| ||
| Mark's Forum | ||
| ||
| Random quote: The more apparently complex an act, the more vital it is to search until you find its inner simplicity - (Added by: Mark) |
 What is Leadership?Moderators: Mark Jump to page : 1 Now viewing page 1 [50 messages per page] | View previous thread :: View next thread |
| Research Forum -> Approaches to Leadership Study | Message format |
Mark |
| ||
Location: North Wales | Please contact me if you wish to discuss and or provide your thoughts on the following: 1) What do you understand leadership (in the outdoors) to be? - how might you define it? 2) How might someone go about becoming a leader? - is it something that just happens (ad-hoc) or something that can be practised beforehand? 3) What qualities do you look for in a leader? - what are these based on - role models, agreed benchmarks, intuition? - how might you rank these qualties? 4) Set down what you feel are your core values, beliefs and philosophies - how do these influence your leadership practices? 5) Which theories of leadership are you aware of? - to what extent do you apply any of these in your current practices? 6) What factors might affect your choice of leadership style and decision making processes? - how would you recognise if a modified approach might be required? | ||
| |||
| anorak |
| ||
| 1) What do you understand leadership (in the outdoors) to be? and how might you define it? Influencing, guiding or taking charge of another person’s action or thought process 2) How might someone go about becoming a leader? and is it something that just happens (ad-hoc) or something that can be practised beforehand? It often just happens, it is greatly benefited by experience, can be practiced in the form of gaining as much relevant experience as possible but does require a certain level of emotional intelligence. 3) What qualities do you look for in a leader? Open minded, forgiving, inspiring, affirming of each person as an individual, knowledgeable and skilled, unafraid of acknowledging their limits, loving their field and wanting to share it. - what are these based on - role models, agreed benchmarks, intuition? Experience of fantastic role models. - how might you rank these qualities? A genuine love for their field and the desire to share this with others is the most important, everything else is icing on the cake. 4) Set down what you feel are your core values, beliefs and philosophies Do no harm, have an open mind, respect and affirm people for what they are, let them be themselves, promote self belief and confidence, teach them so they can learn for themselves. - how do these influence your leadership practices? Guide learners towards equipment that is going to inspire confidence, let venue and activities be dictated by the confidence level of the student, never be afraid to repeat or go several steps back where needed. Be safe and have fun. 5) Which theories of leadership are you aware of? Spectrum from dictator to anarchy (BCU coaching handbook, White water safety and rescue). - to what extent do you apply any of these in your current practices? I don’t consciously use a particular style but tend to dictate where safety is an issue, otherwise mainly work through mutual consent. 6) What factors might affect your choice of leadership style and decision making processes? Responsibility level within the group (more responsible less dictatorial), consequences of things going wrong (any safety issues then more dictatorial) - how would you recognise if a modified approach might be required? If what I am aiming for is not happening I will try a different approach. | |||
| |||
| Alan Halewood |
| ||
| Could probably do with thinking about this for a week or 3 but time allows an answer at the moment so I'll give it a shot... Al 1) What do you understand leadership (in the outdoors) to be? Teaching/instructing, guiding, inspiring, management (of groups and resources, of risk), impelling (a la Hahn), telling, selling, sharing, matching of aims with process whilst maintaining an appropriate level of risk and adventure. 2) How might someone go about becoming a leader? Nature or nurture? Are there born leaders? I look on it a bit like 'mountain sense' this is a feeling for what to do based on organised learning (courses, reading, sharing of knowledge with peers on a deliberate/organised level - workshops etc) and equally experience that has been assimilated often on a subconscious. If we look at the factors I listed above then an awareness of them and how to apply/account for/manage them can be improved by both experience and learning and is best achieved by a combination of both. But everyone starts from a different point in terms of oth their knowledge and life experience - so apparent 'born leaders' may be those whose experience and conscious and subconcious learning has already given them an understanding of how these factors interelate and, probably, a self confidence in the application of them. Years ago in the military I remember doing leadership tasks and getting feedback on my performance (practising leadership beforehand). I definitely learnt methods of organising my approach to leadership and confidence in application from these experiences. Whilst I probably only learnt one style of leadership from the Navy initially I developed the ability to alter my style naturally from that starting point. Interestingly, in stressful situations I have noticed a tendency to return to that initial style as my natural/most comfortable leadership style. 