introduction to the 2008 nols leadership educator notebook

LEADERSHIP EDUCATION AT NOLSHISTORICAL BACKGROUNDPaul Petzoldt, founder of the National Outdoor LeadershipSchool (NOLS), recognized that the wilderness itself teaches leadership.Petzoldt saw that in the wild, people learn to master whatthings they can control, and they learn to live in rhythm with thethings they cannot.Petzoldt passionately believed that NOLS must teach leadershipusing real experiences. Upon starting the school he said, “We haveto have something that is real: like climbing mountains, like fordingwild rivers, like exploring wild country, like facing the storms, likesurviving in the wilderness.” With clear and tangible course goals,instructors create these real experiences that are the foundation ofNOLS’ leadership education.Natural ConsequencesIn the wilderness, physical feedback from decisions or actions isoften immediate, sometimes raw, and usually quite accurate. Sometimesfeedback takes the form of an uncomfortable night becausestudents didn’t look after their equipment in the rain. Sometimesit’s a feeling of uncommon unity after they work together to travelthrough thigh-deep snow.Experience alone, however, does not evoke better leadership. Petzoldtsaid, “All my life I have had to fight against the myth, the oldwives tale, that you develop judgment from experience. A personcan be in the outdoors for years and repeat the same mistakes timeafter time.”ReflectionFor raw experience to ripen into leadership growth, our studentsmust understand and learn from the consequences of their actions.It is critical that they reflect upon and discuss their experiences sothat they may determine what to repeat and what to change. Theymust practice and expand their leadership skills.Character EducationThe character of a group’s leaders and members will either aidit in, or prevent it from, accomplishing its goals. Individuals needto develop their own character by applying values, not just talkingabout them. True character is walking the walk. Plato said, “We obtainbetter knowledge of a person during one hour’s play and gamesthan by conversing with them for a whole year.” We teach characterwhen we teach Expedition Behavior. This book also addresses characterin the section “The Waterline Model”.Role of NOLS InstructorsNOLS instructors are guardians of the leadership learning processand teachers of new skills and knowledge. They create an environmentthat allows learning to happen naturally and safely. Theydon’t teach people a different way of being, they create conditionssuch that students can discover their own natural leadership.TransferenceStudents at NOLS learn to appreciate things that many peopletry to avoid but which are necessary if they are to lead: tolerance forambiguity and the unknown, tolerance for daunting challenge, tolerancefor their own and others’ anxiety, tolerance for disapproval,tolerance for hard physical work and discomfort, and tolerance fortheir shared humanity. They experience the joy of meeting a challengewell, of creating a vibrant community, of living and travelingin the wild, and of appreciating and protecting the natural worldaround them.Leadership skills learned at NOLS are life skills. The increasedself-assessment, competence, communication, expedition behavior,decision-making, judgment, initiative and tolerance for adversityand uncertainty transfer to leadership in all aspects of people’s lives.Integrated Teaching of Expeditionary LeadershipPetzoldt said, “We can only teach the things that a leader mustknow and we have to let slip by the wayside a hundred thousandthings that it would be nice for the leader to know. But by concentratingon things that the leader must know, by being sure that theleader has no dangerous blank spots in his learning, we [feel] thatthe National Outdoor Leadership School graduates are far safer andfar better qualified than all but a handful of other outdoor leaders inthe United States.” (Petzoldt, 1974, p. 146.)LectureNew NOLS instructors commonly teach leadership topics usinga traditional lecture approach. Because of students’ typical “forgettingcurve,” instructors should schedule their lectures as near in timeas possible to their pertinent applications. It is also critical that instructorsfacilitate reflection after key activities so students can seewhat actually mattered in their real life experience.Beginning staff rely heavily on this academic approach becauseit is easy. More advanced instructors develop a knack for presentinginformation spontaneously and in their own voices. Seasoned instructorscan deliver the curriculum more powerfully and authenticallysince they speak with the conviction of their own experience.Experienced NOLS instructors also personalize the tone and contentof this book’s stock outlines, and they can better use lectures atspecific points in a course to augment their students’ experiences.According to our alumni, if there is one area in the NOLS corecurriculum that “classes” are more important, it is leadership. Theleadership progression, and our classes, are commented on routinelyas being helpful in not just learning