I ran across an old black & white documentary clip from the 1950s on YouTube the other day and, after I stopped laughing, it got me thinking about using movies in schools and in adult educational programs.  When I was in school, we used to cheer those days when the teacher had us watch a movie.  Movies meant free time, (nap time for some), and few expectations for us all.   Since the movie was always the teacher’s choice, brought on board because of its relevance to the topic at hand or its educational qualities, we as students weren’t that invested in the movie.  As I started to teach in higher education, I also had a handful of my faves that I would use in the classroom to help to illustrate a key point or concept or idea.  A few of my students would inevitably pick out the points I was hoping they’d find, but, more often than not, students just seemed bored. 

While there is certainly a time and a place for the use of movies in workplace training classes, I am more convinced that students should do more of the work.  It’s far more interesting and effective to your participants if they identify movies that reflect key learning points rather than you.  Make the search for a movie that is relevant, offers good examples of key concepts and raises awareness as the actual assignment.

I introduced this activity in my leadership program to help participants more firmly grasp different leadership styles.  This activity has become one of the top-rated workshops to date in my leadership programs!  And the best part?  Zero cost to run.  Talk about an effective, cheap training trick, huh?

It’s a 2-parter.  You’ll need to give students time in between sessions to research and identify their movies.   Assign a reading ahead of time.  Then, at the first session, review the reading and introduce your students to leadership styles.  You can use whatever matrix of leadership styles is most relevant and useful to you, but I gravitate to Blake & Mouton’s Leadership Style Grid (Blake, R. R., & J. S. Mouton, The Managerial Grid, 1964,Houston: Gulf) or Daniel Goleman’s six leadership styles (Daniel Goleman, “Leadership that Gets Results,” Harvard Business Review, March-April 200, pp. 78-90, R00204).  An assessment component is always good here, too. 

Next, randomly divide the group down into smaller groups and have each group draw one of the leadership styles you’ve discussed.  If your group is very large, you can have two or even three groups with the same leadership style.

The general assignment is to have each group find a contemporary movie or documentary with a character that illustrates the leadership style you drew.  For example, if you drew the “coaching” style of leadership, the group would want to find a movie with a character who emphasizes learning & development and actively gives feedback about people’s strengths and needs.  This leader would take a “try this” approach to developing others, putting his/her needs on the back burner for the sake of developing the individual or members of the team.

 Let the groups know that the movie doesn’t have to be a text-book example - it’s often far more interesting to find a movie that shows struggles and how the leader overcomes these struggles by using this leadership style.  And even a “bad” example of your leadership style can be informative. 

Give your groups a short time to plan and organize.  It’s up to them to figure out how to complete the activity as a team.  Also, I let the groups know to select clips from the movie – we can’t watch entire movies!  They should also be prepared to show the clip and discuss how this clip illustrates their leadership style.  Give them a time limit – 20 minutes should be sufficient per group, but you decide.

By now you’ve probably guessed that groups come up with some amazing examples.  The last group I ran through this activity came up with “Remember the Titans,” “Armageddon, “The Great Debaters,” and “Lean on Me,” to name but a few.  “I will never watch a movie in the same way,” one participant replied.  That’s what we want from our sessions: getting folks to learn and think on their own in ways that work for them. 

A few things to consider:  make sure you plan ahead and have the right technology on hand!  You don’t want to tie up your time fussing over technology.  And if your workshop happens in the afternoon, don’t forget the popcorn.  Plenty of popcorn.  

Total cost:  Popcorn & movie-theatre candy = $25

If you try this activity, email me and let me know your outcome or any variations you come up with! 

 

 

What's your Leadership Brand?  I used this activity mid-way through a leadership program to give participants an opportunity to evaluate their strengths and leadership qualities.   The premise is simple:  each of us has a unique "brand" or style of leadership.  Of course what we may "think" our style of leadership is and what others see is a different story.  This activity is a great one to create increased awareness among your participants about the power of perception, the importance of self-knowledge and the need for being true to the self.  I am a strong advocate for emphasizing our individual strengths and this activity gives participants permission to identify and then map out their unique leadership qualities - no excuses.  Once we as individuals can identify and then celebrate the unique attributes, styles and dimensions we bring to the leadership role, the easier it is for us to act it out.  The idea is to help people clarify for themselves who they are as a leader, what they value and how they behave.    

What you'll need: 
Numerous magazines - depending on number of participants, 3-4 magazines per participant
Scissors, glue sticks, construction paper, ribbon, basically, all of the fun crafty items for collage making
Poster board or foam core cut into 9" x 12" or 8" x 10" or 9" x 12"

Pre-work:  Assign a reading on personal leadership brand and introduce the activity by discussing the power of image.  You may even want to review and discuss Johari Square as an introduction.  Then, give the group time to create their own collage that best reflects their leadership style.  The specific words that I use are:  you are to create a collage that represents how you want others to view you as a leader.  Be sure the collage reflects your individual values, beliefs, strengths and attitudes that you bring to the leadership role."

Give the group a good 30 - 40 minutes for the actual collage-making process.  The last group I conducted this activity with really had a good time creating their collages and bonded over the course of this creative activity.  Something about stimulating that right brain that brings a group together.

