personal+and+leadership+skills

outdoors home > group management and leadership outdoors

//1.4 Personal and Leadership Skills //
//a. demonstrate a flexible leadership style and sound judgement with regard to the group and its objectives. // //b. demonstrate good practice with regard to individual skills: pace, rhythm, foot placement, conservation of energy, balance and co-ordination. // //c. make suitable route choices, interpret and evaluate terrain, revise routes where necessary. // //d. identify and manage risk. // //e. move with the group on difficult terrain including scree, narrow ridges and steep broken ground using appropriate techniques. // //f. demonstrate effective group management and supervision skills." //

If the environment (terrain, weather, visibility) is at the limit of the leader, they will rarely be able to manage themselves and lead the group. Always plan a trip so you will not be at your personal limits; that way you can remain an effective group leader. If you want to practice skills at the edge of your "envelope" go with people more experienced that you are.

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Situational Leadership and groups outdoors
The concepts of situational leadership (summarised here) can be applied to groups, helping to determine how much attention needs to be given to task and how much to relationship behaviours.

As well as adopting the usual SL approach of basing leadership approach on competence and commitment, an outdoor leader may also find it useful to consider the dangers of a situation/plan when deciding which leadership approach to us. When the dangers are greatest, a more "task based" approach" to leadership is likeley to be better (assuming the leader's knoweldge and skills are greater than those of the rest of the group).

As well as considering the ability and willingness/confidence, as one would with individuals, it is also helpful to consider how coherent the goals of the group's members are. If they are widely different the group should be managed as being at the lowest level of readiness (high task, low relationship), and if they are completely as one then the group can be manage as being at the highest level (low task, low relationship). Most group swill fall somewhere between the two ends of this spectrum.

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