Teaching sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

10 minutes

Tune In: Rethinking who a leader is

25 minutes

Find Out: Strengths and impact

20 minutes

Take Action: Leading with my strengths

5 minutes

Reflection

Learning intentions

Students will:

understand that leadership is influence and recognise that everyone demonstrates leadership in everyday actions
identify their own leadership strengths and recognise that different people contribute different qualities to a group.

Success criteria

Students can:

practise communication and connection skills that support effective leadership
describe their leadership strengths and how they can use them to support or positively influence others.

Tune In: Rethinking who a leader is

Step 1

Explain to the class that we will be exploring leadership and what we think that looks like.

Create 4 areas of the classroom and label them Strongly agree, Agree, Disagree, Strongly disagree, using the Four Corners Activity Labels.

Read out the following statements and ask students to move to the area that best represents their thinking:

You have to be in charge to be a leader.
Leaders are the most confident people.
Only some people are natural leaders.
Students can be leaders.
You have to be loud to be a leader.
Leaders always have the best ideas.
Helping others is a way of being a leader.
You can be a leader even when no one is watching.

As students move to different areas, invite them to share why they chose their position. Prompt students to consider what has influenced their thinking (e.g. past experiences, people they look up to, what they see at school or in the media).

Highlight differences across the room and reinforce that people can have different perspectives on leadership. Encourage respectful discussion and differing perspectives.

Learning extension: Invite students to work in small groups to reflect on the activity. Ask them to discuss why people may have responded differently to each statement and what may have influenced their thinking. Direct students to consider what this reveals about how we each understand leadership, and how our beliefs can shape the way we see ourselves and others as leaders.

Step 2

Introduce a See–Think–Wonder thinking routine to challenge assumptions about who can be a leader.

Show students a range of images, 1 at a time, from the What Makes a Leader Visual Explainer, which shows different types of leadership, for example

a school captain
a carer supporting an older person
a sibling helping at home
a coach.

Guide students to recognise that leadership can look different in different contexts, and encourage them to look beyond obvious roles and consider actions, behaviours and impact.

Step 3

Explain to students that this lesson will explore 1 key idea: Leadership = influence. Write this on the board and allow students to quietly consider this idea for a moment.

Ask students: Where do you influence others in your everyday life?

Give students a few examples to spark thinking, such as how they influence

group work in class
friendships during break times
their family at home
teammates in sports or other group activities.

Invite students to discuss their ideas with a partner before sharing with the class. As students contribute, draw out a range of examples and highlight that influence can happen in both big and small moments.

Explain that leadership is not about having an official title, a badge or being ‘in charge’. Instead, it is about how our actions, words and behaviours impact others. Reinforce that this impact is what we call influence, and that means everyone is already a leader in different ways.

Find Out: Strengths and impact

Step 1

Explain to students that if leadership is about influence, then the way we influence others often comes from our strengths. Have students reflect on the question: What do you think a strength is?

Elicit a few responses from the class, then guide students toward a shared understanding: A strength is a quality in how you think, act or behave that helps you do something well or support others.

Provide students with a few relatable examples:

Someone who listens carefully = strong listener.
Someone who keeps trying = persistent/determined.
Someone who includes others = kind or inclusive.
Someone who explains things clearly = good communicator.

Invite students to reflect on the leadership examples explored earlier in the lesson (refer to the images discussed). Then ask: What kind of strengths did we see in these leaders?

Have students share their responses and write them on the board to form a strengths brainstorm.

Step 2

Organise students into small groups of 3–4 and provide each group with 1 Strengths Scenario Card. Explain that for their scenario, they need to discuss 3 things:

What influence is happening here?
What strengths are being used?
How does this support others?

Invite each group to share their scenario and their answers with the class.

Step 3

Outline to students that strong leadership is not just about what we do, but how we communicate and connect with others.

Introduce 3 key leadership communication skills and write them on the board:

Active listening (giving full attention, not interrupting, showing you understand)
Encouraging language (using positive and supportive words)
Clear and respectful speaking (explaining ideas calmly and respectfully).

Briefly discuss each skill and invite students to share where they have seen or used these before in their own leadership.

Step 4

Read out the following scenario to students:

‘Your class is working in small groups to create a poster for an upcoming school event. One student in the group, Alex, quickly takes the lead and says, “Okay, I’ll decide what we’re doing so we don’t waste any time.” Alex assigns roles to everyone in their group without asking for other people’s ideas. One student looks unsure but doesn’t say anything. Another student tries to suggest a different idea, but Alex quickly interrupts them and says, “No, this way will be better, you just need to trust me.” As the group starts working, some students are confused about what to do. One student stops contributing, and another starts to get frustrated. Alex continues working on their own part and doesn’t check in with the group.’

In small groups, ask students to discuss:

What went well? (What did the leader do that helped the group?)
Even better if… (What could the leader do differently to improve how they led the group?)

Encourage students to refer back to the 3 communication skills (active listening, encouraging language, and clear and respectful speaking) when discussing their ideas.

Guide a class discussion with prompts such as:

How did the leader’s communication impact the group?
Which leadership skills were missing or could be improved?
How might the group have felt?
What would positive leadership look like in this situation?

Following this discussion, highlight these key messages:

Leadership is something we can learn and improve.
Reflecting on our actions as a leader helps us grow.
Small changes in how we communicate can have a big impact on others.

Connect this learning forward by reinforcing that students will now think about how they can lead using their own strengths.

Take Action: Leading with my strengths

Step 1

Explain to students that they are now going to apply what they’ve learnt about leadership as influence and the strengths they bring to a group.

Reinforce the message that everyone has different strengths, and leadership is about using those strengths to positively influence others.

Outline to students that they will create a personal leadership plan to help them take action in their everyday lives.

Step 2

Write the sentence stems below on the board. Ask students to create a poster or a digital response using an application (PowerPoint, Canva, etc) that includes the following:

My leadership strengths are…
A strength I use to influence others is…
Who I will positively influence… (e.g. classmates, friends, family, teammates)
How I will use communication to support others…
I will try this when… (encourage specific, real-life situations)

Before students begin, model a simple example aloud to scaffold thinking.

For example: ‘My leadership strengths are kindness and empathy. I use my strength of empathy when I notice a friend is having a tough day. I will positively influence them by checking in and making sure they feel included. I will use kind words and active listening. I will try this during break times at school.’

Encourage students to think about

real situations they are part of
how their strength shows up in action
how they want others to feel as a result of their influence.

Step 3

Invite students to share their leadership plan in pairs or small groups. Encourage students to listen actively and respond respectfully.

Learning support: Provide a simple peer feedback structure for students to use when sharing in small groups, such as: ‘One strength I notice in you is…’ and ‘One way this could positively influence others is…’. This will deepen students' understanding of their strengths and how others see them as a leader.

Reflection

Invite students to reflect individually or as a class on how their thinking has changed.

Ask students to complete the following sentence starters:

I used to think leadership meant…
But now I understand leadership is…

Give students a moment to think and/or write, then invite a few volunteers to share their responses with the class.

Leading From Your Strengths

Go to

Summary

Learning intentions

Success criteria

Lesson Guides and Printables

Lesson Details

Skills Required

Curriculum Mapping

Resources Required

UN Sustainable Development Goals

Additional Information

Related Professional Learning

In this lesson

Leading From Your Strengths

Go to

Summary

Learning intentions

Success criteria

Lesson Guides and Printables

Lesson Details

Skills Required

Curriculum Mapping

Resources Required

UN Sustainable Development Goals

Additional Information

Related Professional Learning

In this lesson