it is also a good idea to recommend employee engagement tools that they can use to engage their teams. Like EdApp’s gamification tools, which can transform their team assessments in the form of smartphone games, like jeopardy game , elevator game, letter jumble, memory game, and more.

6. Motivating and influencing your teams

Hiring the best talent in the industry is only the tip of the iceberg. To get the best results for your organization, teams need guidance and support from good leaders who can motivate and influence them to give their best performance on a daily basis. With this in mind, you might want to consider sharing manager soft skills with your company’s team leaders and managers on how they can better play the role of motivating and influencing their team. 

Introduce your leaders to different types of motivations and walk them through some tips and strategies on how they can influence their people to have a positive and “can-do” attitude at work. You can also deploy EdApp’s microlearning course on Rewarding Achievements , which can be used as a guide on selecting the right kinds of rewards to drive employee performance. They also recommend a 6-part course on True Influence – Developing Enduring Impact , expounding the true concept and practice of true influence as a facet of effective leadership. It can help your leaders improve their interpersonal skills, which they can use to collaborate effectively with their team and motivate them to go above and beyond their limits. Everything comes editable, so feel free to tweak and enhance the content or even add your company’s logo and branding style. 

7. Effective feedback

Effective feedback is an essential part of competent leadership. While it’s not an easy thing to do, giving feedback shines a light on the company’s significant performance issues and directs employees in the right direction. Without it, everyone will be left guessing about their performance, which can stall the success of the entire organization. Feedback is also a cornerstone of a healthy team relationship. If done correctly, it can motivate employees to follow their leaders and improve their performance without a hint of doubt. 

Although it is impossible to control how others respond to feedback, leaders can raise the likelihood that their critiques will be heard and followed rather than ignored and rejected. This skill can be learned and perfected over time through training. EdApp has put together a microlearning course on Giving Effective Feedback , designed to help leaders grow and improve their feedback abilities and grow trusting relationships with their team members. In this module, your learners will discover the what, why, and how of giving effective and impactful feedback, backed by some examples that they can use as a guide when talking with their underperforming employees.

8. Delegation

Delegation is another core function of leadership and a management skill to have, which is why it is also integral to include this leadership training topic in your training or workshop. Leaders, in particular, should know how to properly assign tasks to the right people and then trust them to deliver quality results. The effectiveness of this skill is significantly linked to proper time management, as it will allow them to accomplish more things in less time. It also fosters engagement, effectively influencing the rest of their team members to put more effort and commitment into their work. As per John C. Maxwell in his book Developing the Leaders Around You , “If you want to do a few small things right, do them yourself. If you want to do great things and make a big impact, learn to delegate.” 

Skillsoft’s course on Delegation can be used to teach your leaders how to delegate like a pro. It taps on topics like effectively directing and delegating tasks as a manager, providing the right level of supervision, feedback, and encouragement to achieve better results, and taking the team to the next level with delegation. You can also enroll your leaders in Universal Class’ Delegation Skills online class to help them further understand the advantage of delegation and find out appropriate and effective methods for carrying it out. This course costs 0.00 USD per learner. 

9. Different Leadership Styles 

This leadership training topic is more suitable if you are organizing a leadership training or workshop for new and aspiring leaders of your organization. While often overlooked, having a clear grasp of different leadership styles can help leaders determine different ways they can lead their team, develop their own approach, and identify key steps to further improve it. It will also create an opportunity for them to discover the qualities and effectiveness of other leadership styles that they’re not yet aware of and combine them for more effective and impactful leadership. 

EdApp’s Leadership and Coaching/Management Styles outlines the 6 most common leadership styles that will help learners identify in which category they fall in as a leader. It also contains a helpful guide on how a good leader can use each leadership style and develop their skills as a coach or manager. Lessons are presented via modules and gamified quizzes to ensure a more effective learning experience for your learners. 

10. Diversity and Inclusion

It’s no secret that most organizations today are now embracing a more diverse workforce to strengthen their positioning in the global market. With this in mind, a good leader should know how to lead and collaborate with a diverse team, and bring all their good qualities together to work in harmony regardless of their cultures, races, genders, and sexual orientations. Raising awareness about diversity and inclusion will help leaders combat stereotypes, discrimination, and unconscious bias. This ensures that all their team members are equally heard, seen, and recognized for their work performance and other measurable factors. 

EdApp can help you educate your leaders to embrace this leadership role with their 5-part course on Diversity and Inclusion . This bite-sized module puts focus on the key concepts surrounding diversity and inclusion, the harmful types and examples of unconscious bias, and inclusive language to communicate effectively with their diverse team members without the likelihood of offending. There are also paid courses that you can deploy, like Finding Common Ground – How to Overcome Unconscious Bias by AMA, Optimizing Diversity on Teams by the University of Pennsylvania, and Diversity training 101 by Universalclass. 

11. Change Management

Whether big or small, change is something that every organization goes through. Both seasoned leaders and new ones alike can have a tough time navigating these situations. As leaders, it’s important to know how to cope with change and effectively communicate it with your team. This also includes dealing with new challenges, workflow disruptions, and feedback from your employees. With this leadership training topic, you’ll be able to guide your team to overcome common obstacles brought about by changes and still work efficiently and productively.

12. Goal Setting

Setting goals helps leaders stay focused on what really matters and gives them direction to fulfill their purpose. However, just the mere act of setting your goals isn’t enough. To fully maximize its potential and bring it to fruition, goals must be well-defined and attainable within a certain span of time. When setting goals, a good model to follow is George Doran, Arthur Miller, and James Cunningham’s SMART goals which stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, and Time-bound. Learn how to set SMART goals for yourself and your team that are realistic and watch them turn into a collective effort on your path to success.

13. Leading vs. Managing

Leading and managing are two similar terms that are used interchangeably but have distinct differences. Leading pertains to one’s ability to drive, influence, and motivate others to achieve a certain objective. On the other hand, managing is more about ensuring that work is done and organizational goals are achieved. An individual can be a good manager but not a good leader and vice versa. So which one is better? To truly lead people, one must be both a good manager and leader. Being a leader shouldn’t be looked at as just a position in the organization. At the end of the day, a true leader is one who can not only deliver outcomes but also inspire people to work hard towards a shared vision of success.

14. Project Planning

Managing projects can be tough. If they’re poorly planned, the organization can run into delays, miss deadlines, go over budget, or face disappointed clients. To mitigate these risks, it’s important for businesses to equip their managers with good project planning skills. This way, they’ll be able to align goals, set reasonable deadlines, streamline processes, identify possible problem areas, and clarify the roles and responsibilities of each team member. This leadership training topic is also vital for eliminating wasteful activities that might deplete important resources like time and money. 

EdApp’s Introduction to Project Management course is a great resource material for leaders who want to learn how to execute a project effectively. The course also provides a quick overview of each of the five stages of project management, including initiation, planning, execution, evaluation, and finalization.

15. Managing Effective Meetings

Meetings are an integral part of company communications, allowing employees to exchange feedback and discuss goals, ideas, challenges, and other topics related to the business. Without proper structure, they can be unproductive and inefficient but with a clear objective, they can be a highly efficient way to foster teamwork, accomplish goals, and increase overall productivity in the workplace. Through this leadership training topic, managers will learn how to determine if a meeting is necessary, set a proper agenda and schedule, consider each team member’s strengths, and end with a set of action items. They’ll also learn a few tips and tricks to keep their employees motivated and engaged without losing focus on the meeting objectives. 

How to Attend and Host Meetings is an EdApp course that team leaders can check out if they want to learn more about the importance of effective meetings, as well as the steps to take before sending out a meeting invitation. The bite-sized lessons also provide learners with real-life examples of different meeting challenges and ways to solve them.

16. Accountability

Another important leadership training topic to consider is accountability, a skill that’s usually tied to good leadership. Highly accountable leaders are known to accept responsibility for their actions and own the outcomes of these actions, whether good or bad. Employees often look up to these kinds of leaders. They trust their choices and decisions, which leads to a more productive work environment. By adding this topic to your leadership training, you can help your leaders learn key behaviors that will allow them to build and hone their accountability skills and establish a workplace community where everyone’s honest and accountable for their actions.

17. Collaboration and Teamwork

Good leaders should be able to encourage their team members to collaborate and work together harmoniously so they can achieve greater goals. But as ideal as it sounds, building a culture of collaboration and teamwork is easier said than done. Leading a group of people with different interests and points of view, it’s often difficult for leaders to stand in the middle and make sure everyone’s ideas are heard. 

When organizing your training, it’s crucial that you touch on this leadership training topic. Give your leaders the skills and tools they need to communicate properly with their team and increase the success of their teamwork. Guide them through the process of making decisions and delegating tasks that will be useful in helping their people work and collaborate better. And most importantly, equip them with some tips and tricks to build trust and rapport with everyone to promote greater team unity.  

You may also be interested in:

• 10 Golden Leadership Rules For eLearning Professionals
• 10 Ideas for Employee Development in 2021
• 10 Leadership Development Programs

Subscribe to our blog newsletter

Jen is a learning expert at EdApp, a mobile-based training platform that helps corporates and businesses bring their training solutions to the next level. She carries an extensive writing experience in a variety of fields, including architecture, the gig economy, and computer software. Outside of work, she enjoys her free time watching her favorite series and documentaries, reading motivational books, and cross-stitching.

Explore more

Explore case studies

Learn how customers like you use EdApp. Their results speak for themselves.

Book a demo

Get a tour of our core products and features with one of our experts.

Take a bootcamp

Instantly access our video library updated weekly with live demonstrations.

Check out G2 reviews

Don't take our word for it. Here’s what our customers have to say.

Got any suggestions?