3) What qualities do you look for in a leader? Experience, ability to relate, ability to communicate, observational skills, ability to inspire, attention to detail, ability to orgnanise and achive the task (by whatever means or style), ability to maintain the group without forgetting the individual, ability to make a (an often difficult) decisin and commit, negotiation, compromise What are these based on - role models, agreed benchmarks, intuition? Role models, constructed learning (books courses), my own experience of leadership and selecting leaders for roles. At the end of the day though I have chosen one individual over another for a position on instinct - perhaps because I indentified/related or recognised a style similar to my own? How might you rank these qualties? Task ,team or individual? I cant bias in favour of one or the other. Leadership is a synergy of the factors and the situation will determine the priority. Perhaps the flexibility to react to the situation, the judgement of what is most important is the most valuable. 4) Set down what you feel are your core values, beliefs and philosophies relative to leadership: Inclusion and sharing of ownership. I feel it very important to maintain a focus on why we are there and who the experience is for. Reaching the destination may be less important to the group than the journey so I tend to try not to select a trek, mountain or climb for me, more based on what I feel most closely matches my interpretation of the group's needs or what is good for them. And there is the rub because that is a value judgement from me once past the initial brief. I try to listen to the group and watch for signals and adjust my style to what I see. It shouldnt be about the leader, more about the group. 5) Which theories of leadership are you aware of? Action centred leadership, Tannenbaum Schmidt Continuum, Situational leadership are probably the ones that stick best in my head nd that I conciously attempt to apply. To what extent do you apply any of these in your current practices? I do attempt to vary my style according to the situation and often I'm quite up front with a group, especially adults but also children. I might start by briefing a group that we are going to chose an objective together and discuss how to achieve it and that I'm going to leave a lot of decision making to them. But I'll also tell them that if I am directive it will be for a good reason and will usually involve safety. Another option I sometimes consciously choose to excercise is to be directive at the beginning to achieve a task early on, to impart skills within a time limit etc. but usually let the group know that as we progress I will be transfering more of the decision making to them as they increase their own experience (moving along the Tan -Schmidt contimuum) whilst retaining the right to pull control back if I feel I need to. A lot of it depends on the group and, especially the time frame. 6) What factors might affect your choice of leadership style and decision making processes? Group: age, attitude, desire to be there, experience of the situation, goals Task: is it important to achieve a physical goal or is the task to work on skills, teamwork, communication - what is the desired outcome Safety: do I need to become directive to arrest, maintain or recover a situation How would you recognise if a modified approach might be required? Observation, anticipation, pattern recognition from previous situations I've been in (experience), keeping site of our actual goals (not just the physical targets like getting to the top), ability to receive feedback | |||
| |||
| Sid Sinfield |
| ||
| 1) What do you understand leadership (in the outdoors) to be? - how might you define it? I would define leadership within the outdoors as somebody exercising their specific skill set to enable a group of other individuals to experience an outdoor environment. in order to do this the skills set required would include a degree of competence to move around effectively in the specific environment, safeguard their group as much as is reasonably possible from objective and subjective dangers, effective communication and "people skills" to enable them to effectively achieve the above objectives. 2) How might someone go about becoming a leader? They would need to gain experience or training in the above areas where they were lacking - e.g. personal skills, danger/hazard evaluation, empathy and communication skills. - is it something that just happens (ad-hoc) or something that can be practised beforehand? These could be gained ad-hoc but more effectively this could be done with effective and targeted training 3) What qualities do you look for in a leader? Confidence, effective decision making, personal ability appropriate to the environment they are leading in. - what are these based on - role models, agreed benchmarks, intuition? Personal observation of them displaying the above - how might you rank these qualities? Personal ability, effective decision making and confidence 4) Set down what you feel are your core values, beliefs and philosophies 1. enjoyment of the environment leading in 2. rewarded by seeing others achieve 3. achievement is more than just physical achievement - wider element to successful outcomes than ticking off summits/descents etc 4. training for independence - how do these influence your leadership practices? When I lead I look to incorporate all into the task. 5) Which theories of leadership are you aware of? Know a few outline theories but do not work from this basis - to what extent do you apply any of these in your current practices? I think that I have developed my own style over the numerous years and environments I have lead people in and although I may have been exposed to leadership training in the past I make no formal conscious strategy decision before leading a given group. 6) What factors might affect your choice of leadership style and decision making processes? Groups age, ability, gender, task length and objective - how would you recognise if a modified approach might be required? Feel it!? e.g. that's not working so I'll try this with them.... | |||
| |||
| Adrian J Pullin |
| ||
