What skills and qualities are needed for effective leadership?
There are many skills (i.e. which can be developed over time) and qualities (i.e. that you’re ‘born’ with) that are essential to have to be a good leader. Some of these are listed below (NOTE – I have focused this list on those skills and qualities needed to run drama workshops, as this is what my leadership project is focused around, but it should be said that most would also be beneficial to any leadership role).
- Communication
- Creativity
- Planning and organisation
- Time management
- Teamwork
- Patience
- Trust
- Respect
- Flexibility/the ability to adapt pre – planned activities/situations
- Empathy
- Confidence
- Enthusiasm
- Some knowledge of arts concepts appropriate to the workshop situation
- Passion
- Good sense of humour!
What leadership skills would I like to develop?
Through taking part in this project, I would like to hone my communication skills (I feel like I’m already quite good at this, but I’d like to develop it further) and improve my ability to work with others; as I believe these are essential skills to have in the role of workshop leader. Furthermore, as an autistic person, I tend to be quite rigid in my routines and struggle to be flexible; so I hope to improve my ability to be adaptable and flexible in a workshop situation.
Project name: SENCOM Arts Awards Workshops
Project details
I will help to deliver drama activities for UCAN Productions at a series of workshops at SENCOM (Sensory and Communications Service) in Cwmbran. I will work alongside Alys ( also a drama facilitator) and Alex (a sound recordist) who will also lead drama and sound recording activities respectively.The project will take place over three days in the autumn half – term holiday (Wednesday 2nd – Friday 4th November 2022) between 10am – 2pm.
My role within the project
Within the project, I will be taking on the role of a Drama Workshop Leader
My role will be delivering vocal and physical warm-ups and drama games; as well as assisting with improvisation and sound recording activities. I will need to work alongside Alys and Alex to plan what exercises/warm ups I would like to lead, whether these would be appropriate to the age and abilities of the participants (as well the overall workshop situation), and also ensure that these naturally feed into their plans. For example, If Alex plans to do some sound recording work with the participants in a session, I will ensure that my warm – ups for that session focus on vocal skills. Similarly, if one of the sessions concentrates heavily on improvisation, my warm – ups will focus more on mental agility/concentration etc. My leadership role will involve explaining/describing the purpose and instructions of the exercises/activities to the participants (therefore developing my communication skills), demonstrate where necessary, and ensure they understand what to do. I will also assist Alex and Alys where necessary. We will also need to ensure that the participants stay safe throughout the sessions. The workshops will take place at the SENCOM Centre in Cwmbran. The workshops are for blind and partially sighted children and young people, aged 7 – 18 years.
Aims and scope of the project:
- To support visually impaired children and young people to develop physical and vocal confidence through the medium of drama, storytelling, sound recording and other performing arts.
- To support visually impaired children and young people to achieve a Discovery – level Arts Award.
Interests and abilities of the participants
The participants will all be vision impaired (blind or partially sighted) and will be between the ages of 7 – 18. There will be a maximum of 10 involved in the sessions. We do not currently know if they have any drama or performance experience as we have not worked with them before, but as they have been made aware that part of the project will involve the completing an Arts Awards, I can assume that they have, at least, some interest in the arts. After the participants have signed up to the project, we will be able to consult Debs (who works for SENCOM) for more information regarding the individuals, to enable us to have a clearer idea of what their interests and current abilities are. At the first session, I will also conduct further informal assessments by asking the participants if they have any experience in the arts, and if they have any other disabilities – so I can adjust my plans accordingly if necessary.
Promotion of project and recruitment of participants
Both SENCOM and UCAN will advertise the workshops via email and social media. I will also design a poster as an additional promotion, and send it to Debs at SENCOM – who will then send the poster out via post to the clients whom she thinks would be interested in taking part in the project. This will enable us to recruit the most suitable participants for the project Here is the finished poster:
Advice and support:
Throughout, I will be able to ask Alys, Alex and Debs for their advice and support in regards to planning, organising and running the project.
Delivery of Project:
We will deliver the project at the SENCOM centre in Cwmbran. I will begin each session with warm – ups (physical, vocal and mental), which will naturally lead into some drama games. Alex and Alys will then take charge of the second half with sound recording activities, and drama exercises (focused around storytelling and improvisation) respectively. Threading through this will be dedicated time for the participants to conduct research and collect evidence for their Arts Awards. We will need quite a large room (so there is plenty of space for the participants to move around) with chairs, plug sockets for the sound equipment and Wi-Fi so we can connect to the internet (so I can access music for the warm – ups. Having access to the internet will also enable us to support the participants to complete research for their Arts Awards.