We want to hear from you! Send us a message and help improve Slidesgo

Top searches

Trending searches

11 templates

solar eclipse

25 templates

26 templates

kinesiology

23 templates

8 templates

Leadership Presentation templates

Become a true leader and guide your team to success with these google slides themes and powerpoint templates about leadership. are they born or made onward customize these designs in no time.

Team Leader Project Proposal

After spending some months debating and brainstorming, your team has come up with a new project. Act as a true team leader and present this new idea to your managers with this new template. The main features you'll find in these slides are the use of illustrations and some big...

Leader for Success

Success can be achieved individually or as a group, but the latter is more difficult, as it requires a strong leader. Talk about the skills and abilities a suitable leader should have in this editable template! We can tell you the features that a nice presentation should have for that:...

Leadership Behavior for Business

Leaders are the reference, the people who guide others to success, but they must possess certain skills and the correct behavior. If this is exactly the topic of your next presentation, use this template to save time! Its design will grab the attention of your audience easily thanks to its...

Company Mission and Vision

Download the Company Mission and Vision presentation for PowerPoint or Google Slides. The world of business encompasses a lot of things! From reports to customer profiles, from brainstorming sessions to sales—there's always something to do or something to analyze. This customizable design, available for Google Slides and PowerPoint, is what...

Leadership Common Mistakes

What makes a great leader? What should they watch out about? If you are able to answer these questions, then most probably you have a great team behind you, who work along you to meet deadlines and reach success. With this template you can speak about the importance of a...

Transformational Leadership Infographics

Do you know transformational leadership? It is a leadership style based on the fact that team leaders seek to inspire or motivate workers to be creative, innovate or create continuous changes. This method is very successful when it comes to the growth of a company, because there is nothing more...

Leadership and Teamwork for Business

The proper functioning of a company requires different skills among employees. And we're not talking about how qualified they are to do their job (which is also true) but about competencies such as teamwork or, in the case of the team leader, having the necessary skills to lead the team...

Premium template

Unlock this template and gain unlimited access

5 Levels of Leadership Infographics

John Maxwell, in his book The 5 Levels of Leadership explains that there is a 5-level path that a leader must go through in their continuous improvement process. The first level is position; the second, permission; the third, production; the fourth, development of people and the fifth, pinnacle. Explain all...

Healthcare Leadership and Ethics - Master of Science in Health Administration

Elevate your clinical practice and navigate the complex world of health administration with profound insight. This template allows you to delve deeper into the ethical underpinnings of healthcare leadership. The course is presented in a simple, yet elegant design that inculcates a sense of confidentiality and professionalism. Its content is...

Leadership Conference

How do you know if you are a good leader? That’s the subject of your next leadership conference, and this template is here to help you find all the right questions that attendees should ask themselves. Help them figure out what kind of leaders they are and what they can...

Leadership Development Plan Infographics

What makes a good leader? Good leadership is a developed skill that you will also learn when you download these infographics for your next presentation! Speak about teamwork, soft skills, interpersonal abilities and role models with these creative designs full of color and life. Slidesgo will be the leader that...

Overcome Leadership Challenges Workshop

The best leader is the one that always keeps learning. Prepare a workshop about how to overcome challenges with this beautiful template for Google Slides and PowerPoint! It has a modern design with lots of illustrations of people and great resources for your speech so, if you combine it with...

Leadership Skills IG Post for MK

Show your Instagram followers what it takes to be a great leader with these editable designs full of color and creativity! Instagram is a great tool for sharing tips and creating a community, so educational posts like this one will surely be well-appreciated. Edit the slides of this design and...

Leadership in Business Management

Download the Leadership in Business Management presentation for PowerPoint or Google Slides. The world of business encompasses a lot of things! From reports to customer profiles, from brainstorming sessions to sales—there's always something to do or something to analyze. This customizable design, available for Google Slides and PowerPoint, is what...

Effective Leadership Infographics

Effective leadership is something that most employees want and expect from the person who leads them. Such a person must listen, must be trustworthy, must be honest... Can you tell us more about this topic? We have an idea: customize these infographics, which are completely editable, and insert them into...

Leadership Training Event for Business

Some people state that leaders aren't born, but made! Perhaps that's true, and that's why hard work and an extensive training could make you a true leader. If you want to introduce an event about this exact topic, you can do it with our editable template. Tell the audience what...

Become a Leader

Inspire other people to learn more, to innovate and to succeed. Design now a workshop to help others become leaders with this smart template.

Leadership Seminar Proposal

Download the Leadership Seminar Proposal presentation for PowerPoint or Google Slides. A well-crafted proposal can be the key factor in determining the success of your project. It's an opportunity to showcase your ideas, objectives, and plans in a clear and concise manner, and to convince others to invest their time,...

• Page 1 of 6

New! Make quick presentations with AI

Slidesgo AI presentation maker puts the power of design and creativity in your hands, so you can effortlessly craft stunning slideshows in minutes.

Register for free and start editing online

39 best leadership activities and games

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 . It's not easy to learn these skills, especially when so many leaders don't receive effective training or support. In this article, we'll explore the leadership activities you should master in order to lead a high-performing team and become a better leader!

Design your next session with SessionLab

Join the 150,000+ facilitators 
using SessionLab.

Recommended Articles

A step-by-step guide to planning a workshop, how to create an unforgettable training session in 8 simple steps, 47 useful online tools for workshop planning and meeting facilitation.

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.

Anyone in a leadership role has both a big influence and responsibility for their team. Some of the aspects they need to pay attention to in order to be a good leader are:

• 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

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.

Leadership activities such as those featured here are also effective at introducing leadership concepts and learning how to solve common leadership challenges . 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.

In this guide, we’ve grouped leadership activities by these core competencies, so you can choose the right activity to help yourself or others develop their leadership skills. Let’s dive in!

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.

The exercises below are not only great to use when training leaders, but they are practical techniques leaders can use with every team member immediately, whatever their leadership style.

What are leadership activities used for?

While managers might approach tasks differently based on their leadership style, there are skills and competencies that all leaders should learn in order to best service their team. Learning how to be a good leader can be difficult, so using exercises and activities to improve leadership skills in a safe, experiential environment can help leaders be more effective in their role.

If you’re running a leadership development program, you might use these activities during the training program. For example, after conducting a self-assessment and deciding how they want to develop as a leader, participants might work on improving their leadership skills with these activities.

Whether you’re running such a program and developing managers internally with workshops or simply want to brush up on your own leadership skills, these exercises are a great place to begin.

A bespoke leadership development workshop (like the one featured in this leadership template! ) is also a natural place to include these activities.

In SessionLab, it’s quick and easy to design a leadership workshop fit for your needs. Start by dragging and dropping blocks to design your outline. Add minute-perfect timing and instructions to each activity to refine your agenda.

When you’re ready to share with collaborators or participants, export your workshop agenda in PDF, Word, Powerpoint or invite them directly to the session.

Leadership training activities for building a positive work climate

Leaders are role models to their colleagues and organization. Their leadership styles, principles, and values determine the culture that drives their organization’s behavior.

That is why a competitive, paranoid leader can easily create an organization where team members are similarly competitive and less open to collaboration. While a leader who is open and inclusive will create a climate of openness and inclusiveness. How they behave, and what they consider the norm, also affects which kinds of behaviors are enforced and celebrated and which behaviors are punished.

The following leadership activities can help you in recognising important leadership behaviors that result in a productive workplace. They can also be used by leaders to set the stage for team bonding and a great workplace environment with their team. A must for all leaders!

Leadership Envelopes

Leadership games like this help groups translate abstract leadership principles into practical on-the-job behaviors. Participants work in groups to come up with real-life applications of different leadership principles.

The groups conduct multiple rounds of discussion to build upon each others’ ideas, and in the end, evaluate the best ideas to identify the most useful behaviors. This is also a great activity to run with all your team members. Seeing how they consider and respond to different leadership styles can help you focus on the right approach as a leader!

Leadership Envelopes   #leadership   #issue analysis   #thiagi   Leadership exercise in groups, working with practical leadership principles. This activity helps groups to translate abstract leadership principles into practical on-the-job behaviours. Participants work in groups to come up with real-life application of leadership principles. The groups take multiple rounds to build upon the ideas of each other, and in the end, evaluate the best ideas to identify the most useful behaviours.

Your Favourite Manager

In this activity, participants take on three different employee personas and list the behaviors of a positive leader or manager and a negative one from the perspectives of those employees. After some individual reflection, participants compare their lists, first in pairs and then in groups. Finally, they collect the ultimate do’s and don’ts for managers and leaders.

Any activity that encourages deep reflection on your own leadership style and those of your role models is a wonderful way to grow. I’ve been especially inspired by how some of my old bosses approach problem solving while I was a team member working beneath them.

My Favourite Manager   #management   #leadership   #thiagi   #teamwork   #remote-friendly   Participants work individually, assuming the roles of three different people and brainstorming their perceptions of three most favourite managers and three least favourite managers. Later, they work with a partner (and still later, in teams) to prepare a list of dos and don’t-s for improving employees’ perception of a manager’s style.

Leadership Pizza

This leadership development activity offers a self-assessment framework for people to first identify the skills, attributes and attitudes they find important for effective leadership, and then assess their own development in these areas. This framework is also a great tool to set individual leadership development goals in a coaching process.

We love activities that allow team members to reflect on different leadership styles and assess their own skills and preferences. The visual format makes it easy to share and reflect on leadership styles later too!

Leadership Pizza   #leadership   #team   #remote-friendly   This leadership development activity offers a self-assessment framework for people to first identify what skills, attributes and attitudes they find important for effective leadership, and then assess their own development and initiate goal setting.

Playing with Status

The best leadership training activities often allow managers to work on their leadership skills while also providing an opportunity to reflect on their leadership style and how it might affect other employees.