| 1) What do you understand leadership (in the outdoors) to be? - how might you define it? Someone who is the focus for an activity, in terms of co-ordinating what activities take place, where and when. This covers most levels of detail, from "Shall we go for a paddle today?", "where shall we go?", "What (if anything) is the focus of today's paddle?" through to "This is the order we'll shoot this rapid" and "You're walking this rapid". Just spent an excellent weekend on the water with Jeff Allen and Barry Shaw (Tidal races and overfalls). Their leadership was excellent and covered the whole range of things mentioned above. 2) How might someone go about becoming a leader? - is it something that just happens (ad-hoc) or something that can be practised beforehand? I think some proper training would be needed for most people. Most (in fact all, I think) of the courses I have done that supposedly included leadership training (L3 training x 3, 5* training x 2) the leadership bit has been done on the basis of "your turn to lead...off you go". There has been no teaching at all on how to lead. I think this is because most of the course providers do not know enough about leadership to teach it. Most books also gloss over this area, usually giving a chapter on leadership styles without really giving any guidance on what is appropriate. 3) What qualities do you look for in a leader? - what are these based on - role models, agreed benchmarks, intuition? - how might you rank these qualties? In order, top priority first. Competent in the activity they are leading is top of my list. I want a leader to be able to do the activity well. Clear communication - they need to be able to express what they are after unambiguously and concisely. Sense of responsibility - the leader is responsible for the safety of the group. This needs to be reflected in the way they handle the group. There is also an element of "getting on with" or "clicking with" a leader. I have paddled with people who I know are very competent and give clear instructions etc. but for some reason they don't inspire confidence. 4) Set down what you feel are your core values, beliefs and philosophies - how do these influence your leadership practices? Very broad question - I'll interpret in light of the subject. I do this (paddling) for fun. If I have enjoyed a trip, then it is a success. It doesn't really matter if the trip met its targets. This actually has a load of knock on effects. If you get in trouble (RNLI or whatever) then the trip is not fun. If you are not confident about the leader, ditto. I tend to set high standards for myself and expect others (leaders at least) to do the same. Again, knock on effects, for example turning up on time with correct kit. 5) Which theories of leadership are you aware of? - to what extent do you apply any of these in your current practices? I have no knowledge of formal theories of leadership. I have a vague idea about things like "autocratic" "democratic" etc. Most of my leadership is me as L3 running 4* courses and assessments. My leadership style is probably more "autocratic" than I would like to admit. Because I am seen as the "coach in charge" I tend to just say what we are doing, and the group does it. I have been doing some more trip leadership recently that are more "democratic", largely being someone else saying "that's too big. let's go somewhere else". A lot of this is influenced by my job. I am a qualified secondary school teacher and have taught all my working life, now in HE. This puts you in a "leadership" position where you expect that the group (class) will do what they are told. It also comes out at home, where I hold the kids leashes very tightly! 6) What factors might affect your choice of leadership style and decision making processes? - how would you recognise if a modified approach might be required? Competence of the group mainly. If I am "leading" a group of peers or above, I tend to defer a lot to those I see as more experienced. Edited by Adrian J Pullin 22/5/2007 10:18 | |||
| |||
| Alysme |
| ||
| Please provide your thoughts on the following: 1) What do you understand leadership (in the outdoors) to be? - how might you define it? Its a guidance role. Holistically looking after the safety aspects and suggesting ideas but really letting people to explore and develop themselves by themselves. 2) How might someone go about becoming a leader? Often when someone begins to feel they have a real thirst for knowledge about something that they want to share it or a true love of a place or experience that they want others to enjoy. - is it something that just happens (ad-hoc) or something that can be practised beforehand? It can definitely be practised but often a more experienced leader does work well ad hoc but has a basic plan in their brain and reads the groups and draws from their experience 3) What qualities do you look for in a leader? Sense of humour, safe and reliable, trustworthy, interesting to chat to. - what are these based on - role models, agreed benchmarks, intuition? Some on role models but lots on intuition I like to think of good Leaders as people who are a pleasure to spend time with. - how might you rank these qualties? Safety ultimately is more important but not if it ruins the fun and noone wants to return to the outdoors. 4) Set down what you feel are your core values, beliefs and philosophies I believe in ecological living - buying and supporting local, organic produce and anything you can, treating nature with awe and respect but also getting out there away from people and experiencing the real you and life. Making things for yourself and enjoying basic luxuries. I hate poor management and I respect clever interesting people that inspire me. Kindness but making people laugh too and smiling loads. - how do these influence your leadership practices? Directly. trying to find a holistic approach where you inspire the group and let them love nature rather than be scared of it. 5) Which theories of leadership are you aware of? - to what extent do you apply any of these in your current practices? A few but I havent really read much academic literature on leadership. Mine is due to speaking to others, observing and influences from my School teaching and Waldorf Steiner teaching. 6) What factors might affect your choice of leadership style and decision making processes? I would want it to be a style that showed my personality and gave the message to the group that I wanted to give. - how would you recognise if a modified approach might be required? If I had not achieved my learning outcomes that I went into the session to achieve or if I felt that the feedback had been not what I had expected. | |||
