Instructor Resource
Northouse, Introduction to Leadership, 4e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
Class Activities
Chapter 3: Engaging Strengths
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:
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
Building Strong Teams #1 (A, I, H, C)
The goal of this activity is for students to understand the importance of building teams that have
complementary strengths, while also experiencing the challenges of making it a reality. In
preparation, have students complete the “Leadership Strengths Questionnaire” (Item 3.2 under
Building Strong Teams #2 (A, I, H, C)
As in exercise #1, have students complete the “Leadership Strengths Questionnaire”. In class,
ask them to identify their greatest strength and then have them get into groups based upon that
strength. Ask them to consider the following questions:
• Which group is the largest? Smallest? Are all the groups roughly equivalent?
• What does that suggest about the distribution of strengths across the class?
Instructor Resource
Northouse, Introduction to Leadership, 4e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
Discovering the Strengths of Others (I, H)
It is important to know one’s own strengths. However, it is also important to know the strengths
of co-workers, team members, and subordinates. This activity is intended to provide students an
opportunity to become more comfortable with that process. Create different scenarios and invite
students to role play having conversations where they want to learn more about the strengths of
another person. Here are some suggested scenarios, though many more are possible:
• A manager interviewing a job applicant where fitting into a tight-knit team is
essential.
Discovering the Strengths of Others #2 (A, I, H)
A common technique used in marketing is developing personas or user profiles of potential
customers and clients. The profiles are then used as “target audiences” for developing new
products and testing marketing campaigns.
For the leadership class, form groups of 4-5 students and have each one create a specific persona
that will be used in a group problem-solving situation later on. The persona should:
• Have 4 strengths from either the StrengthsFinder or VIA list of talents/strengths;
Students should create a visual representation of their persona in a consistent format (e.g. 4” x 6”
note card, or 8” x 11 ½” sheet of construction paper) using images from magazines or other
sources. Sample profile:
Photo
Jim, American
Age 30
Instructor Resource
Northouse, Introduction to Leadership, 4e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
Weakness: Includer
Likable: Handles stress well, self-deprecating humor
1) Once students have created the personas, have them exchange personas and discuss
2) Put the profiles on a table in the middle of the group and imagine them as a team
working together to address a community problem (one example below). Discuss:
What would each persona contribute to solving the problem? Are there any gaps in
the distribution of strengths (e.g. more influencing than relationship building) How
would the personas’ strengths work together? Would their weaknesses compound
one another or offset one another? Are strengths moderated in any way by age,
gender, or other demographic information? Groups should come up with a 3-step
(minimum) plan to address the problem that realistically represents the thinking of
their combined personas. Scenario:
a. Due to a budget shortfall and a projected decline in tax revenue for the near
Writing Assignments
Comfort Zones (F, A, I)
Have students write a brief paper describing task-oriented group experiences where they felt
most comfortable. What made this a good experience? How does that fit with the ideas discussed
in this chapter regarding strengths and positive work environments?
Sketch-noting (F, A, I)
Sketch-noting is described in the Class Activities for chapter 1. Making sketch notes is not about
drawing, or artistry, but about making marks on paper (or a white board) to help oneself think.
There is no right or wrong way to do this. Everyone will do it differently.
For chapter 3 ask students to sketch out the relationship between their identified strengths from
the StrengthsFinder, the VIA classification, or Capp model. Have them mark how the strengths
are connected to each other and interact with each other. How do they envision that process?
Where in the sketch would they mark down their weaknesses? How do the weaknesses relate to
Instructor Resource
Northouse, Introduction to Leadership, 4e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
One Minute Paper Topics (F, A, I)