Leadership Step 3

Leadership: Supporting, encouraging and developing others to achieve a shared goal.

Step 3: I manage dividing up tasks between others in a fair way

Outcomes

To achieve Step 3, learners will be able to divide up tasks between others in a fair way.

In the earlier steps of Leadership, the focus was on learners being able to identify and express their own emotions and then those of others. The focus now shifts to thinking about task management.

Learners need to be able to:

Know how to divide up tasks
Share tasks out in a fair way
Spot if there are problems

Introduction

When we want to do something as a team, it often does not make sense for everyone to be trying to do the same thing at the same time.
We can divide up the job into smaller tasks that different people can do and that add up to the job being completed.
To help, we can ask ourselves:
- Is the task something that one person can do, or does it depend on something else happening?
- Does the task need some specialist skills so that not everyone will be able to do it?
- How long will it take to complete?

Skill Starter

Getting Started

Learners choose how to divide up a warm-up for a sport so that everyone has a leadership role to play when leading the session for others. Once they have decided on each role, group 3 individuals together and let them have 2-3 minutes per group to lead their warm-up sessions.

15 mins

Group activity

Active

Teach & Apply

We can try and spread tasks out evenly based on the amount of effort, time and how enjoyable they are.
If you can tell that people are unhappy, then you should use some of the ideas in Step 2 to have a conversation about what is wrong and then think again about how to share the tasks.
You might also spot a problem if some tasks are taking too long, or someone is struggling to complete a task. In this case, you might be able to help them out, or ask someone else to take on that task or some other tasks to share things out evenly again.

Optional Activity

4-Way Capture the Flag

Rules: 4 equal teams aim to gather all their coloured cones from the other teams to win the game. If they get tagged whilst leaving their area they must sit down until ‘freed’ by a team mate (or you can create jails in the corners). Learners cannot be tagged in their ‘safe zone’. If after 5 minutes there is no clear winner, the team with the most of their colour in their possession wins.

Leaders must allocate 4 roles within team mates:

Runners
Defenders
Freedom fighters (freeing caught runners on their team)
Defending caught runners (within their zone)

Pause the learners twice through the challenge and ask the leaders:

Were team mates happy with their role?
Which role did you play and why?
Was everyone involved at all times?

25 mins

Group activity

Discussion

Active

Reflection & Assessment

Embed these strategies across your teaching and coaching to help learners apply what they’ve learnt.

When tidying up after practical activities encourage the learners to identify and assign the required tasks. Share and celebrate opportunities when learners help each other.

Use these ideas for ways of assessing this skill step to help you check learners’ understanding and confidence.

Observe the learners in group tasks, seeing whether they are able to support their peers if they are struggling and divide up tasks in a fair way.
Ask these reflective questions:
- What do we mean by tasks?
- How can you share tasks between people in a fair way?
- How can you tell if there are problems with how you have divided up tasks?