I work in our company's talent department and am trying understand the value of “outdoor training” techniques and their impact on team building. We want to use something like this but aren't sure how to apply it. How does it help us identify leadership traits? Specifically, how do these exercises provide concrete evidence that someone actually is leadership material?
The Team Doc Says…
The value in outdoor training or team building is in having a plan before you go indentifying goals and expected outcomes. Each activity should tie into your goal for the day and be debriefed to make a point that relates to your expected outcomes.
For identifying specific leadership traits, I think an outdoor team building activitiy is a poor method. I'm a strong leader and do lead in outdoor activities, but I'm not athletic and would probably not demonstrate what someone was looking for. Does that mean I'm not a leader? Heavens no! And the same thing goes for your workforce.
Determine goals and expected outcomes ahead of time and make sure your day doesn't end on that day. Take the lessons learned back into your workplace and remind people what happened and how that can make your team better. But don't use it to identify leadership traits in your team members.
Best regards,
Denise O'Berry
aka ‘Team Doc'
About Denise O'Berry