leadership, but in applying it tolife beyond NOLS (Sibthorp, 2008).Planned experienceIt is possible to use a planned experience to teach a topic. It workswell to follow the “describe, demonstrate, do, discuss” progression,telling students beforehand what they can expect to learn. For instance,the first hiking day on a Wilderness Course is an obvioustime to teach “leader of the day” (LOD) skills. Tell students thatyou are modeling specific behaviors that they will have to performwhen they are leader of the day. Use a checklist to help you fill gapsin areas that don’t naturally arise during that hiking day. A the endof the day, review and ask the students if they noticed you doingthose things. Consider a large-group discussion that includes all thehiking groups to compare notes that night. Some students mightlearn better if you have them copy down written LOD expectations.You are now ready to ask students to practice their LOD skills thenext day.2008 NOLS Leadership Educator Notebook 5Introduction

CoachingConsider how best to coach your students. Everyone has theirown style. Will you wait to give feedback until the end of the day?How much should you interject while they lead? How you coachyour students provides lessons just as valuable as the actual coachingyou offer. You don’t need to discuss the educational merits of yourcoaching; it’s enough that you model respectful habits. Much of acourse’s experience speaks for itself and doesn’t need to be reducedto words to be educational. Let your coaching be an example of oneway to teach experientially.Teachable MomentsAs instructors become more fluent with the curriculum they alsobecome more adept at finding natural teaching opportunities on anexpedition. Weather moves in, Plan A gets tossed out the window,and the savvy instructor finds a minute to mention tolerance foradversity. There is almost always a leadership lesson hidden in theday’s events. It isn’t luck, it’s seeing the opportunities in change. Inthis example, if it was your course and you had just decided to backoff of a sea kayak paddle around a point, the discussion afterwardwould be the perfect opportunity to teach about situational leadershipand decision-making in a set of circumstances that may nothave been relevant yet on your expedition.NOLS expeditions must be challenging enough that leaders,both student and instructor, practice dealing with dynamic systemsand applying their knowledge to new situations. Some leadershipschools intentionally create conditions where leaders-in-trainingneed to make timely decisions with incomplete information. Onour expeditions these situations literally come with the territory.Our job is to finesse these events, balancing student decision-makingopportunities with sound risk management practices.In stressful conditions, if a student leader doesn’t default to an appropriateleadership style, then instructors can recommend a quickand efficient approach. Once the LOD has made and implementeda plan, it is the perfect time to discuss it as part of the leadership curriculum—asclose as possible to still being “in the moment.” Later atcamp might be a good time to discuss the theoretical pros and consof different ways to make decisions in similar, future situations.Everything depends on how well the student leader is handlingthe situation and on how much the group can afford to flounder.Our aim is to prepare our students to succeed in critical situationsby themselves.Integral EducationIt can take a new instructor dozens of field weeks of apprenticingto competently teach single leadership topics, let alone meld theminto a fluid progression.Senior instructors can help junior instructors by modeling greatteaching and effective decision-making, and by coaching in appropriatedoses.Stress and Peak PerformanceStudents who are stressed cannot perform at their peak. Stressmay come from environmental factors or from within the students’own minds as they work to learn the course material. Students alsofeel stress when they do not feel safe in the group they are part of.Chronic stress impairs a student’s ability to sort out what’s importantand what’s not (Jensen, 1988). (Read more about this in theNOLS Wilderness Educator Notebook.) While we cannot changethe environmental factors we encounter, we can help groups reducesocial stresses.Hormones such as cortisol are commonly released during periodsof stress and serotonin levels are affected, as well. Diminished serotoninlevels have been linked to violent and aggressive behaviors.For example, students who are “top dog” in their home life andjust “one of many” in a classroom might become more impulsive(Jensen, 1998). Some of these students flourish when given roleslike LOD. Studies suggest that classroom status or social hierarchieschange the brain’s chemistry. This makes a good case for the importanceof changing roles often to ensure everyone has a chance to leadand follow.It is imperative that we maintain a safe and positive learning environmentso our students can reach their full potential. We mustallow each student to find a place in the group that they are comfortablewith relative to the other students. We must also allow each ofour students to be pushed in a healthy manner so they realize theyare capable of more than they expected.A SAMPLE COURSELEADERSHIP PROGRESSIONPHASE I—Setting GroundworkStudent focus—establish group goals, values, and expectations.Instructor focus—provide direction, expectations, and a safe environment.Role model expected behaviors.First Few Field Days• Outline the seven leadership skills. Talk about what they looklike on this course. Involve the students.