Playing with Status is a role playing game where pairs enact a job interview or coaching session and enact different versions of the conversation based on whether each person has high or low status. By experiencing the effect of status on the relationship, would-be leaders can consider how they interact with other members of their team and create a more positive workplace culture.

Playing with Status   #teambuilding   #communication   #team   #thiagi   Participants are given a short script of 8-10 lines of neutral dialogue. The scene may depict a job interview (see the sample below) or a coaching session. Pairs take turns enacting the scene, playing with the status relationships through non-verbal behaviours.

Heard Seen Respected

Standing in the shoes of others, practicing empathy and ensuring that everyone on a team is able to be heard is a necessity for great leaders and your team in general. In this activity, participants shift between telling stories where they were not heard, seen or respected and then being listeners who do not pass judgment. 

Remember that leadership training should often start with the fundamentals of respect and empathy. If you can’t respect and empathize with your team members, how can you expect them to do the same for you? Keeping things simple with an activity like Heard Seen Respected can be an especially effective option whether you’re working online or offline. 

Heard, Seen, Respected (HSR)   #issue analysis   #empathy   #communication   #liberating structures   #remote-friendly   You can foster the empathetic capacity of participants to “walk in the shoes” of others. Many situations do not have immediate answers or clear resolutions. Recognizing these situations and responding with empathy can improve the “cultural climate” and build trust among group members. HSR helps individuals learn to respond in ways that do not overpromise or overcontrol. It helps members of a group notice unwanted patterns and work together on shifting to more productive interactions. Participants experience the practice of more compassion and the benefits it engenders.

Team building leadership activities

Every leader has an integral role in the formation of the teams they work with. Whether you are consciously working on it or not, your attitude and actions as a leader will significantly influence team cohesion, communication and the team spirit of the people you work with.

This comes through in small everyday actions, the way you share responsibilities, the way you empower colleagues, and the way you foster a cooperative work environment as opposed to a competitive one.

Sometimes, it can also be effective to run team building activities with your company that are expressly focused on helping teams come together and bond. Try using the following leadership team building activities with new teams, or groups that need to spend a little time getting to know each other better.

Marshmallow challenge

The Marshmallow Challenge is a team-building activity in which teams compete to build the tallest free-standing structure out of spaghetti sticks, tape, string, and the marshmallow that needs to be on the top. This leadership activity emphasizes group communication, leadership dynamics, collaboration, and innovation and problem-solving.

It’s a wonderful game that allows participants’s natural leadership qualities to shine through, and it helps teams have a lot of fun too!

Marshmallow challenge with debriefing   #teamwork   #team   #leadership   #collaboration   In eighteen minutes, teams must build the tallest free-standing structure out of 20 sticks of spaghetti, one yard of tape, one yard of string, and one marshmallow. The marshmallow needs to be on top. The Marshmallow Challenge was developed by Tom Wujec, who has done the activity with hundreds of groups around the world. Visit the Marshmallow Challenge website for more information. This version has an extra debriefing question added with sample questions focusing on roles within the team.

Blind Square Rope Game

This activity is a tried and tested game that asks teams to communicate well and solve a problem as a team. Not only is this a fun team building activity, but it’s a great way for potential leaders to step up and help their team win! Start by tying a length of rope into a circle and then instruct participants they will have 20 minutes to turn it into a square, with fifteen minutes to plan their actions and five minutes to implement. Here’s the catch – no one may touch the rope until you begin, and every team member is blindfolded during implementation. This is an effective leadership game that is great with both small groups and larger teams separated into breakouts.

Blind Square – Rope game   #teamwork   #communication   #teambuilding   #team   #energiser   #thiagi   #outdoor   This is an activity that I use in almost every teambuilding session I run–because it delivers results every time. I can take no credit for its invention since it has existed from long before my time, in various forms and with a variety of names (such as Blind Polygon). The activity can be frontloaded to focus on particular issues by changing a few parameters or altering the instructions.

Tower of Power

All leaders need to work closely with other members of their organization in order to succeed. This leadership game encourages groups to work together in order to build a tower with specific (and sometimes tricky!) rules before than reflecting on what worked, what didn’t and what they would do next time.

It’s a wonderful activity for leadership training, as it provides an experiential way to explore leadership concepts, all wrapped in a fun game!

Tower of Power   #team   #teamwork   #communication   #leadership   #teambuilding   #skills   This teamwork activity requires participants to work closely together to build a tower from a set of building blocks.  The players need to coordinate their actions in order to be able to move the wooden blocks with the crane they have, and this can only be solved by precise planning, good communication and well-organised teamwork. You may use this exercise to emphasise the following themes and outcomes: In Leadership training : identifying interdependencies in systems, leadership communication, dealing with risk, giving feedback In Team building : communicating effectively, cooperating, being an active listener, maintaining the balance, working with values In Project management : simulating strategic planning, working under time pressure In Communication training : meta communication, facilitating, dealing with different perspectives

When teams work together well, something magic happens. But what elements constitute a high performing team? As a leader, how can you help ensure those conditions are met? In this leadership game, participants must work together to get every team member across an obstacle while blindfolded.

It’s a simple concept that creates a perfect space for exploring how teams operate and the role leaders have within them. Bring plenty of fun obstacles (squeaky toys are best) and encourage groups to think strategically for best results!

Minefield   #teampedia   #teamwork   #action   #team   #icebreaker   A fun activity that helps participants working together as a team while teaching the importance of communication, strategy and trust.

Crocodile River

The Crocodile River is a team-building activity in which group members need to support each other in a task to move from one end of a space to another. It requires working together creatively and strategically in order to solve a practical, physical problem. It tends to emphasize group communication, cooperation, leadership and membership, patience and problem-solving.

Crocodile River   #hyperisland   #team   #outdoor   A team-building activity in which a group is challenged to physically support one another in an endeavour to move from one end of a space to another. It requires working together creatively and strategically in order to solve a practical, physical problem. It tends to emphasize group communication, cooperation, leadership and membership, patience and problem-solving.

This is a simple game to help team members learn how to work together (better). It can also focus on the group’s understanding of communication, leadership, problem-solving, trust or persistence. Participants stand in a circle, close their eyes and put their hands into the circle to find two other hands to hold. Then they open their eyes and the group has to try to get back into a circle without letting go, though they can change their grip, of course.

Human Knot   A physical-participation disentanglement puzzle that helps a group learn how to work together (self-organize) and can be used to illustrate the difference between self-organization and command-control management or simply as a get-to-know-you icebreaker. Standing in a circle, group members reach across to connect hands with different people. The group then tries to unravel the “human knot” by unthreading their bodies without letting go of each other people’s hands. As a management-awareness game to illustrate required change in behavior and leadership on a management level (e.g., illustrate the change from ‘task-oriented’ management towards ‘goal/value-oriented’ management).

Who are you? The pirate ship exercise

Every member of a group occupies a different position in the team. An effective team leader is one who considers their role and is aware of where employees also stand.

This leadership training activity is an effective method of getting a group to consider their roles with the metaphor of a pirate ship. Start by sharing the image and invite each person to consider which person on the deck they most identify with. Is it the captain, or perhaps is it the person repairing damage to the hull? What follows is an effective conversation on roles within a team.

Who are you? The pirate ship exercise (dinámica del barco pirata)   #team alignment   #team   #remote-friendly   #teamwork   #warm up   #icebreaker   This an easy but powerful exercise to open a meeting or session and get participants to reflect on their attitudes or feelings about a topic, in the organization, team, or in the project.

Collaborative leadership activities

Whether you’re leading a small group or working across a massive organization, part of your role of a leader is to help their team work together more effectively. Removing obstacles to effective collaboration and creating frameworks for better teamwork is something you’ll be doing as a leader.

Use the activities below to develop the skills necessary to facilitate better collaboration and working habits between team members.

Circles of Influence

Effective teamwork is often about identifying where each member of a team can have the most impact and use their skills best. Leaders often need to find ways to identify where to direct their team and consider how different skills and working styles fit together to make a cohesive team. This activity makes it easy to facilitate this process and encourage employees to reflect and be proactive too!

We love that this leadership exercise encourages every team member to take responsibility and action. When looking for leadership qualities in a group and considering who you might want to develop into a future leader, this is also a great place to start!

Circles of Influence   #hyperisland   #team   #team effectiveness   A workshop to review team priorities and made choices about what to focus on individually and collectively. The workshop challenges members to reflect on where they can have the most impact and influence. Use this workshop to refine priorities and empower ownership among team members.

Team of Two

Whether you’re leading a team of just a few people or hundreds, the reality is that many of your discussions and interactions with the people you will lead will be interpersonal and one-on-one in nature. Developing the skillset you need to solve issues in your team when they arise and finding ways to ensure these conversations are productive is one of the most important things you can do as a leader.

Use Team of Two whether working online or as part of an in-person session to help your working pairs and interpersonal relationships go from strength to strength. By articulating needs and consequences clearly, this leadership exercise helps people communicate efficiently and see the results they need – a must for anyone in a leadership role! 

Team of Two   #communication   #active listening   #issue analysis   #conflict resolution   #issue resolution   #remote-friendly   #team   Much of the business of an organisation takes place between pairs of people. These interactions can be positive and developing or frustrating and destructive. You can improve them using simple methods, providing people are willing to listen to each other. “Team of two” will work between secretaries and managers, managers and directors, consultants and clients or engineers working on a job together. It will even work between life partners.

What I Need From You

One of the most important leadership skills to cultivate is clarity: being clear in what you expect and need from others in your organisation or group is an integral component of high-functioning teams. With What I Need From You, each team member involved in the exchange is given the chance to articulate their core needs to others and respond in a structured way.

This kind of clear, direct action is great at unblocking conversational roadblocks in both large and small groups, and is something all leaders should have in their toolkit.

