# Leader Selection
##  Intro
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**Leader Selection is a special collaboration tool!**
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Leader Selection is a activity that allows **students within a team to choose one member to act on behalf of the group**. This selected leader becomes responsible for submitting responses, coordinating contributions, and representing the team in subsequent grouped activities.
Leader Selection introduces a deliberate layer of **role-based collaboration**, which mirrors how teamwork operates in real-world contexts. Instead of distributing responsibility equally but diffusely, it **creates a clear point of accountability**, encouraging teams to organise themselves, communicate effectively, and make collective decisions.
By requiring students to **negotiate leadership**, it promotes interpersonal skills such as persuasion, trust-building, and self-awareness. At the same time, the student who takes on the leader role develops **decision-making confidence, synthesis skills, and ownership of group outcomes**.
Importantly, this approach shifts group work from passive participation to **structured collaboration**, where every member contributes, but one individual ensures coherence and delivery.
### Why do I want to use Leader Selection?
* **Ensure a single, high-quality team output** rather than fragmented individual responses
* **Promote accountability** within teams by assigning clear responsibility
* **Encourage initiative and leadership development** among students
* **Support efficient group decision-making** during time-bound activities
* **Reduce duplication of effort** in team-based tasks
* **Strengthen communication and negotiation skills** within teams
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**Educational Insight**
Give students the opportunity to take a leadership role within their team teaches them more than just the subject.
It's a valuable chance for students to develop communication, coordination, consensus reaching and leadership skills.
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### What can I use Leader Selection for?
You can use Leader Selection in any learning design where teams need to produce one consolidated response. This is particularly effective in:
* [**Team-Based Learning**](https://docs.lamsfoundation.org/tbl/) **(TBL)**, especially during team assessments (e.g. tRATs or application exercises)
* **Case-based discussions**, where teams must agree on a diagnosis, solution, or recommendation
* **Debates or position statements**, where one student presents the team’s stance
* **Project-based learning**, where a representative submits milestones or summaries
* **Collaborative writing or synthesis tasks**, where ideas must be distilled into a single response
*Pedagogies that use Leader Selection:* [Team Based Learning](https://docs.lamsfoundation.org/tbl/).
### How does it work?
When you add a Leader Selection activity to your lesson, you guide students to decide who will take on the leader role for their team.
* You provide **clear instructions** explaining what the leader is responsible for
* Students enter the activity and **select a leader collaboratively**, often using the **“nudge” feature** to encourage peers
* Once selected, the leader becomes the **active representative for all subsequent grouped activities**
* In those activities, **only the leader submits responses on behalf of the team**
* You retain full control and **can change the leader at any point during the lesson if needed**
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You can change leaders for a team at any time during the lesson though.
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