• Go over evaluations and expectations in detail.• Explain the leadership and course progressions. Diagram this viaa pyramid or a ladder. Explain what you as instructors will be doing.Explain when and how students can influence the progression.If traveling on their own is part of the progression, explaincriteria required for the students to be allowed to do this.• Model leading. Make decisions in front of students. Questionand clarify in front of the whole group.• Give a short, simple decision-making class, Part One (see “Decision-Making,”4-4).• Debrief your own leading each day with the student group. Giveinstructors feedback publicly. Admit mistakes, say what youlearned, and move on. Tell others what you did well and whatthey did well.• Start teaching classes that students will need to lead (such as“Travel Plans”.• Allow people time to get to know each other. Do many fun activities.Goals for Phase I:• Discuss Positive Learning Environment/Expedition Behavior.• Agree on group goals and values.• Introduce the seven NOLS Leadership Skills.• Model leadership.• Clarify course structure and expectations.• Review evaluation and feedback process.• Teach a simple decision-making class.• Have fun as a whole group.Introduction 62008 NOLS Leadership Educator Notebook

• Introduce some of the skills students need to lead in this environment(travel plans, etc.)• Help students see how past experiences will help them on thiscourse (transference).Day 1• Get yourself and your students jazzed. Explain overall coursegoals, the big picture.• Involve students in organizing for the expedition wherever possible.• Do something fun together such as an icebreaker.• Put your students at ease by explaining or discussing the role ofstudents and instructors—knowing what is expected of them canhelp your students to succeed as well as relax.Day 2• Explain the concept of Expedition Behavior. Facilitate a discussionof what makes a great group and a positive learning environment(see “Positive Learning Environment,” 2-1).• Introduce the seven NOLS Leadership Skills and tie them intothis talk.• Have the group come up with two to four group goals they wantto strive for which are separate from instructor expectations—thestudents make and own these.• Have everyone sign the positive learning environment goals.PHASE II—Learning LeadershipStudent focus—learn leadership roles, responsibilities, and expectations.Practice leading. Have fun.Instructor focus—set leadership expectations. Reinforce, correct,and coach students on their leadership.Started Before The End Of The First Week• Facilitate a short discussion on what everyone believes is “goodleadership.”• Describe the role, responsibilities and expectations of the LOD(see article on “Leader of the Day”). Discuss the role of the instructorwhen a student is leading. Re-negotiate this with eachstudent or team every time they lead.• Observe and coach students as they lead.• Teach a communication skills class and lead a group activity (see“Communication Class” outline, 5-1).• Debrief student LODs every day using a structure they will laterbe able to use themselves (see article on “Student Debriefs,”7-1). Short leadership theory nuggets impromptu well in thesedebriefs.• Check in with your student groups. This need not take long, butshould occur frequently. Ask, “What more do you need from us?What is helpful that we are doing?” And listen!• As soon as the first few niggles (slight discomforts) show up inthe group, talk about the stages of group development (see articleon “Group Development,” 2-3).• Give an in-depth decision-making class once they’ve practiced abit (see “Decision-Making,” 4-4).• Conduct a leadership styles exercise or discussion.Goals for Phase II:• Teach a Leader Of the Day class.• Give each student a chance to lead at least once, either as part ofa team or individually.• Teach a decision-making class.• Students start using modeled debrief formats.• Lead at least one leadership styles discussion or exercise.• Check in one-on-one with each student.• Conduct several group check-ins.• Lead a communication skills class/exercise.• Introduce the stages of group development.• Ask students to discuss how the skills they are learning are applicableto non-NOLS course situations (transference).PHASE III—Developing LeadershipStudent focus—Practice skills. Coach their peers. Meet increasingchallenges, continue to have fun and learn new skills.Instructor focus—Transition to shadow-coaching and consulting.Middle Section of Course• Facilitate first tent group debriefs. Typically, second and thirdtent group debriefs are run by the students.• Teach more leadership classes.