Timetable and Timescales
A rough timetable* for the sessions is laid out below:
*We will only use this as a guide, and not feel compelled to stick closely if e.g. extra research needs to be done, or the participants show an interest in a particular activity/game/exercise.
| Time | Activity |
| 10am – 10:30am | Arrival Introductions + name game (first session only) Warm ups (physical, vocal + mental) and drama games (led by Samiya) |
| 10:30am – 11:30am | Sound recording activities (led by Alex) + work towards Arts Award evidence (group radio pla) |
| 11:30am – 12:00pm | Continuation of sound recording activities (led by Alex) OR drama/improvisation (led by Alys and Samiya) |
| 12:00pm – 12:30pm | LUNCH |
| 12:30pm – 1:45pm | Quick warm ups Drama/improvisation exercises and activities (led by Alys and Samiya) Arts Award research opportunities Group Sharing (last day only) |
| 1:45pm – 2:00pm | Drama games |
| 2:00pm | END OF SESSION |
Resources needed
- A phone or other device to record evidence for my own Arts Award, and play music for warm ups.
- Chairs for participants
- Various props for use in drama games/exercises (We will be able to make use of the various items in the room)
Practical Issues
Due to the nature of this project and the participants involved, it will be essential for me, Alys and Alex to conduct a full risk assessment. This will allow us to identify the risks that could pose as a hazard, and then implement suitable control measures to migrate this risk as far as possible. The completed risk assessment can be viewed by clicking on the link below:
Silver Arts Award – SENCOM Creative Workshops Risk Assessment
| Name: | Project: |
| Samiya Houston | Sencom Drama Workshops |
| Hazard | People Affected |
| Blind and Vision Impaired participants | Participants and Workshop Leaders |
| Controls in place or action needed to reduce risk |
| 1. Set up chairs in a circle for participants to use. Ensure that all activities take place in ‘the central circle’ as far as possible to minimise excessive movement. 2. Guide participants to the chairs. 3. Describe what’s in the room to the participants including shape and size of room. 4. Remove any tripping hazards. 5. Describe activities, especially when the game is physical/involves movement. 6. ‘Buddy’ participants with no sight with participants/leaders with some sight as much as possible, especially for physical activities. |
| Hazard | People Affected |
| Fire Alarm | Participants and Workshop Leaders |
| Controls in place or action needed to reduce risk |
| 1. Keep a register of participants so, in the event of a fire alarm, we can ensure everyone is evacuated safely. 2. Find out the venue’s preferred fire procedure (i.e. Where are the nearest fire exits? What do we need to do if we have to evacuate the building?) and make this information known to the participants ASAP. 3. Ensure that participants with no sight and therefore require support to evacuate safely are allocated a ‘buddy’ (i.e. ideally someone with sight – whether this be a participant or a leader) if necessary. Also allow this for participants who require support to evacuate for other reasons (e.g. autism, mobility issues etc.) 4. Find out where the nearest fire hose is. 5. Find out if there is a fire alarm test so we can communicate this to the participants, and let them know that when they hear the alarm, we need to all leave the building. |
| Hazard | People Affected |
| Injury or fall | Participants and Workshop Leaders |
| Controls in place or action needed to reduce risk |
| 1. Plan sessions according to participants’ abilities and needs, find out more about each participant before workshops begin (i.e. asking Debs, asking parents and the participants themselves where appropriate about their level of sight/any additional disabilities). 2. Ensure activities don’t involve lots of quick movement (e.g. running around), by ensuring that most activities take part in the ‘central circle.’ 3. Find out who the designated first aider is, and ensure they are easily accessible at all times. 4. Find out where the first aid kit is. 5. Make sure we have contacts for all parents, so we can contact them easily should their child get injured. |
| Signed | Samiya Houston |
| Date | 15/11/22 |
Feedback
During the final session, we will allocate some time to ‘group sharing’ where we will ask the participants for their feedback on the project as a whole (i.e. what they have/haven’t enjoyed, what they have learnt). Alys and Alex have agreed to give me oral feedback at the end of each session regarding my role and leadership skills development.