| |||
| Waltfos |
| ||
| 1) What do you understand leadership (in the outdoors) to be? - how might you define it? It is a balance between you, the student and the environment you are in. To control their eagerness in a guided way knowing not to defuse it but control it in guided manner to the students fulfilment. Be wiling to learn from the student to as they can be more knowledgeable than you then the scales become balanced all ways. This can be rewarding all round as the student has become a leader in his own right. 2) How might someone go about becoming a leader? - is it something that just happens (ad-hoc) or something that can be practised beforehand? To practise what they want to lead this may just be knowledge based or skill based but a cross section of both is better. To learn from a master is easier but trial and error in a controlled manner works wonders too 3) What qualities do you look for in a leader? - what are these based on - role models, agreed benchmarks, intuition? - how might you rank these qualties? To show equalibrium and be prepared to be shown another way and understand how the other way can be achieved even if its wrong we learn from mistakes. Be able to do real time risk assesment and know your limits and be prepared to let someshow you new limits ie realtime risk assessment. This might mean you have taken a student as far as you can and he needs to go to the next level. Role models are abundant in any ubject and people can shout then out generaly if not know them yourself. [ books or dvd they have made] Bench marks [levels] are to what you are comfortable with. This is when your knowledge base must surpass you skill level hence intuition comes itself if you know later and see it being performed in front of you 4) Set down what you feel are your core values, beliefs and philosophies - how do these influence your leadership practices? Best practise makes better understanding. Work with a coach yourself as what you develope may be wrong, need brushed up, be dated. Always know the rules even when they are changing 5) Which theories of leadership are you aware of? - to what extent do you apply any of these in your current practices? Follow me Do as I say Dictator School then practise Joker and Fun Class based [can describe the physics rather then show] dry run Field based [can show rather than talk] wet run Guidance then Experiment and Correction Experiment again best of all have fun have a sort of home work ie naviagation etc [current practise]. How can I make that give an engineering insight to products used. Bets ones tow /Throw rope, paddle leash etc 6) What factors might affect your choice of leadership style and decision making processes? - how would you recognise if a modified approach might be required? Students their understanding and level, where the body want to go Students perception ie different styles and approaches are needed for kids to adults, as well as level they are at groups can be difficult when the to ends are far apart. Interaction to get majority involved and to see where others are at is it nerves frightened or ME | |||
| |||
| Darren Richmond |
| ||
| 1) What do you understand leadership (in the outdoors) to be? - how might you define it? Leadership takes two distinct forms for me. One is the role as the head of the pack, directing, motivating, managing discipline, achieving deadlines. The other form is that of facilitator. One who allows the expedition to take place and supervises it’s safety but without leading the dynamic interactions of the group. This leader provides a portfolio of skills, knowledge and experience. Both definitions give the opportunity to set standards and to lead by example. One achieving by inculcating aspiration (facilitator), the other by direct instruction and intervention(head of the pack). 2) How might someone go about becoming a leader? - is it something that just happens (ad-hoc) or something that can be practised beforehand? Some people are born leaders, watch a pre-school nursery session and this is clearly evident. Whether those characteristics show through later in life.. maybe the man on the BBC with a big moustache can say? There is certainly a hierarchy of leaders, something that the military have exploited for a long time since they removed the opportunity to purchase rank. I believe that even reluctant leaders will find that they have always shown that “spark” but have not wanted to take the responsibility. I also believe that leadership can be taught. However, the position that person may take in a a leadership hierarchy will be in their own ability and self recognition. 3) What qualities do you look for in a leader? - what are these based on - role models, agreed benchmarks, intuition? - how might you rank these qualties? I would certainly make use of recognised leadership qualifications. BELA, MLTE, Sandhurst, Sports Leaders, Managerial qualifications. People with far more experience than I have produced these qualifications and courses. I look for someone who can communicate, and is prepared to communicate in order to achieve. 4) Set down what you feel are your core values, beliefs and philosophies - how do these influence your leadership practices? I am unsure what you are asking for? 5) Which theories of leadership are you aware of? - to what extent do you apply any of these in your current practices? Other than those incorporated as part of military training or MLTE I am unaware and therefore cannot comment on the second aspect. 6) What factors might affect your choice of leadership style and decision making processes? If I was not achieving what was asked of my leadership role. E.g. if there were accidents, if we were not winning, if groups were getting lost, if there were arguments - how would you recognise if a modified approach might be required? As above. | |||
