Recognizing a born leader is not a tough or an impossible task. One can observe the qualities of a great leader from an extremely young age. Leadership qualities and skill often come to light through various games and activities that require following a person and his set of rules. Attributes such as being independent-minded, having patience, strong, and hardworking lay the perfect foundation of an inspirational person. However, an efficient leader can also be developed. In today's world, who can be better leaders than the youngsters? There are many young individuals who, with some leadership activities for youth, can be groomed into professionals possessing energetic and effective leadership qualities. With the help of youth leadership activities and trainings, youngsters can certainly be molded into better leaders of tomorrow. This Buzzle article provides you with some of the many activities and games which require profound leadership qualities and skills which, once spotted in an individual, can be nurtured. Number of Players - 6 or more What is it about? One person is chosen from the participants and is asked to leave the room, while others decide the leader. Now, the chosen leader has to come up with a set of actions which the remaining players have to follow, and shift from one set to the other in matter of seconds. The person who was asked to leave now enters the room again and has the task of identifying the leader. The leader has to be careful that when he switches from one action to other, only his followers notice the change. What do you learn? The qualities to look for in this game is how the leader juggles between secretly making sure his other team members follow him and at the same time managing to conceal his identity, for as long as possible. Number of players - 4 or more in each team; 1 supervisor What is it about? In an open area, the supervisor arranges 10-15 empty water bottles in a manner resembling a maze or a labyrinth. One leader is selected from each team while the other members are blindfolded. The leader has to maneuver his team members one by one through the maze (without touching the bottles) to the finish line. The catch here is that the leader cannot use the commonly used words and phrases for directions such as "take one step to the left", "one step forward" and the like. The team has to sit and discuss a set of code words for each direction that is unique to them. The blindfolded participants and their leader need to make sure that they know their set of code words by heart. The first team to have all of its members cross the finish line, wins. What do you learn? This game teaches presence of mind and decision-making, among other things. The leader needs to decide the easiest, fastest and safest route to take his team to the endpoint. Number of players - 4 or more This is not a game, but a commonly practiced activity. Assemble in a large hall or a conference room that has ample place. Prior to assembling, print out leadership quotes (in a large, easy to read font) and stick them on the walls, remembering to keep a fair distance between each quote. Now once the group has assembled, ask them to move around the room reading the various quotes you have pasted on the walls. Once they have read all the quotes, ask them to choose a quote which they think matches with what they view as a good, effective leader. Once everyone has chosen a quote, ask them what made them choose that particular quote. Write down the traits that emerge, which can be used as reflective material for the entire group on what goes into making a good, effective leader. What do you learn? This is a great exercise to analyze whether you possess the kind of qualities a leader has and the ones you still need to work upon. Number of Players - 4 or more (can be played in teams also) A great leader is not only recognized by the set of qualities and skills he's endowed with, but also for his knack of finding the same qualities in others. This activity aids in searching for those individuals by the manner in which they handle a certain situation. The leader provides certain tasks to each team; tasks with more than one definite solution. The leader then observes how each of the team members gives his input in solving their crisis. The task can even be as simple as a set of questions based on scenarios such as "You're volunteering a group of kids on a camp and one of them encounters with a problems. Since the problem is not very grave, you assure the child that you will take care of it later. How later is 'later'?" The leader then judges each individual's answer on how he would tackle such a scenario and declares a winner. What do you learn? Each team member naturally tends to approach any task or a problems based on his personal experiences in the past. Hence, the way every individual perceives a problems will be different. With this game, one learns how to reach a decision in a specific period of time, planning, and if required, risk-taking. When it comes to leadership activities for youth, leadership training techniques and methods also play a very crucial role. Nowadays, with the advent of technology, there are many training means which can be employed for the purpose; such as movies, documentaries, educational and leadership videos, etc. Other efficacious training activities may also include action research and education, decision-making games, and case studies.