What I Need From You (WINFY)   #issue analysis   #liberating structures   #team   #communication   #remote-friendly   People working in different functions and disciplines can quickly improve how they ask each other for what they need to be successful. You can mend misunderstandings or dissolve prejudices developed over time by demystifying what group members need in order to achieve common goals. Since participants articulate core needs to others and each person involved in the exchange is given the chance to respond, you boost clarity, integrity, and transparency while promoting cohesion and coordination across silos: you can put Humpty Dumpty back together again!

Generative Relationships STAR

The relationships between the members of a team can make or break the work you do together. In this leadership training activity, leaders learn how to help a group understand their current working patterns and identify possible changes.

Each participant will individually rate the current performance of the group on the 4 points of the STAR compass tool included. Next, small groups will discuss their choices and find points of alignment and disagreement. Finally, the whole team will discuss the first steps they can take to improve relationships and performance for the group.

Generative Relationships STAR   #team   #liberating structures   #teamwork   You can help a group of people understand how they work together and identify changes that they can make to improve group performance. All members of the group diagnose current relationship patterns and decide how to follow up with action steps together, without intermediaries. The STAR compass tool helps group members understand what makes their relationships more or less generative. The compass used in the initial diagnosis can also be used later to evaluate progress in developing relationships that are more generative.

Team Canvas

When it comes to enabling true collaboration throughout your organization, it pays to involve your team members in helping shape the way you want to work together. Different leadership styles may call for a different approach to this process, but it’s always helpful to see a complete example of how you might define your team culture and working processes.

In this workshop template, you can see a complete agenda for a team canvas workshop. This will take a team through a process of co-creating and defining everything from your goals, values, assets, and rules. Effective leadership often means tapping into group intelligence and enabling your team to take shared ownership of their success. Team Canvas great way of achieving this!

Team Canvas Session   #team alignment   #teamwork   #conflict resolution   #feedback   #teambuilding   #team   #issue resolution   #remote-friendly   The Team Canvas is Business Model Canvas for teamwork. It is an effective technique to facilitate getting teams aligned about their goals, values and purposes, and help team members find their role on the team.

Inspirational leadership activities

Great leaders inspire others. However, there are many different reasons why someone will find a leader inspirational. Developing the skills to inspire team members and lead with this energy is important, whatever your leadership style.

In order to grasp what facilitates inspiring leadership, try the following exercises. You’ll be surprised at how thinking more deeply about your own role models or what your values can help you in all of your leadership interactions!

Leadership Advice from your Role Model

Everyone is asked to think of a role model they look up to and ask themselves: If a young person would ask these role models for leadership advice and what kind of advice that would be.

Facilitate a group conversation where these pieces of advice are shared and contradicting points are discussed and reconciled. Given diverse enough responses, this structured sharing activity might be a good introduction to the concept of situational leadership.

Leadership Advice from Your Role Model   #skills   #leadership   #thiagi   #role playing   This structured sharing activity provides a faster, cheaper, and better alternative to buying and reading a lot of books: You tap into the wisdom of the group—and of their role models.

Living Core Values

The core values of your organization are a great place to look when you want to inspire your team members. Leaders should be involved in defining and exemplifying their core values and also helping create space for the team to share how they’re living those values. The result is an inspiring leadership exercise that allows a leader to help the group celebrate their wins and also suggest places for improvement.

Start by choosing one of your core values and asking activity participants to share a story of how they have been practicing this core value. After sharing, ask the team to reflect on what inspired them from the story. As with any leadership development game, be the first one to share a story to help guide the discussion. Running this exercise will not only help inspire a team to greater heights but also surface any areas that need improvement – it’s a great method to have in your leadership toolbox!

Living Core Values   #culture   #values   #core values,   #connection   #inspiration   #virtual_friendly   #team   #team alignment   #energizer   #remote-friendly   For use with a team, organization or any peer group forum. Can be done in person or virtual This is designed to create a conversation that brings Core Values alive. This is great for a team that knows what values they stand for. Through this exercise they will celebrate their values in action and therefore be energized to magnify them further. It will also help bring along anyone that is new so they can understand that the group really walks the talk

Throughout human history, stories have been a consistent source of inspiration. Whatever your leadership style, finding time to share more about your own story and create space for others to share theirs can be massively useful as a leader.

In Campfire, start by creating a selection of 10-20 sticky notes relating to a concept you wish to explore with the group. Put these on the wall and then invite your group to review them and consider stories they might tell related to one of those words. Start the storytelling session yourself and think about how you might inspire and elicit further stories from the rest of the team before passing the torch to the next person around the campfire!

This is a great activity to run during leadership training or when team building. Creating safe spaces for people to share their experiences is a leadership skill you absolutely want to cultivate and practice!

Campfire   #gamestorming   #team   #remote-friendly   #storytelling   Campfire leverages our natural storytelling tendencies by giving players a format and a space in which to share work stories—of trial and error, failure and success, competition, diplomacy, and teamwork. Campfire is useful not only because it acts as an informal training game, but also because it reveals commonalities in employee perception and experience.

Letter from the Future

Leaders are often called upon to inspire their team members about the future of their product or organization. Employees who are excited about where you’re going are more likely to work together well and be energized to see results. This activity is useful for helping inspire a team, or even just to inspire yourself as a leader and get your vision for the future down on paper!

Begin by asking your team to speculate on what the world will look like in five years. Next, ask them to write a letter from the future detailing what the group has accomplished in that time and how they overcame any challenges.

Share the results to inspire the group for what you might accomplish and also start creating plans for how you’ll create your desired future. You might even find that running this activity solo is effective when thinking about how you want to develop as a team leader!

Letter from the Future   #strategy   #vision   #thiagi   #team   #teamwork   Teams that fail to develop a shared vision of what they are all about and what they need to do suffer later on when team members start implementing the common mandate based on individual assumptions. To help teams get started on the right foot, here is a process for creating a shared vision.

Leadership activities for personal development

A good leader is one who helps uplift and upskill the members of their team. These leadership activities are designed to help you encourage participants to be more autonomous, take initiative and work on their personal development.

If you’re new to a leadership role or trying on various leadership styles, these can also be great activities to practice on the road to leading a team. Growth and development is a vital aspect of employee happiness and fulfilment – be sure to bring ideas for enabling others to your leadership role.

Roles in a meeting

Learning by doing is an important aspect of effective leadership. Sometimes, you have to try something new and approach the task with an open mind while working to the best of your ability. This simple method is a great way of encouraging participants to take an important role during a meeting and also take part in developing and refining those roles.

If you’re running a leadership development program and want to start upskilling participants, this is a great way of delegating some simple leadership roles. Plus, it helps encourage the group to contribute and engage with how a successful meeting is put together too!

Roles in a meeting   #meeting facilitation   #remote-friendly   #hybrid-friendly   #skills   Organize the day’s meeting by co-creating and assigning roles among participants.

Alignment & Autonomy

One of the most impactful things a leader can do is get out of a team’s way and allow them to perform more autonomously. Doing so effectively means people can take ownership of their work, be more invested, and develop their skills too. But how can you do this without creating chaos or misalignment?

In this activity, you first help every team member align on your goals and then reflect on where they can take more ownership and be more autonomous in their work while still contributing to the goals of the team. Not only is this a great way to help your team develop, but it also takes work off your plate as a leader and can enable you to get out of the trenches if necessary.

Alignment & Autonomy   #team   #team alignment   #team effectiveness   #hyperisland   A workshop to support teams to reflect on and ultimately increase their alignment with purpose/goals and team member autonomy. Inspired by Peter Smith’s model of personal responsibility. Use this workshop to strengthen a culture of personal responsibility and build your team’s ability to adapt quickly and navigate change.

15% Solutions

One of the biggest barriers to personal development is being overwhelmed by what you need to do to achieve your goals. As a leader, you can help your team by enabling them to take the small, important actions that are within their control.

Start by asking participants to reflect on where they have the discretion and freedom to act and how they might make a small step towards a goal without needing outside help. By flipping the conversation to what 15% of a solution looks like, rather than 100%, employees can begin to make changes without fear of being overwhelmed.

15% Solutions   #action   #liberating structures   #remote-friendly   You can reveal the actions, however small, that everyone can do immediately. At a minimum, these will create momentum, and that may make a BIG difference.  15% Solutions show that there is no reason to wait around, feel powerless, or fearful. They help people pick it up a level. They get individuals and the group to focus on what is within their discretion instead of what they cannot change.  With a very simple question, you can flip the conversation to what can be done and find solutions to big problems that are often distributed widely in places not known in advance. Shifting a few grains of sand may trigger a landslide and change the whole landscape.

The GROW Coaching Model

The best leaders are often great coaches, helping individual team members achieve their potential and grow. This tried and test method is a wonderful way to help activate the development of everyone from a new start to an established leader.

Begin by teaching your mentee or group the GROW acronym (Goal, Reality, Obstacles/Options, and Will.) and guide them through a process of defining each section and collectively agreeing on how you’ll make progress. This is an effective leadership activity that is great for leadership training and is equally useful when it comes to help any team member grow.

The GROW Coaching Model   #hyperisland   #coaching   #growth   #goal setting   The GROW Model is a coaching framework used in conversations, meetings, and everyday leadership to unlock potential and possibilities. It’s a simple & effective framework for structuring your coaching & mentoring sessions and great coaching conversations. Easy to use for both face-to-face and online meetings. GROW is an acronym that stands for Goal, Reality, Obstacles/Options, and Will.

Decision-making leadership activities

An important aspect of leadership development is learning how to make informed and intelligent decisions while also ensuring you listen to your team. A leader who bulldozes their team into a decision without first listening to their expertise is not going to make their team feel valued.

