Communications Chapter 02 Homework What New Insights Did They Gain Into

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Instructor Resource

Northouse, Introduction to Leadership, 4e

SAGE Publishing, 2018

Class Activities

Chapter 2: Recognizing Your Traits

Guide to the Class Activities

Each activity is designed based on Fink’s Learning Taxonomy and is tagged with the following

tags under the taxonomy’s learning and assessment structure:

1. Foundational Knowledge (F)

2. Application (A)

4. Human Dimension (H)

6. Learning How to Learn (L)

These activities may be used in either small-group or large-group settings, depending on class

size and time available. Some may also be suitable as homework.

Activities

A Speech to Secure Goodwill (A, I, H, C)

From Chapter 2 it is clear that leaders need to communicate well with diverse audiences and

motivate others to action. Though we will focus on the skills of leadership in Chapter 5, this

assignment provides an opportunity for students to practice sharing some of their important

beliefs with others. Familiar to public relations professionals and those who teach public

speaking, a speech of goodwill aims to gain public support for a cause, profession or

organization. The primary purpose of the speech is not to persuade (change others’ opinions or

behavior), but to develop a favorable attitude by (a) giving the history of an issue or

organization, (b) explaining the components of the issue or how the organization operates, and

In a leadership class, a speech to secure goodwill lets students practice building connections with

Sample topics:

Instructor Resource

Northouse, Introduction to Leadership, 4e

SAGE Publishing, 2018

• Voluntary organizations or programs that students participate in, such as animal shelters,

soup kitchens, Big Brothers Big Sisters, after school tutoring, etc.

Topics that are potentially divisive should be discouraged. Speeches should be about 5 minutes

long. They should not be evaluated on delivery, but on content and effect on the audience.

Constructive feedback should address the following: Did the speaker give sufficient and clear

information about the history of the organization or cause? How did the presentation connect

with the audience’s interests and needs? How else could the speaker have made the audience

care about this topic? What traits were exemplified in the presentation?

The View (I, H, L)

Based on the ABC talk show of the same name, this activity provides groups of students

opportunities to share their viewpoints in a lively mutual exchange. Have students form 9 small

groups and assign each group a different historical person from Chapter 2 to research (e.g.

George Washington), and one group to serve as the program hosts. Research groups should seek

to learn more about their subject’s history, traits, and leadership experiences. What was life like

for the average person during this period of history? What other leaders were around during this

time? What makes this person stand out? If time allows, have students view some documentary

films or read some speeches by their subjects to get a fuller sense of their characters. Group

members should be assigned different sources and topics for research, to maximize group

learning. (Instructors may wish to ask students to turn in a list of references they consulted). The

host group should also do some background research on the leaders profiled in Chapter 2, but

their primary task is to develop at least three questions for each of the historical “guests” on the

show. Some sample questions can be found in the “Discussion Questions” resource for this

chapter. Other examples:

• (For George Washington) – Did you have any political opponents? On what issues did

you differ?

• (For Bill Gates) – What made you decide to give away so much of your money? How do

you decide which causes your foundation will support?

Instructor Resource

Northouse, Introduction to Leadership, 4e

SAGE Publishing, 2018

Person of the Year (A, I)

Several popular magazines profile the most influential people in a given year (Time, Forbes, U.S.

News and World Report, etc.) Have students look through one of these special issues and select

a leader who exemplifies desirable leadership traits. Have them report to the class (or in a one

page written assignment) how this leader’s traits contribute to his or her effectiveness. Does the

leader have any undesirable traits? How are these moderated? Besides traits, what accounts for

this person’s rise to fame?

Key Quotes (A)

Class Debates (F, A, H)

Divide the class into groups and have them prepare to debate controversial statements focused

upon the topic of leadership traits. Like any good debate, each group should be prepared to argue

either side. You may elect to assign sides via a coin toss or other random method, giving them a

few moments to finish their preparations after this assignment is made. Have the rest of the class

serve as judges, voting for the winning side based on the effectiveness of the arguments.

Possible debate resolutions include:

• No leader can truly be effective without integrity.

Instructor Resource

Northouse, Introduction to Leadership, 4e

SAGE Publishing, 2018

If They Were Here (A, H)

Ask students to imagine all six of the remarkable leaders profiled in chapter 2 together in one

room. What would they say to each other? Ask of each other? Learn from each other? This

could be a written assignment as well as class discussion.

I’ll Know It When I See It (A)

Ask students to choose one of the six traits discussed in chapter 2 and search for images from

magazines, newspapers, or other media that illustrate that trait. They should then assemble the

Storyboarding (A, I, H)

Storyboarding is a way of graphically representing information in consecutive steps that lead to a

desired outcome, or answer a specific question. This planning strategy is explained in chapter 1’s

Class Activities. Steps can be drawn as a series of circles or squares, suggesting a journey and

growth process.

Option 1: For chapter 2, ask students to consider their strongest trait and how it has developed

over time. When did they first become aware of this trait? Was it recognized by others?

Affirmed by others? How did they practice it? When did they fail to use it? Has it changed over

time? What are the outcomes of using that trait today? And so on. This can be done as homework

or an in-class activity.

Instructor Resource

Northouse, Introduction to Leadership, 4e

SAGE Publishing, 2018

Guest Speakers (A, H)

Encourage students to attend campus lectures and presentations by community leaders and

nationally known speakers. Class discussion can revolve around the speakers’ traits and their

Writing Assignments

If I Could Interview Them (A, C)

In class or as homework, ask students to develop interview questions for one of the leaders

Tracking the Future (A, H, C, L)

Some of the components of intelligence are being well-informed, perceptive and insightful.

Insight may include the ability to sense unseen risk, spot trends, and consider the impact of

Current Events (A, H, L)

One Minute Paper Topics (A, L, I)

Which of the leaders in Chapter 2 has been the most influential?