• When you notice conflict brewing, do a conflict managementexercise (see “Conflict,” 2-6), then have the students manage it.• Conduct the “No-Doze Leadership” exercise (see 7-2).• Before students are allowed to plan a ration period, teach a classon decision-making in large groups (see “Group Meetings” article,11-4).• In debriefs, link your role as an instructor to a larger framework—reference classes, patterns of good and bad behavior that you haveobserved on the course, theories, stories and other skills.• Students can teach other leadership classes of their interest, e. g.“Gender-Specific Leadership Styles.” Consider having them reteacha skill for practice.• Provide mid-course evaluations. Ask students to come preparedto discuss how they are doing on the seven leadership skills andhow they intend to make progress. Ask them to give you feedbackas well.• Revisit group goals and values. If the group is progressing well,consider letting them plan and implement new goals and changesafter you approve them. If the group is not meeting expectations,your instructor team needs to be more active in meetings. Makethe group aware of gaps, explaining what you want the group todo and why.By the end of Phase III, all students will have had at least twomore opportunities to lead others individually or as part of a team.They have evaluated their leadership.PHASE IV—Transitioning To IndependenceStudent focus—Practice, practice, practice! Encounter challengingsituations. Have fun. Learn limitations.Instructor focus—Monitor, step back, and transition.• Continue with classes, debriefs, and activities—check to see thatstudents have all the basic skills down.• In Phase III or IV, student teams may start planning and facilitatingmulti-day curriculum and travel. Groups may plan a rationperiod, organize a service project, simulate a rescue, etc.• If appropriate, students may lead and travel without instructorsin phase III or IV. Check in and debrief as appropriate. If youdo not allow students to lead in the absence of instructors, otheroptions are shadowing the groups, small groups with instructors,etc. (see “Independent Small Group Expeditions” article).2008 NOLS Leadership Educator Notebook 7Introduction

• Provide final course evaluations. Have students discuss theircompetence in each of the seven NOLS Leadership Skills.• Conduct a “Taking Leadership From Here” discussion which includesways to serve the environment, tools and plans for furtherleadership growth, etc. (see “Transference” article)By the end of Phase IV each student will have had at least twomore opportunities to lead, and at least one of those experiencesshould be co-leading with another student. Students may have ledtheir own independent expedition. They may have planned and coledmultiple days of the course. They have a leadership action planto take with them after the course.Petzoldt said, “When teaching on an expedition as we do atNOLS, we cannot cover one subject all at once, since, initially, wemust teach the most important things necessary for that first dayof walking, camping, cooking and conservation. The next day wemight cover the same subjects again and add new knowledge andtechniques. We do this until the end of the course five weeks later.Then and only then will the student have all of the knowledge andskills he actually needed the first day. That is why we say to our studentsthat when they finish their courses, they are ready to start onan expedition.” (Petzoldt, as cited by Bachert, 1987, p. 62)TEACHING LEADERSHIPEXPERIENTIALLYLearning occurs through discovery and experimentation, andchanges in cognition develop as a result of reflection on experience.Unlike more traditional, content-focused approaches, the fundamentalgoal of experiential education is not just to teach studentswhat to learn, but also how to learn through their own experiences.Experiential style requires a shift in the way we conceptualizeteaching and learning. Most students and many instructors are usedto a traditional view of education where the teacher is an expertwhose job is to disseminate factual information and the learner is astudent whose job is to regurgitate the “right” answer.Experiential learning is collaborative, and social interactions playa significant role in the development of cognition. Dialogue anddiscussion are vital avenues to learning. An experiential approachpresents information through group tasks and discussions with peersand instructors. When students work in this manner, they have theopportunity to frequently voice their ideas and receive feedbackfrom their peers and instructors.This engages higher cognitive functions including reasoning,comprehension and critical thinking. Students in experiential programscontinue to build on their collaboration and communicationskills by taking an increasingly active role in designing and implementingexperiential projects, and structuring their learning time.Through the process of creating and maintaining the expeditioncommunity, we teach students the skills to become leaders in theirown communities beyond the course. On NOLS expeditions, it isprecisely our