The outcomes of uninformed decisions are often poor or frustrating for those involved too. While leaders are justifiably responsible for making final decisions, it’s integral to find methods to do so in a well-reasoned way.

These leadership activities are useful when it comes to making good decisions while involving your team members in the process and developing a leadership style that creates space for others.

When solving problems as a team, it’s common to have various options for moving forward. As a leader, it often falls to you to make the decision for which solution or direction to pursue. But how can you do that while also creating space for the opinions of your team to be heard?

Dotmocracy is a tried and tested facilitation method for making informed decisions with the help of your team. After presenting the available options, give everyone on your team a number of dots to indicate which option they prefer. You’ll want to adjust the number of votes based on the number of options there are to choose from. A good rule of thumb is to have fewer dots than there are options, giving just a few for every team member.

Leaders want to be on hand to break any ties and to facilitate discussion around what is chosen, but when it comes to making decisions with your team, this method is hard to beat.

Dotmocracy   #action   #decision making   #group prioritization   #hyperisland   #remote-friendly   Dotmocracy is a simple method for group prioritization or decision-making. It is not an activity on its own, but a method to use in processes where prioritization or decision-making is the aim. The method supports a group to quickly see which options are most popular or relevant. The options or ideas are written on post-its and stuck up on a wall for the whole group to see. Each person votes for the options they think are the strongest, and that information is used to inform a decision.

Impact and Effort Matrix

The hallmark of a good decision making process is transparency. Leaders should know why a decision is made and should be able to clearly explain their thinking to team members. As such, the best decision making activities make the process open and easy to understand.

Start this activity by creating a 2×2 matrix and then place possible options on the matrix based on the expected impact and effort it would take to achieve them. This makes it easy to prioritize and compare possible decisions while also including team members in the process.

An inclusive leadership style means bringing your own knowledge to the table while also listening to the opinions of the team. When running this activity, be sure to combine these aspects to ensure items are placed in the appropriate place on the matrix.

Impact and Effort Matrix   #gamestorming   #decision making   #action   #remote-friendly   In this decision-making exercise, possible actions are mapped based on two factors: effort required to implement and potential impact. Categorizing ideas along these lines is a useful technique in decision making, as it obliges contributors to balance and evaluate suggested actions before committing to them.

Level of influence

Making the right decision is often a process of weighing up various factors and prioritizing accordingly. While there are many methods for doing this, being an effective leader often means making this as simple as possible.

We love this decision making activity because it asks the group (and its leader!) some simple questions to narrow down possible options and makes it easy to prioritize too. Start by asking the level of influence a team has to make possible actions happen and ranking them accordingly.

Next, choose those items that you have the most influence on and then prioritize the ones you really want to happen. This simple, two-step process is a great activity for leadership development as it is something any leader can use with ease!

Level of Influence   #prioritization   #implementation   #decision making   #planning   #online facilitation   This is a simple method to prioritize actions as part of an action planning workshop, after a list of actions has been generated.

Fishbone Analysis

Making good decisions requires a complete knowledge of the problem at hand. For leaders who may no longer be on the frontlines of their department, it’s important to surface insights from their team and understand the root cause of any problem before making a decision.

In this leadership activity, start by choosing a problem area and adding it to the head of the fish. Next, brainstorm ideas that might cause the problem and add these as categories to the skeleton. Brainstorm on each of these categories and ask why is this happening in order to dive deeper and fully understand the issue at hand before making an informed decision as a group.

Fishbone Analysis   #problem solving   ##root cause analysis   #decision making   #online facilitation   A process to help identify and understand the origins of problems, issues or observations.

Leadership exercises for setting team values

Usually, the values of a leader are mirrored in the organization. If shortcuts are common practice for the leader, then she will see shortcuts made by her team members all across their projects. But if learning and self-improvement are important to the leader, then this will be a good foundation for these values in the whole organization, too.

To be more aware of your own values as a leader and then bring these ideas to your team, try these leadership exercises!

Explore Your Values

Explore your Values is a group exercise for thinking on what your own and your team’s most important values are. It’s done in an intuitive and rapid way to encourage participants to follow their intuitions rather than over-thinking and finding the “correct” values.

It’s a good leadership game to use to initiate reflection and dialogue around personal values and consider how various leadership styles might chime with some values more than others.

Explore your Values   #hyperisland   #skills   #values   #remote-friendly   Your Values is an exercise for participants to explore what their most important values are. It’s done in an intuitive and rapid way to encourage participants to follow their intuitive feeling rather than over-thinking and finding the “correct” values. It is a good exercise to use to initiate reflection and dialogue around personal values.

Your Leadership Coat of Arms

In this leadership development activity, participants are asked to draw their own coat of arms symbolising the most important elements of their leadership philosophy. The coat of arms drawings are then debriefed and discussed together with the group.

This activity works well with equally well with leadership and team members. Creating a visual representation of what you stand for in the form of a coat of arms can help create a memorable asset you can refer to and rally behind in the future.

Your Leadership Coat of Arms   #leadership   #leadership development   #skills   #remote-friendly   #values   In this leadership development activity, participants are asked to draw their own coat of arms symbolising the most important elements of their leadership philosophy. The coat of arms drawings are then debriefed and discussed together with the group. After the exercise you may prepare a coat of arms gallery, exhibiting the leadership approach and philosophy of group members

Team Purpose & Culture

Ensuring all group participants are aligned when it comes to purpose and cultural values is one of the jobs of a leader. Teams and organizations that have a shared and cohesive vision are often happier and more productive and by helping a group arrive at these conclusions, a good leader can help empower everyone to succeed. Even with multi-discipline teams and organizations with different leadership styles, this method is an effective way of getting everyone on the same page. This is a framework you’ll likely use again and again with different teams throughout your career.

Team Purpose & Culture   #team   #hyperisland   #culture   #remote-friendly   This is an essential process designed to help teams define their purpose (why they exist) and their culture (how they work together to achieve that purpose). Defining these two things will help any team to be more focused and aligned. With support of tangible examples from other companies, the team members work as individuals and a group to codify the way they work together. The goal is a visual manifestation of both the purpose and culture that can be put up in the team’s work space.

Leadership communication activities

Leaders are usually viewed as the parents of the organization. It is expected from them that they take care of their people and make sure that proper norms and rules are followed. One of the key areas where a leader has a large influence is the style and amount of communication between people.

Active Listening and giving effective feedback are critical skills to have as a leader but are also crucial for your team members. In fact, the issue that leaders rank as one of the biggest barriers to successful leadership is avoiding tough conversations, including giving honest, constructive feedback .

Develop good communication practices with the following leadership games and activities.

Active Listening

This activity supports participants in reflecting on a question and generating their own solutions using simple principles of active listening and peer coaching. It’s an excellent introduction to active listening but can also be used with groups that are already familiar with this activity. Participants work in groups of three and take turns being “the subject” who will explore a question, “the listener” who is supposed to be totally focused on the subject, and “the observer” who will watch the dynamic between the other two.

Active Listening   #hyperisland   #skills   #active listening   #remote-friendly   This activity supports participants to reflect on a question and generate their own solutions using simple principles of active listening and peer coaching. It’s an excellent introduction to active listening but can also be used with groups that are already familiar with it. Participants work in groups of three and take turns being: “the subject”, the listener, and the observer.

Trust battery

Every time you work together with someone, your trust battery – the trust you have towards a certain person, or the ‘emotional credit’ that person has in your eyes – either charges or depletes based on things like whether you deliver on what you promise and the social interaction you exhibit. A low trust battery is the core of many personal issues at the workplace.

This self-assessment activity allows you and your team members to reflect on the ‘trust battery’ they individually have towards each person on the team and encourages focus on actions that can charge the depleted trust batteries.  It also works great when promoting virtual leadership and working with online teams!

Trust Battery   #leadership   #teamwork   #team   #remote-friendly   This self-assessment activity allows you and your team members to reflect on the ‘trust battery’ they individually have towards each person on the team, and encourages focus on actions that can charge the depleted trust batteries.

Feedback: Start, Stop, Continue

Regular and constructive feedback is one of the most important ingredients for effective teams. Openness creates trust, and trust creates more openness. This is an activity for teams that have worked together for some time and are familiar with giving and receiving feedback. The objective of Start, Stop, Continue is to examine aspects of a situation or develop next steps by polling people on what to start, what to stop and what to continue doing.

For those in charge of online leadership, it’s vital to find ways of having difficult conversations in constructive ways virtually – try this method when working to resolve issues with your distributed team!

Feedback: Start, Stop, Continue   #hyperisland   #skills   #feedback   #remote-friendly   Regular, effective feedback is one of the most important ingredients in building constructive relationships and thriving teams. Openness creates trust and trust creates more openness. Feedback exercises aim to support groups to build trust and openness and for individuals to gain self-awareness and insight. Feedback exercises should always be conducted with thoughtfulness and high awareness of group dynamics. This is an exercise for groups or teams that have worked together for some time and are familiar with giving and receiving feedback. It uses the words “stop”, “start” and “continue” to guide the feedback messages.

Reflection: Team

All leaders know the value of structured and considered reflection. Teams that take the time to reflect and improve are those that can grow and by creating an environment of reflection, team leaders and managers can help their group move forward together. This method is effective for both offline and virtual leadership development. It helps a group progress from individual reflection through to full group discussion in a way that encourages constructive thought and minimizes potential frustration or antagonistic conversation. 

Reflection: Team   #hyperisland   #team   #remote-friendly   The purpose of reflecting as a team is for members to express thoughts, feelings and opinions about a shared experience, to build openness and trust in the team, and to draw out key learnings and insights to take forward into subsequent experiences. Team members generally sit in a circle, reflecting first as individuals, sharing those reflections with the group, then discussing the insights and potential actions to take out of the session. Use this session one or more times throughout a project or program.

