Breakout Activity Options

INTRODUCTION:
1. Think of one of the best leaders you have known.
 What led you to select this person?
 What words describe the experience of working with him/her (the mood, quality, etc.)?
 What seem to be their key pathways to success?
 What did they do to get other people involved? to get others to stretch to reach goals?
 What key lessons about leadership did you learn from the experience of working with
him/her?

2. Pair and Share: Next, agree on about 5 characteristics or behaviors that are most
important in these exemplary leaders. Write each on a separate sticky note.

3. On the board place the five characteristics of leadership (without an explanation) as

headings. Ask pairs to place their sticky notes under the headings that are the best
match.
LEADERSHIP QUOTES
1. Post a variety of leadership quotes around a room. Have each student stand by one that
speaks to them or shows their leadership values. Have them explain why it is relevant to
their lives.
AUDIT: IDENTIFYING OUR MOST IMPORTANT VALUES
1. Preparation: Cut up 8 ½ x 11 sheets of Blue, Pink, Purple, Green & Orange paper into
approximately 3x3 inch squares. Each participant will receive four sheets of paper from
each of the five different colored stacks. Next you will guide the participants through
the following process.

 Blue - Think about four material items/personal possessions that you value the most.
Write down one answer per piece of paper.

 Pink - Write down the four people that are the most important to you. They can be
family members, friends, mentors, professors, etc. Only ONE person per paper (i.e.
can‟t say “parents,” “friends,” etc… on each paper)

 Green - Think about four memories that you always want to have and write them down.
These memories can be good or they can be a tough memory that you have learned
from. However you may want to define them. Things that have made you the person
you are today.
  Orange - Think about four goals that you find important to set for your future. Write
them down.

 Purple – Write down four places that are important to you. It could be your hometown,
K-State, your residence hall, your high school, the home you grew up in; just any
physical place.

2. Take a few minutes to look over these values that you have in front of you and think
about why they are important to you. Now that you have thought about these values,
take six away. When you take these away, that means that they are no longer a part of
your life (i.e. you never met that person, went to that place, have possession of that
item, or are not working towards that goal). Take five more away. Take four more away.
Take three more away. This should leave you with your top three values in life. The top
three things that influence who you are on a day to day basis.
3. Debriefing Questions:
 What values are you left with?
 Why are they important to you?
 Did you find this exercise to be easy?
 What values did you find to be the easiest to eliminate?
 What did you learn from this activity? About yourself?
4. How do your values help to create your vision of the future?
 How will the values that you wrote down affect your life path?
 Do you think you will make the same choices in the future as you did today?
 What pressures in life could make you choose between things in your life?
 How might you prepare to deal with such choices in your future?
 Is what is important to you today going to be as important to you in 5, 10, 20 years?
AUDIT: What is my daily routine?
1. In this exercise leaders think about their daily roles, checking the roles that apply to
their daily activities.

The most powerful leadership tools are the ones you have and use each day.
Problem solver
Referee (settles interpersonal conflict)
Process Manager (ensures that goals are
met)
Procurer (finds and manages resources)
Visionary
Crisis Manager (puts out everyday fires)
 Motivator
Task Master
Counselor (advises with personal issues)
Risk Taker
Expert

CLOSER: WRITING YOUR CREDO (VISION STATEMENT)

1. Explain that a credo is a concise statement of one's beliefs and values.

2. The following are examples of sentence starters for writing your credo:
 I believe that…  I am aware of…
 It is important to…  I will explore…
 I will not…  I must have…
 I will remember to…  I will reflect on…
 I challenge myself to…  I will celebrate…
 I will examine…  I will continue to…

Samples:

Robert Fulghum, author and minister

I believe that imagination is stronger than knowledge—
That myth is more potent than history.
I believe that dreams are more powerful than facts—
That hope always triumphs over experience—
That laughter is the only cure for grief.
And I believe that love is stronger than death

Jack London journalist and social activist

I would rather be ashes than dust!
I would rather that my spark burn out
in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dry-rot.
I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom
of me in a magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.
The function of man is to live, not to exist.
I shall not waste my days trying to prolong them.
I shall use my time.