goal to create just this type of organized, self-consciouscommunity that respects the needs and opinions of all while workingto find creative, cooperative solutions to problems.A NOLS expedition readily lends itself to collaborative learning,but can be further enhanced through creative teaching methods.When contemplating a lesson plan, consider whether a lecture isnecessary. Could this class be taught as a discussion on the trail, asa student class, or as a group assignment? Perhaps each instructorIntroduction 8could teach an individual or a small group one aspect of the class,and students could then collaborate to learn all of the skills? Perhapsa quick lecture is necessary to introduce students to a skill or concept?Always keep in mind that actual learning occurs on the trailor during planned activities, when students work together to applywhat you have introduced to them.PrinciplesInstruction should be student-centered, emphasizing the processby which knowledge construction occurs. Students thus becomeaware of the factors that influence their own thinking and learning,and they can then go about constructing new knowledge in a criticaland intentional manner in the future. Active processing of learningexperiences is vital to helping students take charge of their ownlearning and develop personal meaning from experience.There is no way we could teach students every skill that wouldprepare them for every eventuality in a wilderness setting, much lessthe rest of their lives. However, when we help them understand howthey gained skills and knowledge on their NOLS course and whenwe give them ample opportunities to practice applying these skillsin different contexts, we are preparing them to lead and learn farbeyond the course. We teach this when we help students learn togive and receive feedback, self-evaluate, resolve conflicts effectively,plan and teach classes, participate in discussions, evaluate hazards,plan and lead an expedition, etc.Petzoldt said, “There are many ways of teaching judgment alongwith technique. The simplest way, the way everybody can understand,even without experience, is the method of telling them whyyou are teaching them any certain thing. Try to relate what you areteaching them with what you are going to teach them or what theyhave been taught. It’s just not the bare technique that is essential butthe relation of that technique to other things they are going to do.”(Bachert, 1987, p. 68)Complex Problems, Multiple SolutionsExperiential teaching provides students with complex problemsthat have many possible solutions. These problems should be carefullychosen based on your students’ skill and experience, and theymust be appropriately coached. We want students to feel challenged,but also have access to help when they need it so that they feel incontrol of their own learning. Achieving this fine balance of allowingstudents to struggle a bit and eventually succeed (or not!), versusstepping in when the challenge becomes too great, is the essence ofserendipitous teaching.Remember that an important part of being an experiential educatoris being a learner yourself. Let students know what you’re tryingto do. Sometimes simply giving them the option to ask for helpwhen they feel they need it is enough to give them sense of control.TransferenceA learning environment that presents only isolated pieces of informationseemingly unrelated to the students’ past experience isperceived as meaningless to the brain. But when the same conceptsare presented from the perspective of, “Here are some tools essentialto this situation,” the brain gets it. Students get it. They eagerlybuild skills and knowledge that complex, real-world problem solvingrequires.Problems presented to students should be authentic—that is,they should be real. They should also be relevant—similar to situationsthat students will encounter in the world beyond the course.2008 NOLS Leadership Educator Notebook

II. DEFINING LEADERSHIPLeadership means timely, appropriate actions that guide and supportyour group to set and achieve realistic goals. Great leaders createan environment that inspires individuals and groups to achievetheir full potential.Simply put, leaders guide their teams to set and achieve goals.THE NOLS 4/7/1 LEADERSHIPEDUCATION MODELNOLS uses a framework of four leadership roles, seven leadershipskills, and one signature style, to teach leadership to students.The four roles are the ways leaders can apply leadership to help theirteam to set and attain goals. The seven skills are a holistic skillsetthat history has shown to be significant in providing leadership onNOLS expeditions. The one signature style is the style that worksbest for each individual. This style is based on tapping into the leader’smultiple intelligences, learning preferences, social intelligence,conflict management styles, and other personal strengths and preferences.This book is based on the NOLS 4/7/1 leadership educationmodel.Graphics can help students see leadership skills as a system withsituational application. It often helps students for you to partiallycomplete a graphic then let students help you complete it.7 SkillsMysignaturestyleThis is the area I needto focus on right now.4 RolesI need to use the appropriate skills,the appropriate roles,and my own personal styleto lead this group in this situation.A Venn diagram can help students see how skills, roles, and theirpersonal style intersect each other situationally.The NOLS Leadership Skills are an integrated system.CompetenceTolerance ForAdversity &UncertaintyCommunicationSelf-AwarenesssVision & ActionTeaching notes: ExpeditionBehaviorJudgment &DecisionMakingDefining Leadership 102008 NOLS Leadership Educator Notebook