Leadership conflict resolution activities

One of the most important leadership skills you’ll want to develop is the ability to mediate and resolve team conflicts. Even the most connected and effective teams can run into conflict and it will fall to managers and team leaders to help get things back on track.

Even for established leaders, navigating conflict can be difficult! These leadership development activities are designed to help groups manage and resolve conflicts more effectively.

Giving leaders a framework they can trust and use with their team right away is always a good use of time, and we’d recommend teaching these methods to all new leaders!

What, So What, Now What?

It’s easy to get lost in the woods when it comes to managing conflict. Helping a group see what happened objectively and without judgment is an important leadership skill, and this framework helps make this process easy.

Start by working with the group to collect facts about what happened before moving towards making sense of them. Once everywhere has been heard and given space to process these facts, you can then move towards suggesting practical actions. By following this kind of framework, you can manage a conflict in a pragmatic way that also ensures everyone in a group can contribute.

W³ – What, So What, Now What?   #issue analysis   #innovation   #liberating structures   You can help groups reflect on a shared experience in a way that builds understanding and spurs coordinated action while avoiding unproductive conflict. It is possible for every voice to be heard while simultaneously sifting for insights and shaping new direction. Progressing in stages makes this practical—from collecting facts about What Happened to making sense of these facts with So What and finally to what actions logically follow with Now What . The shared progression eliminates most of the misunderstandings that otherwise fuel disagreements about what to do. Voila!

Conflict Responses

All of us can be guilty of handling conflicts in a less than ideal manner. Part of developing as a leader is identifying when something didn’t go well before finding ways to do things better next time.

In this leadership activity, ask the group to provide examples of previous conflicts and then reflect on how they handled them. Next, ask everyone to reflect on how they might change their behavior for a better outcome in the future. As a leader, use this opportunity to lead the way and be honest and vulnerable. It’s your role to provide a model for interaction and its always worthwhile to see how you can do better as a people manager dealing with conflict too!

Conflict Responses   #hyperisland   #team   #issue resolution   A workshop for a team to reflect on past conflicts, and use them to generate guidelines for effective conflict handling. The workshop uses the Thomas-Killman model of conflict responses to frame a reflective discussion. Use it to open up a discussion around conflict with a team.

Bright Blurry Blind

Finding opportunities to reframe conflict as an opportunity to solve problems and create clarity is a very useful leadership quality. Often, conflict is a signifier of a deeper problem and so finding ways to surface and work on these issues as a team is a great way to move forward and bring a group together too.

In this leadership activity, start by asking the group to reflect on the central metaphor of bright to blind issues or topics, based on whether the problem is out in the open or unknown. Next, invite small groups to ideate on what issues facing the team are bright, blurry, or blind and then discuss them as a group. By working together to illuminate what is blurry or blind, you can create a one-team mentality and start resolving problems that can lead to conflict too.

Bright Blurry Blind   #communication   #collaboration   #problem identification   #issue analysis   This is an exercise for creating a sense of community, support intra and inter departmental communication and breakdown of “Silos” within organizations. It allows participants to openly speak about current issues within the team and organization.

The Art of Effective Feedback Workshop

All leaders will need to give effective feedback in order to help their team develop and do great work. The best leaders also solicit feedback from their direct reports and use this is an opportunity to grow. But how can you teach these feedback skills and help leaders develop this important skill?

Check out our Effective Feedback Workshop template for a complete agenda you can use to develop this leadership skill. You’ll find a ready-to-go workshop with a guide and PowerPoint presentation you can use to help anyone in a leadership role give and receive better feedback.

Workshop design made easy

Designing and running effective workshops and meetings is an important leadership skill; whether it’s staying organized and on time during your daily stand-ups or planning more involved sessions.

With SessionLab, it’s easy to create engaging workshops that create impact while engaging every member of your team. Drag, drop and reorder blocks  to build your agenda. When you make changes or update your agenda, your session  timing   adjusts automatically , saving you time on manual adjustments.

Collaborating with stakeholders or clients? Share your agenda with a single click and collaborate in real-time. No more sending documents back and forth over email.

Explore  how you and your team might use SessionLab  to design more effective sessions or  watch this five minute video  to see the planner in action!

Now over to you…

I hope you have found some useful tips for leadership development workshops above. Now we’d love to hear from you!

What are your favorite leadership workshop ideas and training exercises for leadership development? Did you incorporate any of them into your facilitation practice?

Have you tried any of the activities above? Let us know about your experiences in the comments.

23 Comments

Thank you for sharing such great activity ideas. It is greatly appreciated and a perfect example of how the internet can and does serve the greater good!

Thank you, Jeanne! Great to see that you have found some useful ideas here!

Thank you this is very helpful in building new activities and revitalising teaching.

You’re welcome, Christine! Great to see that you’ve found the post helpful!

Thank you for the magnanimity of sharing these activities. We will choose and run and I am sure they will be very effective.

You are welcome, Roofi – enjoy using these activities at your sessions!

Thank you for sharing such great activity ideas. I will use in my leadership training programme

You are welcome man, happy to see that you’ve found some useful inspiration in this post!

Awesome resources for leadership coaching. Thank you so much! Cheers Marion (From Australia)

You’re welcome, Marion! I’m happy to hear you’ve found interesting the techniques above :-)

Thank you so much . I am really having a hard time thinking about what activities to include for my leadership training talk . This is of great help .

That’s nice to hear – I hope your training talk with go great! :-)

These exercises sound great. Does anyone have any feedback as to how these exercises have worked with their teams? Thanks!

Thank you for the question, Jennifer. We’ve used some of these activities at our own team meetings at SessionLab, and I’ve used other ones earlier on at different training workshops. Which one would you be interested to hear more about?

Thank you for these activities, I have used some of them already in my classes when teaching about leadership and leadership styles. Köszönöm!

That’s great to hear, you’re welcome, Réka! If you have any suggestion on how to tweak or run better these activities, we’d love to hear your thoughts :-)

Thank you for these activities. I was struggling to find activities to work on with groups as small as 1-5, but this should work well.

You’re welcome, Albert – Indeed, most of these activities do work well in small groups as well. Wishing best with your next sessions!

wow! this great! very helpful for trainers like me…. thanks you for sharing …

You’re welcome, I’m happy you’ve found these activities useful!

Hi I am trying to find an online simulation for a course I am designing for a college in Ontario, Canada. I am hoping to find something like your Leadership Envelope but in a virtual format or game. The ’rounds’ aspect is particularly interesting as I would like the students to work with one team over 14 weeks and then submit assigned work based on their experiences related to the course concepts.

Please let me know if you provide something like this or can help in any way.

Hey Rick! Thanks for your comment :)

Leadership Envelope is a great method! Sadly, there’s nothing quite like it in our remote-friendly section of the library currently, though there are a heap of virtual team building activities that could be adapted to go for multiple rounds.

We did have some thoughts on how you might perform the Leadership Envelope in a remote format, which I hope will help!

– Use breakout groups in Zoom for each group. – Have each team pass their virtual “envelope” with responses to the facilitator, either over Slack, PM or email – The facilitator then “passes” the leadership principle to the next team, though keeps the responses back – Play continues, with the facilitator collecting the responses under each leadership principle for later distribution – we’d recommend setting these up in an online whiteboard such as Mural or a Google Doc so teams can review them during the evaluation round – In the evaluation round, share the online whiteboard/Google Doc with the teams – they can then score them in the shared online space and present back to the group from there :) – For the final round, everyone returns to a single Zoom session, each team reclaims their cards (or the facilitator can distribute them back) and then you can debrief :)

Hope that helps, Rick! Using a shared online space such as Mural is also a great shout for an ongoing course, as you can collect and display artifacts generated by the teams throughout :)

Let us know how you get on!

Thank you for having the time and effort on sharing this amazing blog with us! I’ll probably read more of your articles.

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Going from a mere idea to a workshop that delivers results for your clients can feel like a daunting task. In this piece, we will shine a light on all the work behind the scenes and help you learn how to plan a workshop from start to finish. On a good day, facilitation can feel like effortless magic, but that is mostly the result of backstage work, foresight, and a lot of careful planning. Read on to learn a step-by-step approach to breaking the process of planning a workshop into small, manageable chunks.  The flow starts with the first meeting with a client to define the purposes of a workshop.…

How does learning work? A clever 9-year-old once told me: “I know I am learning something new when I am surprised.” The science of adult learning tells us that, in order to learn new skills (which, unsurprisingly, is harder for adults to do than kids) grown-ups need to first get into a specific headspace.  In a business, this approach is often employed in a training session where employees learn new skills or work on professional development. But how do you ensure your training is effective? In this guide, we'll explore how to create an effective training session plan and run engaging training sessions. As team leader, project manager, or consultant,…

Effective online tools are a necessity for smooth and engaging virtual workshops and meetings. But how do you choose the right ones? Do you sometimes feel that the good old pen and paper or MS Office toolkit and email leaves you struggling to stay on top of managing and delivering your workshop? Fortunately, there are plenty of online tools to make your life easier when you need to facilitate a meeting and lead workshops. In this post, we’ll share our favorite online tools you can use to make your job as a facilitator easier. In fact, there are plenty of free online workshop tools and meeting facilitation software you can…

Design your next workshop with SessionLab

Join the 150,000 facilitators using SessionLab

Sign up for free

Leadership Topics for Presentation

Have a presentation or a meeting coming up? Need to find leadership training topics to present on or leadership topics for discussion? The Leadership Mission has you covered! Below is our list of leadership training topics, leadership topics for discussion, leadership exercises and leadership team building activities we have compiled that are impactful for leaders at any level. These are designed to get your wheels turning and have proven to be successful across many different organizations.

