IPRA Today
Illinois Park and Recreation
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NEWS YOU CAN USE
Whether embarking on a wilderness expedition or accepting a new job responsibility, fresh challenges and unfamiliar environments may cause anxiety and fear. Backcountry guides and workplace trainers alike need to provide the right balance of guidance and support while encouraging independence and teamwork. We want our followers to develop the skills to lead themselves and others in their own right.
This past May/June, I had the privilege to co-teach a wilderness course called Outdoor Leadership. The course is a field-based learning experience in which seven students and two instructors embark on an eight-day adventure to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) in Northern Minnesota. Before the backcountry trip, we conducted several days of pre-expedition skills and leadership training on campus. Then in the BWCAW we traveled 35 miles by canoe, portaged 18 times over more than three miles, slept in five different campsites, and paddled 19 lakes. We encountered tons of wildlife including a swimming moose and an attacking loon. A highlight of the trip was a service project improving a portage trail used by other paddlers. From oppressive heat to torrential downpours, the weather threw lots of challenges at us. The black flies were hungry. Days were physically exhausting and mentally taxing. Despite the challenges, spirits were kept high with songs, jokes, good food, endless sources of natural beauty, and ongoing feelings of accomplishment and camaraderie. While backcountry skill development was intrinsic to the course, students were primarily challenged to develop group leadership and teamwork competencies, skills transferable to the workplace. I saw myself as a guide and trainer whose leadership role eventually became delegatory. This role was not unlike that of a workplace supervisor developing employees to become reasonably independent of his or her guidance and direction. Teaching this course over the last five years, I’ve zeroed-in on certain techniques that contribute to student success in the wilderness and seem transferable to workplace training. Here are some strategies I’ve found effective in encouraging teamwork and leadership: 1. Build community. Prior to the expedition, we took significant time to team build through experiential activities and in-depth conversations. Students largely cited the sense of the community as the single most meaningful element contributing to their success as a team. 2. Encourage reflection. Self-reflection empowers one to identify what is working well and what needs to change for the better. Change is more likely to occur when we own it. Reflection can be done through written evaluation and conversational debriefings. 3. Empower decision making. When appropriate, allowing trainees to decide on a course of action encourages their leadership development and ownership of the outcomes. Empowerment encourages commitment to the greater unit. 4. Be a situational leader. As a leader, striking the right balance between task orientation and relationship orientation is a fluid process which depends on the conditions of the situation and the preparedness of the group. Depending on the circumstances you may need to tell, sell, participate, or delegate (Hersey, Blanchard, and Johnson, 2012). 5. Serve first, then lead. According to the Greenleaf Center for Servant-Leadership (1997), a servant leadership philosophy emphasizes "increased service to others; a holistic approach to work; promoting a sense of community; and the sharing of power in decision making" (p. 4). You’ll find this philosophy encompasses some of the suggestions above. As a servant-leader, one’s primary purpose for leading is to serve others by supporting their well-being and development for the benefit of accomplishing goals and tasks for the common good. Whether you are leading an outdoor learning expedition or training employees for new roles and responsibilities, the territory may be a wilderness. What techniques will you use to be an effective guide? -Syd Sklar, Ph.D., CTRS Associate Professor and Chair Department of Recreation, Sport and Tourism Management University of St. Francis References Hersey, P. H., Blanchard, K. H., & Johnson, D. E. (2012). Management of organizational behavior: Leading human resources. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. The Greenleaf Center for Servant-Leadership. The Servant Leader, (Fall): 1997. 2015 Section Board Election
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