THE 7 NOLS LEADERSHIP SKILLSThese seven skills are a holistic skillset that need to be appliedsituationally and in combination with each other.Expedition Behavior• Serve the mission and goals of the group.• Be as concerned for others as you are for yourself.• Treat everyone with dignity and respect.• Support leadership and growth in everyone.• Respect the cultures you come into contact with.• Be kind and open-hearted.• Do your share and stay organized.• Help others, but don’t routinely do their work.• Model integrity by being honest and accountable.• Say yes and deliver, or say no clearly if you cannot.• Resolve conflict in a productive manner.Competence• Display basic competence and actively improve your– knowledge.– organization and management skills.– technical skills.– physical abilities.• Set goals, make action plans, and follow through.• Take care of your personal maintenance needs to remain a highly-functioningteam member.Communication Skills• Speak up when appropriate, be silent when appropriate.• Help create a positive learning environment.• Let your group know what you expect of them and what they canexpect from you.• Keep people informed as the situation changes.• Listen actively—paraphrase and ask questions to clarify.• Have the courage to state what you think, feel and want.• Speak for yourself. Use “I language.”• Be empathetic during conflicts.• In feedback,– Be timely.– Be growth-oriented.– Be specific about your observations.– Acknowledge your share of any problem.– Be clear about what you will do next.– Be as open to receiving feedback as giving it.Judgment & Decision-Making• Work to develop good judgment. Consider all available experiences,resources and information to achieve positive results.• Use situationally appropriate decision-making styles. Develop allstyles.• As a leader, choose a decision-making style and then tell thegroup what it is.• Give your group choices that have acceptable consequences.• Be clear about limits and boundaries when letting people makechoices.• Use the strengths and knowledge of other group members tosolve problems.• Help others see how choices fit into the big picture and the longview.• Question norms, challenge assumptions.Tolerance For Adversity And Uncertainty• Turn challenging situations into opportunities.• See choices as many workable options and combinations, noteither/or.• Learn to endure, even enjoy, hard work and challenge.• Live in rhythm with what you cannot control. Control what youcan.• Use humor. Keep things in perspective.• Function effectively under difficult circumstances. Make focuseddecisions and stay connected with others.• Work effectively with different types of people.• Be patient will less competent colleagues.Self-Awareness• Understand your abilities, limitations and learning needs.• Learn from experience, then take steps to improve.– Admit and correct your mistakes.– Be proud of your successes and build on these.• Work at just being yourself as a leader.• Be clear with others about your own values and goals.• Find a healthy balance that works for you: work hard, play, reflect,and rest.• Seek feedback from others.Vision & Action• Initiate: assess what needs to be done and do it.• Motivate: add your energy and can-do attitude to projects tohelp motivate others.• Inspire: create an environment that inspires individuals andgroups to achieve their highest potential.• Have empathy for others, yet be decisive.• Help create what you want to see.• Use group goals and values to guide your actions.• Take risks at an appropriate level for yourself and your group.• Seek creative ways to move the group forward.• Stay open and flexible to change.• Model the way (lead by example).THE 4 NOLS LEADERSHIP ROLESDesignated Leadership: The designated leader is the head architectand guardian of the group process. She or he can delegateand should collaborate when possible, but can’t abdicate responsibilityand accountability. Complex, potentially risky, or toughactivities and decisions are best handled with a designated leaderguiding or monitoring the process.Active Followership: Expedition members show good leadershipby following the leadership of others. They seek clarity, giveinput, respect the plan, help out, and work for the betterment ofthe group and its goals.Peer Leadership: We practice peer leadership largely in our livingarrangement on a course. In peer leadership, each personsees what needs to be done and does it without a hierarchy. Allmembers assure quality completion of group tasks, functions andgoals. Peer leadership works better when members clarify who isresponsible for what. At NOLS, while traveling or engaging inhigher risk activities, we do not rely on peer leadership alone.Self-leadership: a group member is a leader by virtue of whothey are and how they influence others, not by the position theyhold. This is leadership through character and judgment.2008 NOLS Leadership Educator Notebook 11Defining Leadership

