iLEAD Tool 6: Leadership Flower

Participation Flower 2

Growing the change movement

For full update and elaboration 2023

The Leadership Flower brings together the individual vision journeys as a flower diagram where each member’s journey is a flowerlet around a central stem. The flower and all the flowerlets need to flourish and send out nectar and pollen and increase the numbers of flowers.

Steps

Step 1 Draw the leader stem to represent the leadership journey

Referring back to the Leadership Diamond, the tip of the stem represents the characteristics of a very good leader – what distinguishes them from normal members – then moving down to qualities which are basic and more normal.

Step 2 Flowerlets to represent ideal membership qualities

Both members and leaders each have flowerlets with their name or symbol representing their individual leadership vision journeys. Leaders’ journeys should be at the bottom because they are supporting the others to move up. Members who have least confidence should be at the top because everyone will succeed only if the most disadvantaged also succeed.

Step 3 How many ripe and unripe seeds are there currently in each flowerlet?

Referring to the criteria in the stem, each person puts along their journey red circles to show which criteria they have already reached, green circles to show which criteria they are planning. They do not need to have everything in their plan.

Step 4: What are the diseases of the leadership stem? the gnawing insects of the flowerlets?

Starting with the qualities identified as most important what are the most significant causes. Which are gnawing insects which just affect one or two flowers or just gnaw one bit of the stem? Which causes are general and undermine the whole plant?

STEP 5. What are the types of nourishment needed for the roots and flowers?

Then quantify on a chart which are the characteristics most people have and which most people want. Then plenary brainstorm of what sorts of fertiliser are needed to help them attain these qualities.

Step 6: Review individual targets

For any people who think they have all qualities – what next so their flower can become even more beautiful and spread to others? Each person must then put on a sheet their target qualities and strategies to put on their Vision Journeys when they go home.

Facilitation

Materials
Preparation
Timing

Step 1: Ask one person to draw the stem and then one person from each pair to come up and place what they think is the most important distinguishing feature of a good leader and put it at the appropriate place up the stem. They must justify their choice and placement.

Step 2: Ask the other person in each pair to come up and draw a flower and place the card they think is most important at the appropriate place, justifying their decision and placement.

Step 3: This can be done in plenary, or more privately over a break or while others are eg finalising the song.

Step 4: Ask people to come up and draw what they think are the most significant causes. In order to make this fun you could ask people to draw insects and diseases which look like the causes and ask people to guess what they are eg very mean looking bees or fat greedy caterpillars.

Step 5:

Step 6:

Documentation Checklist
  • Different criteria identified in a form suitable for comparison with criteria identified by other groups.
  • Numbers and percentage of group members identified in each category
  • Types of solutions proposed for increasing participation which are of broader relevance for other groups.


For more details about GAMEChange leadership and movement-building principles, tools and processes see: