A quick opener that maps the room's leadership experience.
A short opening activity. Participants line up according to how long they have been leaders, from those just starting out to the most experienced. It gets people on their feet, surfaces the range of experience in the room, and sets a collaborative tone for the day.
Leadership Line Up is a simple physical opener. Asking a group to sort themselves by length of leadership experience does three things at once: it gets people moving and talking before they sit down, it makes the range of experience in the room visible, from first-time managers to long-standing leaders, and it signals that the day will draw on what people already know rather than talk at them.
Keep it light and quick. The value is in the energy and the conversations it starts, not in precision about who has led for exactly how long. It works as a warm lead-in to the first reflective session, where people look honestly at how they lead today.
The group is warmed up and on its feet, the spread of leadership experience in the room is visible to everyone, and the day opens on a collaborative note with people already talking to each other.
Open the day by getting people on their feet. Ask the group to arrange themselves in a single line by how long they have been in a leadership role, then draw out a few reflections on the range of experience in the room.
Ask everyone to form a single line, ordering themselves from the person newest to leadership at one end to the most experienced at the other. They will need to talk to each other to work out where they stand, which is part of the point. Once the line has settled, walk it briefly: ask one or two people at each end, and one in the middle, how long they have led and one thing that has changed in how they lead over that time. Close by naming the range in the room, and that everyone will have something to teach and something to learn today.
Use Leadership Line Up to open a leadership session. Asking people to arrange themselves by how long they have led gets everyone on their feet, makes the spread of experience in the room visible, and sets a relaxed, collaborative tone before the deeper work begins.
Using this tool with a skilled facilitator means that discussions are focused, time is used efficiently, and the group moves toward consensus, making the session productive and impactful.