| |||
| rosie |
| ||
| 1) What do you understand leadership (in the outdoors) to be? - how might you define it? A person who takes overall responsibility for the actions of their charges. A person who can guide and advise those charges to achieve the most that they can. 2) How might someone go about becoming a leader? They may naturally emerge from the group, or be appointed by the group. - is it something that just happens (ad-hoc) or something that can be practised beforehand? Experience allows leaders to see the requirement of each group as a leader, so it can be practised. 3) What qualities do you look for in a leader? Good observation, good listening and communicative skills, ability to adapt. - what are these based on - role models, agreed benchmarks, intuition? Agreed benchmarks - how might you rank these qualties? I don’t think you can. 4) Set down what you feel are your core values, beliefs and philosophies Everyone should have the opportunity to speak and to be heard. Everyone should have the opportunity to be the best that they can. People should take the most out of the opportunity that they are given. - how do these influence your leadership practices? I adapt the practises that I do, in order to facilitate people to do the above. 5) Which theories of leadership are you aware of? Only know some in passing, but not their names. - to what extent do you apply any of these in your current practices? I use parts of what I’ve heard and observed in some of my practices. 6) What factors might affect your choice of leadership style and decision making processes? Group age and ability, location of group, activity being done. - how would you recognise if a modified approach might be required? When the group aren’t functioning well, when people are not listening and achieving. | |||
| |||
| Matt Wells |
| ||
| 1) What do you understand leadership (in the outdoors) to be? The ability to create an atmosphere where group members are willing to trust, learn and follow 2) How might someone go about becoming a leader? Leadership is something you have to learn, principally from experience however, practice must be supported by principals, ideas, training etc. This ensures you don't always do what you always do, or you will always get what you always get !! 3) What qualities do you look for in a leader? A combination of technical and "soft skill" competence combined with point 1. - what are these based on - role models, agreed benchmarks, intuition? bit of both - how might you rank these qualities? Depends on the situation you were taking the group to experience e.g. high technical skill for multi pitch climbing, higher soft skills for team tasks. 4) Set down what you feel are your core values, beliefs and philosophies Trust, Integrity, performance, results, ambition, energy passion - how do these influence your leadership practices? Subconsciously 5) Which theories of leadership are you aware of? Trait, Action Centred, Situational, transactional, transformational, visionary, democratic, autocratic, participative. - to what extent do you apply any of these in your current practices? Depends on what situation I find myself in and the task at hand !!! 6) What factors might affect your choice of leadership style and decision making processes? The group, situation, task, history and makeup of the group, the individuals within the group, the activity, destination etc etc - how would you recognise if a modified approach might be required? As above however subtle changes in the environment can force a change along with group modifications, task etc | |||
| |||
| Nigel Dennis |
| ||
| 1) What do you understand leadership (in the outdoors) to be? A leader needs to take control of a situation and guide lead expedition members though potentially hazard's areas safely. The role of a leader must extend on and of the water. ie choice of rout for the day, setting out time allowing for weather systems etc the leader also has to take into account the mental and physical capabilities of the group. Choice of equipment etc - how might you define it? A leader needs to take control of a situation and guide lead expedition members though potentially hazardous areas safely. 2) How might someone go about becoming a leader? In my opinion leadership skills can be improved but to a certain extent leaders are born. Experience is a key factor in Leadership. - is it something that just happens (ad-hoc) or something that can be practiced beforehand? Leadership can be practiced but good leaders often lead naturally. 3) What qualities do you look for in a leader? Good reasoning, must be able to evaluate and make quick logical decisions. Must listen and consider all aspects of the task but should consider other opinions. Must have the confidence to believe in the decision one made. there are different forms of leadership but a leader who is also a team layer is the biggest asset. Above all must be respected. - what are these based on - role models, agreed benchmarks, intuition? These views are based on experience and role models. Being an emergency coxswain of a Lifeboat crew also means that agreed benchmarks need to be met in order to be approved by the RNLI but this involves also meeting a high level of technical training. Some times there are leaders who come to the front In adverse conditions that may have been bypassed due to not meeting benchmarks. This only goes to prove that in adverse conditions you sometimes rely more on natural instinct and the ability to cope. Its no good having leaders who meet benchmarks but who feel the stress when in tight situations!! - how might you rank these qualties? It is impossible to rank the qualities as different skills will be needed at different times. In some circumstances leaders may also need to become quite assertive and at other times take a more supportive role. personally I would not try to rank the required qualities but the leader would have to have the respect of those he / she was leading. 