Quick Training Tips
ALPHA LEADERS
Focus: Motivation, Teamwork, Leadership
Time: 15-20 minutes
Objectives:
1. Define the qualities of leadership
2. Identify strengths and weaknesses of different leadership styles
3. Recognize the importance of leadership style on motivation and teamwork
Materials needed:
Alpha Leader portraits (provided, or use your own selection)
Tape
Copies of Alpha Leaders Worksheet for each participant
Introduction:
Alpha Leader is a term describing a person who, through the combination of skills, personality, and
timing, has become a cultural icon of his or her period. Some Alpha Leaders are posted around the
room; you may recognize many or all of them. Obviously, not all of us can be Alpha Leaders. But many
of us have probably wondered how these leaders accomplished all that they did. How did they get
people motivated? How did they gain consensus among diverse groups of people? How did they
communicate effectively? How were they able to operate with such integrity? How were they aware of
others feelings and able to respond so empathetically? In this exercise we will explore the phenomena
of leadership.
Directions:
1. Post the Alpha Leader portraits around the room, and tape a piece of blank paper beside each.
2. Distribute a copy of the Alpha Leaders Worksheet to each participant to complete.
3. After all participants have completed the Worksheet, tell the group that they will now be able to
see which Alpha Leaders their colleagues chose.
4. Read each quality from the Worksheet aloud and ask the participants to stand beside the
portrait of the Alpha Leader they chose for that quality. Ask the participants to share why they
chose the leader and summarize their responses on the blank paper beside the portraits.
5. Repeat the process for each of the qualities on the Worksheet.
6. As the learners to be seated. Select the two or three portraits that were chosen most often by
the learners during the activity. Ask the participants to review the comments written about
those leaders on the papers and to complete the following sentences:
a. Good leaders…..
Quick Training Tips
Reference: Adapted from: Epstein, R. (2001). The big book of motivation games. McGraw-Hill, NY, NY.
b. Good leaders motivate by…
c. Bad leaders…
d. Bad leaders lose the faith of their followers because…
7. Lead a discussion utilizing any/all of the questions below.
8. To trim time off of this activity, feel free to reduce the number of questions in the discussion, or
eliminate step (s) 4 and/or 6. If step 4 is eliminated, facilitate a brief discussion to obtain
participants’ opinions about the Alpha Leaders’ characteristics and qualities.
Discussion Questions:
1. Were there any surprises over which Alpha Leaders were chosen?
2. Was any Alpha Leader chosen most often? Why do you think this was?
3. Did any of the Alpha Leaders have qualities in common? Did these qualities come up ofent in
choosing a leader?
4. What insights do you have about different leadership styles?
5. Is there a difference in being a leader or a manager? Do any of the Alpha Leaders possess
weaknesses that may get in the way of being a good manager?
6. What Alpha Leader might be best suited for your workplace? You’ve just identified how
different styles would suite your workplace; now reflect on how your answer might have
changed for other workplaces? How is your workplace different than others?
7. If your employees/co-workers were to stand under your portrait in an Alpha Leader activity,
what would they see as your qualities? In what situations might they choose a different Alpha
Leader?
8. What barriers (both internal and external) do you face that prevent you from being the type of
leader you would like to be? Which of the leaders might be good at handling problems you
yourself face? What qualities the Alpha Leaders possessed would you like to develop in
yourself?
Quick Training Tips
Reference: Adapted from: Epstein, R. (2001). The big book of motivation games. McGraw-Hill, NY, NY.
ALPHA LEADERS WORKSHEET
Choose one leader from the Alpha Leaders posted around the room for each of the following
categories. Your choice of leader should be based on your own personal sense of the leader’s
qualities, skills, and leadership style. You may select an Alpha Leader more than once.
Category of Leadership Quality Alpha Leader chosen
Which Alpha Leader would be the most
effective communicator in your workplace?
Which Alpha Leader would be the most
effective at delegating in your workplace?
Which Alpha Leader would be the most
effective problem solver in your workplace?
Which Alpha Leader would be the best
innovator in your workplace?
Which Alpha Leader would you trust in a crisis
at your workplace?
