7 Surprising Hobbies to Improve Your Leadership Skills

When you think about leadership development, hobbies might not be the first thing that comes to mind. However, the activities we enjoy outside work often bring unexpected benefits to our professional lives. 

Hobbies are a great way to relax, and good for a leader’s mental health. However, they can also help us develop communication skills, boost our ability to solve problems and push us out of our comfort zones—all of which are essential for effective leadership. Here are seven surprising hobbies that, like Crestcom’s leadership training, can help build the critical skills leaders need.

1. Improv Comedy: Sharpening Communication and Adaptability

Improv comedy may not seem like a natural fit to improve your leadership skills, but it’s actually one of the best ways to strengthen your ability to communicate, listen, and adapt.

• Communication Skills: In improv, effective communication is essential. Participants must listen carefully, respond quickly, and articulate ideas clearly to keep the flow going.
• Listening Skills: A great improv performer listens deeply to others to pick up cues and respond appropriately. This habit of focused listening is invaluable for leaders who want to understand their teams better.
• Comfort Zone: Improv is all about stepping out of your comfort zone. This safe, fun environment allows leaders to develop adaptability, which is essential for navigating leadership challenges.
• Teamwork: Successful improv is highly collaborative. Leaders learn how to build on others’ ideas, be receptive, and adjust their plans on the fly—all valuable skills for collaborating in the workplace.

Improv’s emphasis on adaptability and collaboration makes it a great way to grow your leadership skills while having fun!

2. Escape Rooms: Building Problem-Solving and Team-Building Skills

Escape rooms bring out the problem-solver in everyone. They’re a fantastic way for leaders to hone decision-making, teamwork, and adaptability under pressure.

• Problem-Solving: Escape rooms are full of puzzles that require analytical thinking and fast problem-solving—two critical leadership skills. Figuring out clues and overcoming obstacles help leaders sharpen these abilities.
• Collaboration: Escape rooms require a coordinated effort, as each participant contributes to solving the puzzle. Leaders learn to delegate tasks, trust others, and recognize the strengths of each team member.
• Communication Skills: Communication is essential in an escape room. Participants must explain ideas clearly and listen to others’ perspectives, a critical skill in the workplace.

This collaborative environment of an escape room encourages practical problem-solving and effective teamwork. Whether it is an office team-building event or an extracurricular activity with friends, fun group activities can help develop essential leadership skills.

3. Yoga: Enhancing Self-Awareness and Mindful Leadership

Yoga may seem personal, but its focus on self-awareness, discipline, and balance makes it highly relevant to leadership development.

• Self-Awareness and Emotional Intelligence: Yoga encourages mindfulness, helping leaders become more aware of their emotions and how they influence others. This self-awareness is crucial for leaders who want to maintain a positive work environment.
• Listening Skills: Yoga requires listening carefully to instructors and observing one’s body limits, which translates well to better interpersonal skills at work.
• Comfort Zone: Pushing physical and mental limits in yoga builds resilience, preparing leaders for the challenges they face in the workplace.

Yoga is also very effective for stress management, which is essential for success in leadership. It improves your physical health and supports good mental health, enhancing your ability to face challenges in your professional and personal life. 

4. Playing a Musical Instrument: Strengthening Patience and Precision

Learning to play a musical instrument requires discipline, patience, and focused practice—qualities that every leader can benefit from.

• Soft Skills: Practicing an instrument requires patience and perseverance. This builds soft skills like resilience, a vital quality for handling challenges in leadership roles.
• Communication and Listening Skills: Listening and synchronizing with others is vital in a band or ensemble. Leaders who play instruments develop listening and coordination skills, enhancing their communication abilities in professional settings.
• Coaching: Learning an instrument requires setting and achieving goals, similar to coaching team members toward professional development.

Musical practice, like Crestcom’s leadership training, encourages a commitment to lifelong learning, helping leaders nurture patience, adaptability, and teamwork.

5. Cooking Classes: Encouraging Creativity and Team Dynamics

Cooking in a group setting is more than just preparing a meal; it’s a collaborative experience that helps leaders practice delegation, time management, and creativity.

• Teamwork and Delegation: Cooking with others requires clear communication and delegation, as everyone has a role to play. Leaders can apply this experience to manage diverse teams effectively.
• Problem-Solving: Improvising with ingredients or adapting to unexpected situations in the kitchen mirrors real-world problem-solving scenarios. Leaders learn to think quickly, adapt, and stay focused on results.
• Comfort Zone: Experimenting with new cuisines or cooking methods pushes leaders out of their routines, fostering adaptability and creativity.

Cooking in a group teaches leaders to think on their feet and work collaboratively to achieve a shared goal.

6. Rock Climbing: Building Resilience and Strategic Thinking

Rock climbing is both a mental and physical challenge, requiring strategy, adaptability, and the willingness to step out of one’s comfort zone—invaluable qualities for leadership.

• Problem-Solving: Each climb presents unique challenges, forcing climbers to think strategically to plan their moves. Leaders can carry this ability to assess risks and adapt to their professional roles.
• Adaptability: Things can change quickly on a rock climb. When the unexpected happens, climbers must adapt and take action.
• Confidence: Confronting fears and pushing personal limits in climbing is a valuable experience for leaders, reinforcing their ability to take calculated risks in their careers.

Like Crestcom L.E.A.D.R., rock climbing emphasizes resilience and strategic thinking—qualities that help leaders guide their teams to success.

7. Volunteering as a Mentor: Developing Empathy and Communication Skills

Mentorship allows leaders to share their experiences while developing empathy and a greater understanding of others.

• Coaching and Communication Skills: Mentoring requires clear, empathetic communication and the ability to coach others toward their goals. Leaders who mentor are constantly refining their communication skills.
• Empathy: Empathy is essential for effective mentorship. Leaders learn to understand their mentees’ challenges, providing guidance that builds trust and growth.
• Listening Skills: Mentors need to listen closely to understand their mentees’ perspectives. This ability to actively listen helps leaders strengthen relationships within their teams.

Mentorship encourages growth in others while refining a leader’s own skills, creating a cycle of learning, empathy, and effective communication.

Hobbies are a Path to Leadership Development

Pursuing hobbies isn’t just a way to relax; it’s a chance to develop essential skills that support effective leadership. Whether through improv’s quick thinking, escape rooms’ problem-solving or yoga’s mindfulness, each hobby builds skills that align with Crestcom’s mission of creating well-rounded, adaptable leaders.

By exploring new activities and stepping outside the typical professional development framework, leaders can gain fresh perspectives and sharpen the abilities that make them more effective in their roles. These hobbies open doors to self-improvement, enriching the leadership experience and making leaders more adaptable, resilient, and ready for any challenge.