4) Set down what you feel are your core values, beliefs and philosophies The core values are to be safe and strong in decision making. - how do these influence your leadership practices? You have to be confidant and to be confidant you have to be continually involved on a practical level to stay on the ball. 5) Which theories of leadership are you aware of? None really - to what extent do you apply any of these in your current practices? I do not apply any theories, I just do it! 6) What factors might affect your choice of leadership style and decision making processes? The main factors would be the type of clients and expedition members being led. ie are they military? Battered wives? A trained lifeboat crew? Different types of leaders may well be required for different situations. Different leaders might also need to be considered depending on the physical nature of the task. - how would you recognise if a modified approach might be required? This would be dictated by the hazards you face and or the expedition members your leading. | |||
| |||
| Gill Batty |
| ||
| Question One Leadership is the actions of a leader. Leadership is a way to move a group/ individual through an experience with the intention for them to reflex and learn about themselves and discover their own personal abilities and beliefs. It is there to encourage, support and assure others through the leader’s personal knowledge and understanding of the outdoors. Question two. Becoming a leader has various routes and depends on the history of the individual and what leadership styles they have encountered in their experiences. Some leadership skills, such as interpersonal skills are part of a person’s genetic make-up and therefore can not be taught and understood fully. Other leadership skills can be taught and learnt such as hard skills, however without experience and personal growth these shills will not shine through and help others. We are continually learning thought out life and therefore we must adapt our attitudes as a leader as we go. Question three. • Knowledge and understanding of the environment in which they lead • Passion for learning and sharing • Hard skills • Soft skills • Ability to adapt and be flexible • Understanding their own limits/ strengths and weaknesses. • The ability to enhance an experience Ranking these is dependent on the situation. In a high mountain experience hard skills are of the uttermost importance to insure that the group is at not risk, however the ability to empathise and communicate with the group/ individual is more important in other situations. A leader need to be able to adapt thought out any situation and change the ‘ranking’ of the qualities needed to suit the needs of the group at that time. I believe that we take on the styles of those whom we aspire to be and then through personal experience we adapt to suit our own personal preferences. Question four. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses and it is the job of an educator to help people to see there own strengths and those of others. It is just as important to allow people to understand their weaknesses and who we can change our attitudes towards what a weakness is and help this become a strength. We are not always right, by listening and accepting others opinions we can grow in our own skills. Allowing others to shine gives us personal strength. I allow people to work on their own, and then discuss their opinions with the group. I encourage listening. I often find this helps to explore how others view a situation and give me the insight to how they work as an individual and as a member of a team. I believe that it helps them to relate back to the team also. Question five. Adair’s action centred leadership model. Tannenbaum and Schmidts Leadership continuum Hersey and blanchards situational leadership I think there are times with in normal life where we use the leadership continuum and in work I use adair. On some issues I will take an autocratic decision, if I feel it is an issue that needs to be sorted out i.e. health and safety as we would on the hills if there was an incident we then take control and lead from the front. Other situations I will ask opinions and allow the team to take a democratic style decision if I feel it is appropriate to do so. Question six. The Group The Environment The task Time scale A group will stop working productivity and effectively. Some areas of the team will stop moving forward altogether and the overall need of the group forgotten. It is important to remember that very one works differently. I believe that it is all too easy for the leader to fall into a mind set, one way of working. If we do some thing well and it works especially if it has worked more than once we tend to try that approach every time and some times because the answer is so clear it is hard to find away to approach it differently if the group can not connect with it. | |||
| |||
| James |
| ||
