DEVICES OF LEADERSHIP
Devices of Leadership is a portable tool kit which encourages groups to physically take on positions of leadership. To discover what kind of leaders they are, and train skills associated with other leadership styles. This tool kit is aimed at professional situations and educational programmes related to leadership.
Brief*
Design to encourage public involvement and understanding of democracy and the rule of law.
*Client collaboration with
an organisation tasked with educating citizens, on their Democracy. This project was aimed towards Prodemos’ global 18+ programme ‘Political Actief’ whose goal is to train and encourage citizens to be active in their government.
Part of the Introduction video, shown to users when they first do the exercise.
Everyone can be a leader, but what kind of leader are you?
While one leader may seem like enough, this exercise has four! Each working to discover their position within a conversation. Are you the one who likes to lead from behind? Encouraging and pushing those you lead. Or perhaps you like to be the one in the front making sure everything gets done! Contrary to what you might believe nobody is 'born a leader' we all have traits and skills that are important for leadership.
This exercise is packaged in a neat suitcase, for easy storage and transport.
Participants work together in the exercise but they each get different objectives to fulfill.
By the end of the exercise you discover what kind of leadership fits you and how you could be a more diverse leader.
Perhaps you fit into two or three of the styles or maybe only one. At the end of the exercise you will receive a short description of your leadership style and how to apply it to the real world.
Alongside tips and suggestions of what other leadership styles can help you become a more diverse leader.
With the set comes a research book, explaining details about the exercise and different leadership styles. Users also receive a leadership badge at the end of the exercise, explaining how they can use their leadership and suggesting other styles they can practice to help them become stronger leaders.
Sample of research forms.
Through research and testing I developed the Devices of Leadership exercise.
As a shy, introverted person I never believed myself ‘fit’ for leadership, governmental or in any other instance. After reading the book Quiet: the power of introverts by Susan Cain, I realised this was an old assumption I needed to challenge. Throughout my research I explored and asked many questions. What makes a leader? What skills or experience do leaders need to have? How do people become leaders? In short the answer I came to was everyone can be a leader. I used this project to help people understand the possibilities and diversity of leadership, not through wordy explanations but by physically embodying that position. This exercise highlights the importance of many different styles of leadership, authoritarian, democratic, delegate or transformational and gives people the opportunity to test them out.
Testing group at ProDemos
Now I would like to develop this further into an online accessible exercise.
Considering what has happened in society, coming together at work for physical group exercises are hard to arrange. Therefore I am beginning to process of transforming this project into an online accessible exercise.
If you are interested in testing out the new form of this project or considering to contribute to its success contact me or support the project through this link:
Testing group at Llyods bank in the UK
This project took on many cosmetic changed to get to the end result and now it will change some more!