LEADERSHIP THEORIES WEUSE TO TEACH LEADERSHIPThere are a variety of theories instructors can use to help teachelements of leadership to students. This section summarizes a fewtools you might want to try out.“Great” Leaders DiscussionBegin by having students name someone they think is or was a“great” leader. (Hint – if you define “great” in the sense that theywould like to be a leader like this person, or would want to be afollower of this person, students are less likely to pick Hitler-esqueexamples.)Ask students to brainstorm a list of traits of great leaders (samplelist provided below).Have students to identify two or three of these traits they thinkthey already have or are good at.Have students identify two traits they want to work towards overthe next couple of days.Follow up with a group or individual check-ins a couple of dayslater to find out how students are doing on their goals.Sample list of traitssense of humor playful open-heartedpersistent courageous flexibleintelligent optimistic skilledself-confident visionary honestshows integrity respectful tolerantorganized empathetic adaptableIdentify a Variety of Leadership StylesDifferent leadership styles are effective under different conditions.Authoritarian styles may be effective for task accomplishment,but they may also encourage dependency of the group over time.Democratic leadership can become pseudo-collaborative rather thanactually collaborative leadership if it gives strength only to the oneswho speak up—i.e. extremists. Laissez-faire leadership works in certainsituations, but a leaderless crowd is also the most likely to panicif something goes wrong. The preferred leadership style is highlyinfluenced by culture.We need to encourage people to develop a variety of differentstyles. Effective leaders exhibit versatility and flexibility that enablethem to adapt their behavior to every situation. Encourage your studentsto think about and discuss the situational appropriateness ofvarious styles. This discussion fits well in hiking/travel group debriefs.Teaching Situational LeadershipSituational leadership is a set of strategies that allows individualsto lead successfully by varying their behavior from one situation tothe next, so as to provide appropriate leadership actions at appropriatetimes (Hersey, 1993). Leadership is specific to a particular groupin a particular situation, and behaviors that work wonders in onegroup or situation may fail miserably in another. It’s complex.highsupportive behavior(relationship)lowlowSituational Leadership(adapted from Blanchard, 1999)DelegatingSupportingCoachingdirective behavior (task)DirectinghighIdeas for Teaching Situational LeadershipReview the above progression of situational leadership with yourgroup. Ask students to identify what type of leadership they thinktheir group currently needs most.Have the students discuss what the role of the student is in thisstage, and what the role of the instructor should be.Discuss what kinds of information, opportunities, coaching, etc.the students need and can expect from you as instructors at thispoint in the course.A new group (or an existing group with a new task) needs directiveleadership and less in-depth, two-way dialogue. The leader tellsthe group members what they have to do and defines everyone’sroles. The first few days of a NOLS course are like this, when studentsare novices. Key leadership actions include directing, establishing,structuring, and guiding. Role-modeling and letting peopleknow what is expected of them is critical at this stage.After the group has settled in and has a basic idea of what everyoneis supposed to be doing, a group needs a different type of leadership.Group members are still unable to do many things on theirown, but they’re trying. It is important to support their motivationand commitment to tackle the tasks. This is often called the coachingstage. Group members still need a lot of direction and instruction,but they also need to understand what the leader is trying toachieve in the long run. This means that leaders must clarify theirreasoning and ask for the group’s input.On a course, this stage may be when you start practicing Leaderof the Day, or LOD. You are teaching students, encouraging themand correcting them, while also listening to their experience, reactionsand desires. Key leadership actions here are explaining, listening,clarifying, correcting and reinforcing.As group members become more comfortable with their skillsand each other, their readiness to take on responsibility usually increases.However, they’ve just developed their ability and haven’t hadan opportunity to gain confidence working on their own. Othertimes, they are not motivated to do a task on their own. In thisstage, called supporting, key leadership actions are discussing, collaborating,participating, encouraging, and facilitating. The leadersteps way back in telling the group what to do and how to do it. Theleader needs to set up a structure that encourages the group to takeDefining Leadership 122008 NOLS Leadership Educator Notebook