| 1) What do you understand leadership (in the outdoors) to be? The ability to set goals and coordinate a team to effectively achieve them. 2) How might someone go about becoming a leader? Good leaders focus more on possibilities rather than impediments to achieving the group's goals, this is however tempered with traditional intelligence that includes holistic planning and maintaining a plan several steps of ahead of what is immediately required, good levels of social intelligence are required to understand the impact of the leaders actions on the team to manipulate each individual into achieving the group's goal. Nature vs Nurture; once out of childhood, people can learn to improve their leadership skills though they are only likely to attain limited increases: bad leaders may become OK leaders, OK leaders may become good leaders. 3) What qualities do you look for in a leader? Coincidence with their goal for the team and mine. Intelligent planning that exceeds my own. Humility. If any one of these are absent, I will not be led. 4) Set down what you feel are your core values, beliefs and philosophies To do the best I can with the limited abilities that my body allows: I can achieve most things, though not being blessed with any great athletic ability, I am likely to have work harder than most for much longer to achieve this. The same holds for thinking activity. I am not necessarily right, though if no-one comes up with a better plan we'll just assume I am and get on with it. 5) Which theories of leadership are you aware of? None to speak of, though I am aware of the difference between dictatorship, parliamentary democracy and a hippy commune. 6) What factors might affect your choice of leadership style and decision making processes? I only do one style of leadership, which is probably why I chose white water kayaking rather than, say, being one of Saddam Hussein's henchmen. | |||
| |||
| James |
| ||
| 1) What do you understand leadership (in the outdoors) to be? The ability to set goals and coordinate a team to effectively achieve them. 2) How might someone go about becoming a leader? Good leaders focus more on possibilities rather than impediments to achieving the group's goals, this is however tempered with traditional intelligence that includes holistic planning and maintaining a plan several steps of ahead of what is immediately required, good levels of social intelligence are required to understand the impact of the leaders actions on the team to manipulate each individual into achieving the group's goal. Nature vs Nurture; once out of childhood, people can learn to improve their leadership skills though they are only likely to attain limited increases: bad leaders may become OK leaders, OK leaders may become good leaders. 3) What qualities do you look for in a leader? Coincidence with their goal for the team and mine. Intelligent planning that exceeds my own. Humility. If any one of these are absent, I will not be led. 4) Set down what you feel are your core values, beliefs and philosophies To do the best I can with the limited abilities that my body allows: I can achieve most things, though not being blessed with any great athletic ability, I am likely to have work harder than most for much longer to achieve this. The same holds for thinking activity. I am not necessarily right, though if no-one comes up with a better plan we'll just assume I am and get on with it. 5) Which theories of leadership are you aware of? None to speak of, though I am aware of the difference between dictatorship, parliamentary democracy and a hippy commune. 6) What factors might affect your choice of leadership style and decision making processes? I only do one style of leadership, which is probably why I chose white water kayaking rather than, say, being one of Saddam Hussein's henchmen. | |||
| |||
| Dave Hills |
| ||
| 1) What do you understand leadership (in the outdoors) to be? Someone who provides direction to a individuals and units them towards a common goal. This leader may be prescribed, e.g. a groups instructor of emergent e.g. the person with the most experience when the shit hits the fan. - how might you define it? The accumulation of processes which drives a groups towards an external or internal goal. 2) How might someone go about becoming a leader? Firstly putting them selves in that situation, many people are never tested and bad leaders will avoid that situation. - is it something that just happens (ad-hoc) or something that can be practiced beforehand? I think it mainly comes naturally. It hard to develop personality traits, especially in the outdoors. However experience speaks for itself. 3) What qualities do you look for in a leader? Personality, communication skills, experience, technical skill - what are these based on - role models, agreed benchmarks, intuition? Mainly intuition, however my intuition is developed from experience with role models! - how might you rank these qualities? 1. Personality 2. communication skills 3. experience 4. technical skill 4) Set down what you feel are your core values, beliefs and philosophies That we must engage and inspire our students in a holistic way. We must cater for all, support the weaker and push the stronger. I believe I must be a professional role model to students and provide them with a different experience. - how do these influence your leadership practices? They motivate my commitment to my work and give me the energy to inspire my students. 5) Which theories of leadership are you aware of? Great Man theory, Transformational Leadership theory. - to what extent do you apply any of these in your current practices? Theory states that “People will follow a person who inspires them” thus I try and motivate my followers with enthusiasm and energy to get things done. 6) What factors might affect your choice of leadership style and decision making processes? Type of group and situational differences. - how would you recognize if a modified approach might be required? Experience would tell me that changes to the above stimuli had occurred and I would thus adapt myself accordingly. | |||
| |||
| Simon Fuller |
| ||
