Leadership Step 4

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

Step 4: I manage time and share resources to support completing tasks

Outcomes

To achieve Step 4, learners will show that they are able to manage the completion of tasks within time constraints, and make sure team members have the resources they need to complete the tasks.

In Step 3, the focus was on how to divide up tasks between others in a fair way. This step builds on this by thinking about the other elements that frequently need to be managed to complete a job.

Learners need to be able to:

Understand how to manage the time of a team
Know how to ensure the team has the right resources
Know how to support their team

Introduction

Part of a leader’s role is to keep their team on track to make sure they get their task done. So, if someone isn’t doing their part, the leader needs to encourage or help them.
One of the main elements to keep track of is time:
- Be clear with your team from the beginning about how much time you have.
- Explain why this deadline (when a task has to be done by) has been set, so that your team take it seriously.
- Then, we can work out how long different tasks will take.
If tasks are not being completed on time, you should decide whether it is okay to run a bit late, to share tasks out differently or give them extra help.

Skill Starter

Hoop Circle Game

Children stand in groups of 4-6 in a circle holding hands. A leader stands outside each circle and supports their team moving the hoop around the circle without anyone breaking hands. Use clear instructions. Set a time limit and allow leaders to see/check the time. Repeat but all learners must close their eyes (except the leader).

10 mins

Group activity

Active

Teach & Apply

Secondly, resources are vital for leaders to track:
- Make sure that people have what they need to complete their tasks, or have the means to acquire those resources. At times, it might be that team members need to share resources in order to complete their different tasks. This could include sports equipment.
The final element to track is support:
- Check how everyone is getting on – if someone is struggling, then help them out or think about whether you have shared out tasks in the right way (see Step 3).
Be positive about progress but don’t ignore problems – just try to fix them quickly. It is important to keep your language really positive to keep your team happy and working on the project.

Optional Activity

Find the Cones

In groups of 4-5 (red, blue, yellow, orange, green team), give each group a bird’s-eye view map of their playing area (can be from an online map or a simple diagram).

Each team gets 4 coloured cones (e.g. red for red team). Explain that each team is going to hide their four cones (and mark a cross on the map where they are hidden) and then return to base camp.

Using another team’s map, they need to find another set of cones (e.g. blue). Each team has to stay together at all times. Assign a new team leader who needs to make sure everyone has a job and everyone stays together.

25 mins

Group activity

Active

Reflection & Assessment

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

Before initiating a group task, ask learners to list different ways in which the team leader and team members might encourage and motivate each other to help complete the task on time.

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

Set tasks with clearly defined deadlines. Observe whether team leaders are able to think about their planning towards achieving this fixed deadline and managing the allocation of resources.
Ask these reflective questions:
- Why is it important for a leader to be able to manage time and resources?
- What sort of resources might you have to manage?
- How can you support your team?