Want to jump quickly to one particular section? Here are some helpful links!

Leadership Training Topics

Leadership Topics for Presentation and Discussion

Leadership Team Building Activities

Leadership exercises.

The following leadership training topics are great for leaders at any level. These work best in smaller meetings or groups. These topics are designed to generate great discussion and hopefully yield higher functioning managers.

Soft skills

Soft skills are personal attributes that enable someone to interact effectively and harmoniously with other people. These are critically important in today's workforce as now more than ever our workforces require employees to be able to communicate, work as a team, listen and get along with others. Here is a very brief list of soft skills but this topic is HUGE and you could easily turn each of these topics into presentations.

Communication

Problem-solving

Time management

Critical thinking

Decision-making

Organizational

Stress management

Adaptability

Conflict management

Resourcefulness

Openness to criticism

Change management

Today's world changes faster than arguably any other time in history. Between 24 hour news cycles, social media and the explosion in communication methods between individuals, managing change is an essential skill any leader must have. There are a couple of excellent books on this topic by John Kotter called Leading Change and Our Iceberg is Melting. You can also have a good discussion about how your team deals with change and how much change your organization has (or hasn't) had over the years.

Managing effective meetings

Meetings consume so much of the average working person's time. No matter what kind of job you have, meetings are most likely a part of their day or week at some point. How effective are your people at running effective meetings? When was the last time anyone ever thought about it?

A great subtopic for this presentation can be a study and/or game you can play with your attendees call meeting or email? I'm sure you could easily find a handful of examples of meetings that could have been emails (and vice versa) and let your attendees have some fun guessing. Don't be surprised when your team becomes very candid during this meeting about the need for meetings!

Performance management

Managing the performance of others is an extremely important part of any leader's job. Leader's must also be managers and cannot simply rely on connecting with and "leading" people. At the end of the day, we all have hard metrics we are responsible for. One of the most important ones, is the performance of those that work for us.

This topic doesn't get nearly as much attention as it should and I guarantee you can get some good discussions going around the most effective way to do this for you organization. You can discuss how often this happens, annually, bi-annually, monthly? You can discuss what format it is done in and how the teams respond to them. Get your groups thoughts on the effectiveness of your current system and brainstorm if there isn't a better way.

The Six Styles of Leadership

Developed by Daniel Goleman, the six styles have been a staple part of the discussion around situational leadership for awhile. They describe the different ways you need to lead depending on the situation, the people and various other factors. There is plenty of discussion to be had with this topic and is great for new leaders!

The six styles are as follows:

Visionary — mobilize people toward a vision. Works best when a clear direction or change is needed.

Coaching — develop people for the future. Works best when helping people and building long-term strength.

Affiliative — create emotional bonds and harmony. Works best to heal rifts in teams or motivate people in stressful times.

Democratic — build consensus through participation. Works best to create consensus or get input.

Pacesetting — expect excellence and self-direction. Works best to get quick results from a highly competent team.

Commanding — demand immediate compliance. Works best in crisis or with problematic people.

Managing an inbox

This is something that gets taken for granted all of the time and would make a great leadership topic for presentation. The organization, efficiency and 'cleanliness' of inboxes today can be a sensitive subject. No one wants to admit to having thousands of unread emails just sitting there but chances are, most of your leaders do.

How do you as a company manage that? When was the last time anyone cared? Effective inbox organization can do wonders in taking a manager from good to great. It might also get a good conversation started around communication as a whole in your organization.

Managing a calendar

Just like the inbox, calendar's are criminally misused or underused. They can be a great way to manage the obvious things like meetings and calls. However, they can also be a great way to hold teams accountable, document what you did for reflection and serve as a sort of task list for leaders.

Don't make the assumption that everyone knows how to use the calendars. Technology changes so fast and new features come out all of the time. Even if someone in leadership learned how to use outlook ten years ago in college, it might be completely different now!

Leadership Topics For Presentation & Discussion

This section is about topics that make for great discussions or presentations. Whether it be a small group or large one, these topics are always important in the world of business today.

Virtual leadership

Thanks to 2020, so many of us have had to get used to working virtually, which means we've also had to lead virtually as well. This topic is sure to generate discussion on what is working, not working and how everyone feels about it.

This is sure to be an important topic moving forward as companies must decide what their "new normal" is going to be. You might be surprised at how effective or ineffective working virtually is/was. It might open the door to other conversations surrounding flexibility in the workplace.

Most businesses come down to some sort of execution. Whether it be making widgets, serving guests, healing patients or selling goods, every business has some sort of metric when it comes to executing the core function of the business. When was the last time you discussed not only the results but overall execution as a whole? Can you guarantee that the way things are supposed to be done are actually being done?

Additionally, you can discuss training of new hires, repair and maintenance of equipment, employee productivity and anything that goes into actually getting the job done.

When was the last time your organization had a conversation about your company culture? Are expectations meeting reality? Does your team/company know what culture they are supposed to be creating? Having an open and honest conversation about your company culture is a healthy exercise for any company.

It is extremely important that there be a strong moderator for this conversation as it is easy to go off the rails with this subject. That statement shouldn't dissuade you from having the conversation though! A great book on this topic is Good to Great by Jim Collins.

Company specific leadership topics for discussion/presentation

Do you have specific tasks, goals, metrics or items that your leaders should be discussing with their teams? Have you set an agenda that is being pushed down through the organization? Putting together a list similar to this specific for your team might be helpful for your mid level leaders. This list can give them a clean and easily accessible company approved list of topics they should be discussing with their teams.

Giving your leaders a list of exercises that they could practice either by themselves or with their teams makes a great leadership training topic. It is always extremely important to develop yourself as a leader and the other leaders in your organization. Here are some leadership exercises to get you started.

Quality circles

This isn't so much a topic as an activity but is highly effective, especially if your group allows for crossover from different departments, regions, etc. It is amazing how sometimes just putting a fresh set of eyes on a situation can create positive discussions or solutions around a problem. Spend some times thinking about your attendees and split them into smaller groups.

Come up with a top 5 list of challenges or obstacles that each group might be facing and have them discuss it in a "nameless & rankless" frank discussion. Assign a note taker to each group and charge them with capturing key points and takeaways and for keeping the group on point.

Difficult leadership situations

This is a great topic to discuss with your leaders, especially if your group has a good mix of leadership experience and tenure in it. The following situations are always important to talk about and discuss/share with other leaders. The growth that can come from just talking through some of these situations is priceless. Depending on the size of your group, you can either discuss as a whole or break into small groups and have them discuss the following topics:

Dealing with difficult or problem employees

Handling your team's stress and pressure

Letting someone go

Delivering bad news

Leading an initiative you don't agree with

Managing underperforming employees

Internal leadership challenges

This often gets such little attention, yet is one of the most important factors leaders must deal with, their own feelings. Managing your own emotions and generally how you feel about something is way easier said than done. Just like the previous item, having a good mix of leadership experience and tenure is a great.

Just talking about how their fellow leaders handle the following topics can be vitally important for new leaders and great reminders and encouragement for experienced leaders. Unlike the previous item though, it is crucially important that attendees feel comfortable being open. It is one thing to talk about topics that impact others or are conceptual and something entirely different to discuss personal struggles!

Staying humble

Self confidence

Overcoming fear

Handling personal stress and pressure

Avoiding burnout

Staying motivated

Compartmentalizing competing priorities

Keeping work life balance

Situational leadership scenarios

Situational leadership is extremely important in today's modern workforce. Diversity of all types in employee bases has exploded in the last several decades. That means managers and leaders cannot treat everyone the same. A leader that understands using different leadership styles with different people and at different times is critical.

Develop some scenarios that are relevant to your group and ask them to decide how they would approach one differently over another. There is a fantastic book written by Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson on this topic called the One Minute Manager that is a quick read and is very beneficial to new leaders!

The following items are great team builders for small groups or meetings in any professional setting. They are designed to bring team's together, develop teamwork and give any observing leaders some data points about their people!

Build a building

Break your group into small even teams and provide them with their building materials consisting of any combination of the following:

index cards

tooth picks

playing cards

Don't stress over which materials you give them, just as long as it is enough to build a free standing building with! The object is simple, which team can build the largest free standing structure.

Things to consider with this activity:

How will you divide your teams? Be purposeful in how you break them up

Have the teams assign a 'project manager' ahead of time

Take mental notes of how the teams interact and how the assigned managers perform

Qualities of a leader

Break employees into teams and have them share leaders they admire (in any industry). Take notes on the characteristics that these leaders share, then give employees time and space to reflect on the characteristics they share with those leaders before identifying skills they would like to develop in themselves

Use employee notes on skills they would like to develop to design your own training opportunities.

Use employee notes and compare them to your organization. A sort of 'expectations vs reality' mental exercise.

These lists are in no way exhaustive we just think these leadership training activities are great for effective presentations or meetings that will grow the leadership abilities of your team! We'd love to hear from you in the comments below! Or feel free to shoot us an email [email protected]

Need to save this so you can easily remember? Here is a helpful picture you can save for when you need it!

We love hearing from our readers! Leave us a comment below and tell us your thoughts!

Recent Posts

The Pacesetting Leadership Style Summarized

How to Avoid Exercising Your Formal Authority

The Directive Leadership Style Summarized

3 comentários

Great content! Thanks for sharing!

We love hearing from our readers! Leave a comment below and let us know what you think about this article!

