This exercise offers you an opportunity to compare your concepts with those of others in your class about who leaders are. Your assignment is to first work alone and make a list of ten very effective leadersindividuals whom you think most everyone would recognize as leaders. Then in small groups, share and discuss your lists, addressing the following two questions.

1. Were the same leaders on more than one student's list?

2. What, if anything, do these individuals have in commoneducation, industry, type of jobs held, family history, etc.?

Now have each group agree on a list of ten leaders, and share those group lists with the entire class. What, if anything, do the leaders on the various group lists have in common? If any leader appears to be radically different from the others, discuss what sets that person apart from other leaders and yet makes him or her one of the best-known leaders. If time allows, try repeating the exercise with the possibilities narrowed, for example, females, Native Americans, minorities, managers/executives, politicians, religious leaders, non-U.S. leaders, or leaders from a particular industry.

What additional information do you learn from this?