Have you ever wondered about developing leaders through outdoor experiential education? While it is not something that we offer, as an educational organisation committed to raising the standard of leadership development in our country, it is something we encourage you to try.
Outdoor experiential leadership programs involve physically challenging activities, such as falling backwards off a ledge into the waiting arms of fellow participants or leaping from a high platform to a rope or swing that is out of arm’s reach. Other popular activities include abseiling, ropes courses, rafting, rock climbing and sailing.
Research shows that leaders who participate in outdoor experiential programs, such as Outward Bound:
- Are more likely to remain in your organisation 1
- Develop self-confidence, a trait consistently associated with effective leadership2
- Become more agile problem solvers3
- Nurture teamwork 4
References
- Gall, A. (1987), ‘You Can Take A Manager Out To The Woods’, Training & Development Journal, 41, 3, 54-61. ↩
- Marsh, H., Richards, G. & Barnes, J. (1987), ‘A Long-Term Follow-Up of the Effects of Participation in an Outward Bound Program’, Personality & Social Psychology Bulletin, 12, 475-492 ↩
- Baldwin, T., Wagner, R. & Roland, C. (1991), Effects of Outdoor Challenge Training on Group & Individual Outcomes, Society for Industrial & Organizational Psychology Conference. ↩
- See note 3 ↩