Researched by Consultants from Top-Tier Management Companies

Powerpoint Templates

Icon Bundle

Kpi Dashboard

Professional

Business Plans

Swot Analysis

Gantt Chart

Business Proposal

Marketing Plan

Project Management

Business Case

Business Model

Cyber Security

Business PPT

Digital Marketing

Digital Transformation

Human Resources

Product Management

Artificial Intelligence

Company Profile

Acknowledgement PPT

PPT Presentation

Reports Brochures

One Page Pitch

Interview PPT

All Categories

Top 15 Leadership PPT Templates To Inspire and Motivate your Peers

Gunjan Gupta

Eighty-nine percent of global corporations see leadership as a very important issue. They believe that their number one strategic priority is to close the unnecessary leadership gaps. Thus, spending almost $31 billion on improving their leadership initiatives and programs in the year 2017 . These corporations have a strong determination to spend even more on improving their leadership development programs in the coming years. 

Although “leader” and “leadership” are recurrent business terms, only a few enthusiasts know their true meaning. Also, the more recent works of authors and writers like Abraham Zalenznik and Daniel Goleman have brought some fundamental shifts in the way we look at leadership. Their work was radically foreshadowed in W.C.H Presentice’s 1961 article which rejected the notion of “leadership being enforcement of power and possession of extraordinary analytical skills”. Thus changing the entire anatomy of leadership and the way we perceive it. 

With so many schools of thought, challenging our belief system, it is imperative to study this term in detail. 

What follows is a brief about leadership, its qualities, and a few templates to support your vision and mission. 

What exactly is leadership and how to become a great one at that? 

According to Warren Bennis, a pioneering leadership researcher, “ Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality”. It is the responsibility of the leader to possess a deep-sighted vision and get things done based on it. They need to be efficient communicators to emerge as true leaders much like Elon Musk, Steve Jobs, Warren Buffet, and many more. Warren also states that leadership does not depend on one’s title. Thus, anybody can emerge as a true leader to inspire, engage, and influence his peers and stakeholders, without possessing C-level responsibilities in an organization. 

A few Qualities of a Good Leader:

• Passion and innovation 

A leader should be passionate enough to motivate his team and get things done on time. He also needs to be innovative enough to introduce new ideas and strategically implement them with the help of his team. Only a person with a big goal in mind, can build up an efficient team of professionals and meet deadlines on time. Thus making, passion and innovation important qualities for success. 

• Communication skills

A leader should possess indisputable communication skills to simplify the lives of his peers. It is the quality of a great leader to influence the ones listening to him. He should also be able to convey his thoughts with extreme clarity and enthusiasm, to bring in the much-needed good energy among his listeners. Only through the right communication, his team will feel valued and important, thus increasing their overall productivity.  

• Learning Enthusiast

A great leader is one who indulges in self-development activities to hone his skills. He should be an avid learner, constantly replenishing the pool of knowledge and adding more to it. This will help in bringing more to the table.

• Team Enthusiast 

A great leader should be a catalyst of great nature, who can manage a team very well. Much like self-development, a leader should be able to function well as a part of a team, constantly improving the process and simplifying it with every passing phase. Not only this, he should be able to embrace partnership development with other employees, making them feel motivated and also cherished. 

Leadership PPT Templates 

Influence, engage and motivate your peers with this leadership template. Portray your team management skills with this template. This template can also be used as a teaching tool to educate the viewers about the traits and importance of being a good leader. 

Download Leadership PowerPoint Presentation

Conduct a thorough discussion on leadership and its importance. Study different theories and educate your masses about various types of leadership by making use of this creative bundle. Jam-packed with invaluable information on the topic, this template serves as a very resourceful tool to guide your actions. 

Download Behavioral Theories Of Leadership PowerPoint Presentation

The key deliverables of leadership management can be covered with this template. This includes needs, goals, framework, change management model, and similar topics of discussion. Basically, it offers a complete package, that can be used as per your desire. 

Download Leadership Management PowerPoint Presentation

Cover all the essential traits of a good leader with this template. Use it as an educative tool to increase the knowledge of your viewers on topics of leadership, leadership management and its training. The guiding principles to become a good leader is also something that you can cover with this intuitively designed bundle. 

Download Leadership Management Training PowerPoint Presentation

The training and goals of a good leader can be demystified with this complete bundle. It will assist you in providing a birds-eye view of the topic, all thanks to its intuitive design and well-researched content, that covers all the important topics. Therefore, you will face no difficulty in its presentation and understanding as well. 

Download Corporate Leadership Training Proposal PowerPoint Presentation

The importance of introducing a leadership development program can be efficiently covered by this template. Promote the concept of leadership development with the slides given in this layout. All these slides can be edited and customized, to meet your individual needs. 

Download Leadership Development Program PowerPoint Presentation

Coordinate with your peers and discuss everything about leader management with this template. Comprising many slides, it is a great corporate tool to possess. It also serves as a great tool to inculcate leadership qualities in your subordinates by listing them one by one. As such you can make great leaders with this one simple tool that you can download now! 

Download Leadership And Management PowerPoint Presentation

Maximize the efficiency and productivity of your employees by creating great leaders. This template can be used to explain the topic of leadership in detail, covering all its key fundamentals. Different slides are added to this set to help you present a large amount of information with ease. 

Download Transactional And Transformational Leadership Development PowerPoint Presentation

You can cover the management, skills, thoughts, plans, policies, and all the key deliverables of leadership with this creative bundle. You can use it to educate your subordinates and explain to them the importance of being a great leader. This will help in improving team functioning as well in increasing your productivity, by inculcating good traits.

Download Leadership Strategies And Practices PowerPoint Presentation

Template 10

Help your team members to emerge as new leaders of today by deploying this PPT template. Define goals and behavior for different situations and the environment with respect to being a good leader. This template covers all the key fundamentals of the topic, thus helping you provide in-depth knowledge to the viewers. 

Download Leadership Model PPT Inspiration Infographic Template

Template 11

Impart enhanced knowledge on how brainstorming can help your viewers in emerging as great leaders. Brainstorming is great to improve upon creativity and innovation, which is one of the primary traits of being a leader. Therefore download this set to help hone your viewers’ leadership skills. 

Download Discussion Brainstorming Decision Making Process PowerPoint Presentation

Template 12

Use this PPT in both the corporate and educational sectors to provide a bird-eye view of the topic. Teachers can use it to explain the objectives of a good leader. This will help in inculcating good leadership qualities in the students. Similarly, organizations can use this layout to help their employees become good leaders, thereby increasing the overall productivity. 

Download Leader Business Communicating Motivational Successful Success Goals Pyramid

Template 13

Discuss different leadership styles and their impact on performance with this complete bundle. It comes in an editable format, thus making designing and presentation work hassle-free. 

Download Leadership Style Business Performance

Template 14

You can discuss and compare different leadership styles with this PPT slide. The comparison can help in deciding which style to adopt in a given situation, thus increasing the overall efficiency of those involved. 

Download Comparing 2 Companies Management Of Styles PPT

Template 15

The 4 P’s that are relevant to becoming great leaders can be discussed with this slide. This helps in making strategic plans more effective and useful. Along with this, it offers editable components, so feel free to make as many adjustments as you like in this slide design.

Download People Strategy Policy Process And Practice

To Conclude…..

Leadership is much more than “understanding people”, “being nice to them” and “getting things done on time”. Therefore, every leader can be good but not everybody can be a leader! 

Also, leadership is not a one-way relationship. Every individual has to work towards building a comfortable environment in the workplace, thus helping the leaders justify their roles and responsibilities . These 15  sets are a great starting point to create some great leaders much like Elon Musk, Steve Jobs, and others. Therefore, download your favorite leadership ppt now! 

Related posts:

• Les 5 styles de leadership ainsi que des modèles PPT pour les mettre en œuvre
• Top 55 Templates To Build Your Leadership Toolkit
• 11 Professional Use Case PowerPoint Templates to Highlight Your Success Stories
• Timelines: 12 Timeline PowerPoint Templates For Your Next Presentation

Liked this blog? Please recommend us

5 Quick Business Takeaways from Avengers: Endgame

[Updated 2023] Top 20 Coaching and Mentoring Templates in PowerPoint for Leadership Development

This form is protected by reCAPTCHA - the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Digital revolution powerpoint presentation slides

Sales funnel results presentation layouts

3d men joinning circular jigsaw puzzles ppt graphics icons

Business Strategic Planning Template For Organizations Powerpoint Presentation Slides

Future plan powerpoint template slide

Project Management Team Powerpoint Presentation Slides

Brand marketing powerpoint presentation slides

Launching a new service powerpoint presentation with slides go to market

Agenda powerpoint slide show

Four key metrics donut chart with percentage

Engineering and technology ppt inspiration example introduction continuous process improvement

Meet our team representing in circular format

• SUGGESTED TOPICS
• The Magazine
• Newsletters
• Managing Yourself
• Managing Teams
• Work-life Balance
• The Big Idea
• Data & Visuals
• Reading Lists
• Case Selections
• HBR Learning
• Topic Feeds
• Account Settings
• Email Preferences

8 Essential Qualities of Successful Leaders

• Rebecca Knight

And how to cultivate them.

Becoming a great leader is a journey of continuous learning and growth. It’s a process — one that thrives on embracing challenges, seeking feedback, fostering connections, and cultivating understanding. In this article, the author outlines the eight most essential leadership qualities, according to Harvard Business School professor Linda Hill, one of the world’s top experts on leadership. Star leaders aren’t born with superhuman capabilities, Linda explains. Rather, they tend to have intentionally put themselves in situations where they have to learn, adapt, and grow — a crucible for developing the tenacity and fortitude to motivate and guide others.

Do you have what it takes to be a great leader ?

• RK Rebecca Knight is a journalist who writes about all things related to the changing nature of careers and the workplace. Her essays and reported stories have been featured in The Boston Globe, Business Insider, The New York Times, BBC, and The Christian Science Monitor. She was shortlisted as a Reuters Institute Fellow at Oxford University in 2023. Earlier in her career, she spent a decade as an editor and reporter at the Financial Times in New York, London, and Boston.

Partner Center