| 1) What do you understand leadership (in the outdoors) to be? - how might you define it? The ability to inspire and motivate an individual to achieve stated or implied goals through the safe participation in an activity. The goals may be technical or personal in nature. 2) How might someone go about becoming a leader? - is it something that just happens (ad-hoc) or something that can be practised beforehand? Leadership can be a natural talent created by a implicit and inherent personal characteristics developed before exposure to the outdoor activity, however the skills can be learnt and with confidence by an individual mastering either the technical or inspirational / motivational skill sets. 3) What qualities do you look for in a leader? Relatability to student / group, technical skill, confidence, motivational ability, familiarity with the type of terrain, experience certified technical proficiency. The ability to get a group of people and move them to a higher performance or conscious level, to enable the group to facilitate appropriate decisions. - what are these based on - role models, agreed benchmarks, intuition? Agreed benchmarks, intuition certainly the relatability- not so much the role modesl, - how might you rank these qualties? Intutition the highest - does this person inspire confidence in me, can I relate to the message that is being given to me, what is the technical position of this person ( the leader) in relation to professional bodies and their technical proficiency in their sport/ activity discipline. 4) Set down what you feel are your core values, beliefs and philosophies Core values - to go through life doing the best that I can achieve, To accept that there are things I can change through my actions and there are things I can not change. I choose the way that I feel and interact with people. I have a responsibility for my immediate dependent family that over rides personal satisfaction, goals or professional commitments. To treat everyone with the same respect that I wish to receive. To use the personal and technical skills that I have to the better value of others. To involve others where possible so as to share the experience, To assist others in reaching their potential what ever this is--- To do things safely and not expose myself to undue risk of personal inury - how do these influence your leadership practices? These core value drive me to not accept poor leadership resulting in my standing up for a right to lead -this had led me to depose a union branch secretary of several years standing for continually failing to lead discussion and develop decisions based on a consensus rather than through their own individual wishes. To take on the leadership of canoe club when at personal time in life it was not a good time To take on professional roles where poor leadership was in place in professional bodies. Within canoeing - I guess it's the ability to enable another paddler to perform or experience something which they were not previously able to ... 5) Which theories of leadership are you aware of? Stephen covey - 7 habits - to what extent do you apply any of these in your current practices? Try to apply all 7 ! 6) What factors might affect your choice of leadership style and decision making processes? Delivery environment, objective of client group, my personal objective, dynamics of group and characteristics of individuals, resources immediately available, consequences of alternative routes to achieve objectives. - how would you recognise if a modified approach might be required? When the desired results are not achieved. using visual observation, questioning, and reflection. | |||
| |||
| Aled Williams |
| ||
| 1) What do you understand leadership (in the outdoors) to be? - how might you define it? Leadership is about having an awareness of a situation, the experience to make decisions, the confidence to implement them, and the maturity and understanding to ensure correct implementations need to be performed. Preparedness to take on responsibility. 2) How might someone go about becoming a leader? By responding to a deep emotional need to control situations and people, and the confidence to step forward and take on responsibility. - is it something that just happens (ad-hoc) or something that can be practised beforehand? In the Outdoors, it happens by one working with other experienced coaches/leaders, learning from them, and wanting to become one of ‘them’. 3) What qualities do you look for in a leader? Insight / Foresight / overview & big picture Clear processing / understanding of situations Ability to simplify problems and find answers that “follow the path of least resistance” Responsibility and commitment - what are these based on - role models, agreed benchmarks, intuition? Dunno! - how might you rank these qualties? 1 Understanding the big picture 2 Filtering out the crap! 3 Finding the best answer 4) Set down what you feel are your core values, beliefs and philosophies - how do these influence your leadership practices? “Punters” in hindsight will always respect the best answer to a problem scenario. The status and respect of leadership is a volatile thing, it may grow and diminish based on the actions of the leader. A leader is as good as his last decision. 5) Which theories of leadership are you aware of? SunTzu – Art of War. Niccolò Machiavelli – The Prince. DeBono - to what extent do you apply any of these in your current practices? Know thy enemy – Know thy self War should be won without fighting 6) What factors might affect your choice of leadership style and decision making processes? In an outdoor environment, problems are solved with respect to punter’s ability. Solutions have to be weighed before they become a problem. The job of the leader is to balance a fine line between possible and threatening. Too many threats become war, which isn’t nice for the punter, they usually get scared. But they pay for the top end of possible, to get the best value for money. - how would you recognise if a modified approach might be required? Happens all the time, punters set the agenda. The world’s full of very diverse punters. | |||
| |||
| Jump to page : 1 Now viewing page 1 [50 messages per page] |
| Search this forum Printer friendly version E-mail a link to this thread |
| (Delete all cookies set by this site) | |
| Running MegaBBS ASP Forum Software © 2002-2010 PD9 Software | |