Which Alpha Leader would provide the most
creative stimulus in your workplace?
From which Alpha Leader would you prefer to
get feedback regarding your job performance?
Which Alpha Leader would you want for your
own supervisor?
Which Alpha Leader would provide the most
appropriate level of empathetic understanding
of employee needs in your workplace?
Which Alpha Leader most closely resembles
your own leadership style?
Quick Training Tips
Reference: Adapted from: Epstein, R. (2001). The big book of motivation games. McGraw-Hill, NY, NY.
FIDEL CASTRO
Quick Training Tips
Reference: Adapted from: Epstein, R. (2001). The big book of motivation games. McGraw-Hill, NY, NY.
HILLARY CLINTON
Quick Training Tips
Reference: Adapted from: Epstein, R. (2001). The big book of motivation games. McGraw-Hill, NY, NY.
JOAN OF ARC
Quick Training Tips
Reference: Adapted from: Epstein, R. (2001). The big book of motivation games. McGraw-Hill, NY, NY.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN
Quick Training Tips
Reference: Adapted from: Epstein, R. (2001). The big book of motivation games. McGraw-Hill, NY, NY.
VINCE LOMBARDI
Quick Training Tips
Reference: Adapted from: Epstein, R. (2001). The big book of motivation games. McGraw-Hill, NY, NY.
MUHAMMED ALI
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Reference: Adapted from: Epstein, R. (2001). The big book of motivation games. McGraw-Hill, NY, NY.
WINSTON CHURCHILL
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Reference: Adapted from: Epstein, R. (2001). The big book of motivation games. McGraw-Hill, NY, NY.
PRINCESS DIANA
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Reference: Adapted from: Epstein, R. (2001). The big book of motivation games. McGraw-Hill, NY, NY.
ELEANOR ROOSEVELT
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Reference: Adapted from: Epstein, R. (2001). The big book of motivation games. McGraw-Hill, NY, NY.
FRANLIN ROOSEVELT
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Reference: Adapted from: Epstein, R. (2001). The big book of motivation games. McGraw-Hill, NY, NY.
GANDHI
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Reference: Adapted from: Epstein, R. (2001). The big book of motivation games. McGraw-Hill, NY, NY.
BILL GATES
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Reference: Adapted from: Epstein, R. (2001). The big book of motivation games. McGraw-Hill, NY, NY.
BILLY GRAHAM
Quick Training Tips
Reference: Adapted from: Epstein, R. (2001). The big book of motivation games. McGraw-Hill, NY, NY.
CHE GUEVARA
Quick Training Tips
Reference: Adapted from: Epstein, R. (2001). The big book of motivation games. McGraw-Hill, NY, NY.
MARTIN LUTHER KING
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Reference: Adapted from: Epstein, R. (2001). The big book of motivation games. McGraw-Hill, NY, NY.
NELSON MANDELA
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Reference: Adapted from: Epstein, R. (2001). The big book of motivation games. McGraw-Hill, NY, NY.
ROSA PARKS
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Reference: Adapted from: Epstein, R. (2001). The big book of motivation games. McGraw-Hill, NY, NY.
POPE JOHN PAUL II
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Reference: Adapted from: Epstein, R. (2001). The big book of motivation games. McGraw-Hill, NY, NY.
MOTHER TERESA
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Reference: Adapted from: Epstein, R. (2001). The big book of motivation games. McGraw-Hill, NY, NY.
OPRAH WINFREY
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Reference: Adapted from: Epstein, R. (2001). The big book of motivation games. McGraw-Hill, NY, NY.
PAT SUMMIT
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Reference: Adapted from: Epstein, R. (2001). The big book of motivation games. McGraw-Hill, NY, NY.
PATTON
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Reference: Adapted from: Epstein, R. (2001). The big book of motivation games. McGraw-Hill, NY, NY.
ATILLA THE HUN
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Reference: Adapted from: Epstein, R. (2001). The big book of motivation games. McGraw-Hill, NY, NY.
GERONIMO
Quick Training Tips
Reference: Adapted from: Epstein, R. (2001). The big book of motivation games. McGraw-Hill, NY, NY.
BRAD PITT