Finish the activity by having each individual show and then explain the key points of their collage.  What is so cool about this activity is that you will all see how accurate each collage is.  That is to say, BIll's collage will eerily look like Bill; Jane's will clearly "look" like Jane, etc.  It's an eye-opener.  Encourage them to post their collages in their offices or work areas.  You may even want to provide participants with a frame (if you are not using foam core) to finish their collage.

Cost: $0 - $25 for supplies 

A "cheap trick" that brings a whole lot of value to your participants.

Here's a variation:

Watercolor or fingerpaint a portrait of a leader.  For this variation, you will need more supplies, such as watercolors or finger paints, paper, easels (perhaps) and kitchy aprons.  A bit more cost here: $30 - $100 for supplies.  If you have a recreation center in your organization or in your community that offers watercolor classes or has crafting for kids or seniors, approach the Manager or teacher and see if you can strike a deal to use their facility and supplies for a small price.  I'll bet they'd be happy to let you use their facilities outside of their normal class times.  Ask the teacher if he or she will even help you devise a creative workshop!  Ask him/her to co-facilitate with you!  Be bold! 

** Some of you may be thinking "my employees are all left-brainers and there's no way they'll go for activities like this."  If that is your situation, you will want to properly plan for activities like this.  First of all, you want to establish a certain amount of trust and team among the group so this doesn't seem so risky.  I also make sure that I educate my program participants about the value - and necessity - of creative activities which stimulate the brain and set the stage for ingenuity.  But also, have faith in your participants.  They'll most likely surprise you.  I am adament with participants about the importance of right-brain activities as a business need.  You will be setting this activity up as the manifestation of research on the importance of self-awareness and personal branding.  If you don't give context and relevance, you could run the risk of the activity being viewed as fluff. 

One of the first questions I ask any trainer or teacher looking to design a new program is "who's your favorite librarian?"  And if they don't have an immediate answer, we need to talk.  You see, librarians are some of the most informed and creative resources you have available to you, so if you're looking for ideas, or help tapping into resources in your local community, do not pass "GO" but immediately go to your local library and take a librarian out for coffee.

Librarians are not only linked up with the most current literature but they are also linked up with your local community.  And they are right there, waiting for you to approach them and ask to collaborate with them.  

If you are looking for help identifying the most current - or even classic - literature on a subject, just stop in, outline your project, and most credible librarians will work on it and get back with you with an up-to-date bibliography.  I always marvel at the ability of a good librarian to sift through the junk (if there is such a thing in the literary world, forgive me) and hone a solid list down of literature that fits my bill.  Looking for short reads, as in articles for your educational programs?  Outline that need to your local librarian and he or she will guide you to the best periodicals that will get you what you need.  If they can't actually do the work for you, they will most certainly lend you a hand, get you pointed in the right direction, and help you out as much as possible. 

One component I wanted to add to a leadership program was a book club.  I wanted to be able to break my group of 20 participants into small groups, assign each group a book to read, and then have each group present to the larger group about key concepts, ideas and principles pertaining to leadership that they garnered from the read.  My local librarian was able to help me create a list of both classic and contemporary literature on leadership for my reading groups.  He even helped me order the books for purchase. 

Because they now know that I am always looking for inspiring, informative and interesting guest speakers, at a discount price, my local librarians keep me in the loop when they hear of new authors and speakers in the community.  I am in debt to my librarians for hooking me up with local authors and speakers who I would never know about on my own.

By now you have the idea.  Create a relationship with your library and the staff at your library.  Brainstorm with them.  Ask them for their ideas.  Use their expertise.  Involve them as much as you can.  You will, without a doubt, come up with some excellent "cheap tricks" you can implement in your training programs.  Email me and let me know what you come up with!  

    It may look to outsiders as though leaders got where they are due to a variety of factors.  Could be blind luck.  Maybe they were born with it.  Could be that leaders are better strategists.  Or better communicators.  Or smarter, faster, more tuned in.  
    The truth is it may be a combination of a lot of these things.  In fact, studies reveal that the most effective leaders are those who demonstrate a consistent set of skills and behaviors.  One of those is risk taking.  I don't mean risk taking in the physical sense of jumping out of an airplane, although that's certainly risky.  But most people in a leadership position take risks in the sense of putting themselves "out there" and making themselves visible to the outside world.  For a lot of us, that's pretty risky.  In fact, a lot of us have strong leadership potential, but our tendency is to keep our strengths, our talents, our ideas and our premonitions to ourselves.  It feels too risky to stand out from the crowd.  It seems risky to verbalize our own ideas, partly because once you do so, you are then subject to analysis.  You may have to defend yourself and your position, state your case or explain your logic.  
    But at some point, the most revered leaders don't hesitate to put themselves out there and make their presence truly known to others.  How you do that is up to you.  I guess, think about the ways in which you are not stepping up.  That might be revealing.  Then take a risk.  Be brave and bold.  Do that something that stretches you and pushes you.  It could be something relatively benign, like posting a blog or speaking up in a meeting or standing up to a peer, a boss or an angry neighbor.  It could be about proposing an out-there idea at work that you really, truly believe in.  Leadership is about finding those opportunities to lead the way for others.  Others are looking to you to test the waters. 

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