Warm-ups. 1. What is leadership? Define what the word means to you and give an example.

Transcription

1 Warm-ups 1. What is leadership? Define what the word means to you and give an example. 2. What qualities make someone a good leader? Why? 3. Do you consider yourself to be a leader or a follower? Why? 4. Write about a historical figure who was a great leader. What made him or her so influential? 5. Write about someone in your life who is a great leader. How does he or she inspire you? 6. Many great leaders are determined and committed to their causes. Write about something that you feel passionately about and then explain how you could lead others to also care about your cause. 7. Do you think that leaders are born with the ability to lead, or do you think they develop their leadership skills? Why? 8. Why is it important for leaders to be good listeners? 9. Write about a time when you responded to leadership in your life. What made you decide to listen to the leader you encountered? 10. Think of a leader you admire, and list three of the qualities that make him or her a good leader. Which quality do you share with him or her? Which quality could you improve upon? 11. What are some of the challenges that leaders face? 12. How does positivity play a role in leadership? Think of some leaders you admire and write about times when they have responded with positivity in tough situations. 13. Does a good leader take risks, or does a good leader play it safe in order to protect his or her team? Why?

2 14. Is leadership important to you? Why or why not? 15. Write about a time when you had to make a tough decision. How did you decide what to do? 16. What does it mean to be a good leader? 17. Can a leader influence people to do something bad or do leaders only use their influence for good? Why or why not? 18. Can leaders ever follow other people or do they always need to lead? Why or why not? 19. Write about a time when someone else looked to you to be a leader. What did you do? How did you respond? 20. How can you improve your own leadership skills? 21. One of the best things a good leader can do is to keep going even after making a mistake. When you make a mistake, how do you respond? Is there anything you could do to improve your response? 22. What do you think is the hardest part about being a good leader? 23. Is it more important to fit in with the crowd or to show your individuality? Why? 24. Great leaders must also be great communicators. Write about someone you know who has the ability to make other people listen to what he or she has to say. 25. Think about someone you know who is a good leader. What can you learn from him or her about leadership? 26. Write about a time when you had the opportunity to lead someone else. What were you working on? How did you get the other person (or people) to listen to you? 27. When do you feel most self-confident? Why? How can your self-confidence help you lead others?

3 28. Though leaders set great examples and work hard to inspire others, they do rely on their teams to succeed. Write about a time when you worked together on a team to achieve something great. 29. Think of a leader whom you admire. If you were to write a letter of gratitude for the influence he or she has had on your life, what would you say? 30. What does a good leader do when he or she makes a mistake? How can you learn from the leader s example? Everyone of us has succumbed to peer pressure at one time or another in our lives. Write about a time when you did something wrong because you felt pressured to do it. Do you consider the person who convinced you to do this wrong thing a leader, even if he or she led you in a bad way? 32. Do you think it is more important to be popular or respected by your peers? If you chose popular, do you think that will change when you become an adult? 33. Why is it so important to some kids to be popular in Jr High School? 34. Someone in your class has been bullying you (calling you names, shoving you against lockers, knocking your books out of your hand,) to the point where you know you have to do something about it. How would you handle it, without resorting to violence or retaliation through something like cyberbullying? 35. Have you ever been put in a position of leadership? How did you do? Telling about your experience.

4 36. Someone in your class throws a crumpled up paper at the teacher when her back is turned. No one admits to doing it, so the teacher decides that one half of the class (the side of the room from where the paper obviously was thrown) must come in during recess as punishment. You lucked out since you are in the half of the class that does NOT have to miss recess. Do you think the punishment is fair? If yes, would you think it was fair if you sat on the other side of the classroom? 37. Your best friend starts making fun of the new kid in school because her clothes are somewhat old fashioned and out of style. What do you do or say to your friend? Would you stand up and publically say something or would you wait until you were alone with your friend and confront her? Or would you say nothing for fear of losing her friendship? Choose an answer and write your response defending why you would handle the situation that particular way. 38. You're in a store with your friend when you see him steal a candy bar and some gum. You think he might get caught and don't want to get in trouble just by being with him. What do you do? 39. A leader is defined as a person who guides or directs other people. He is a person who influences people. Yet many celebrities and music makers influence people in ways that are not good and which can actually be harmful. Are they still leaders? Write down what you think the definition of a leader should be. 40. You may have heard the expression, "he's a born leader." Do you think that's true? Is someone a born leader or can he be taught to be a leader? If you think

5 it's a skill which can be taught, what types of things can a person do to learn leadership skills? Write your answer and give several examples. 41. Describe what it takes for a person to earn your respect. We all admire someone for their leadership skills. It might be a teacher, friend or family member. Pick one person whom you admire for their leadership skills and write about the traits that make them special and how they have influenced you in some way. 42. Tell about someone in your past that really made a difference in your life. Describe a specific experience that you remember vividly. 43. There are several qualities one must have to become a great leader. Some of those include the ability to inspire, the ability to delegate, commitment, and confidence. Which of these qualities do you think is the most important one for a leader? Explain why you chose that one quality. 44. American author Kenneth Blanchard has said, "The key to successful leadership is influence, not authority." Give an example of this in your own life by writing about a time you showed leadership by using your influence. 45. There is a proverb which states, Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Can you think of an example where someone in power became too powerful; so much so that they ended up being corrupt? Write about it. 46. A home in the community has burned. Tell how you would help the family recover from the loss.