some risks, succeed a bit, and maybe fail some or at least stretch abit. However, the leader can’t step back from supporting the group.NOLS students in this stage need a lot of active listening, feedback,coaching and help with tough spots. They don’t need you todo their work for them. On a course, this is when students are leadingmost aspects of travel days.The final stage, delegating, takes place when the group membersare both ready and willing to do the task. They are ready and confident.They’ve had enough opportunity to practice and they feelcomfortable without the leader providing direction. This is wherethe leader gives them the ball and lets them run with it. The leadermust grant group members considerable independence regardinghow they do their tasks and how they organize themselves asa group. The leader must step back from directing and decidingthings for the group, except in very specific circumstances, so asto respect the group’s autonomy. Still, observing and monitoringare important leadership activities. The leader must keep a pulse onwhat’s going on.This includes NOLS’s Independent Student Group Expedition,or when students run a ration period, or any time instructors are lettingstudents run the show. You are more or less an observant guest,who doesn’t step in unless parameters have been crossed (i.e. safety)or the group meets a situation they are not yet ready to deal with.If this is what we actually do with students, should we also try toteach our students how to do this with their peers? Explaining thetheory may be useful to them later on, especially when they go homeand start leading friends and family. They don’t need to verbalize thestages to their friends—but keeping the theory in mind may helpthem to figure out when they should be giving more help and directionand when they can give less.Ideas for Teaching About PowerHave your students brainstorm a list of different ways that a personhas or can get power on a NOLS course (e.g. designated leaderof the day, lots of experience, very loud voice, etc.)Ask your students to discuss how people lose power (being bossy,pretending to know things that they don’t, etc.)Allow your students to think for themselves and articulate howthey hope to gain and use power throughout the course.Power and LeadershipDifferent types of power work best with different styles of leadership.Here are some examples of different types of power held byleaders:Expert power: the perceived extent of relevant knowledge and skillof a personReferent (greatness) power: the extent to which others want to beclose to a personAuthorized (legitimate) power: the right of a person to be influentialgiven their positionReward power: the extent to which a person is viewed as having theability to give rewardsCoercive power: the extent to which a person is viewed as being ableto punish othersInformational power: the amount of insider information a personhas about the history, culture and customs of a groupConnection power: the number of close relationships a person haswith other key members of a groupThe most influential leaders were seen as those having expert, referent,informational and connection power. The least effective powersfor influencing others were found to be authorized, reward andcoercive power, although these were not unimportant. This studyalso demonstrated that to be an influential leader over time, sharingpower and influence with the group are vital. It also says that powerstruggles can erupt when a group member has more referent andconnective power with the group than the authorized leader. I thinkwe have all seen this happen in peer leadership on courses.Teaching Leadership through Authority:Designated LeadershipThe theory of designated leadership can be viewed as a subset ofauthorized power. Some even believe that just putting someone ina leadership role can help them to become a good leader. Studentswho are “Leader Of the Day” are leaders by virtue of that title, thetasks that we authorize, and their level of accountability. NOLScourse leaders are designated leaders. The NOLS executive directoris a designated leader. These people have legitimate power given tothem and thus also have great responsibility. See the “Leaders of TheDay” section in this book for teaching suggestions.Transformational/Visionary LeadershipTransformational leaders project a vision, motivate and inspirefollowers, engage followers in actively seeking new solutions to oldproblems and seek to raise aspiration levels among followers (Deluga,1992). Teaching notes for this topic can be found on page 55.If a student is fortunate enough to arrive at NOLS with the characteristicsof a transformational leader, the best gift we can give heror him may be support in seeking greater self-knowledge and encouragementto use their skills wisely. We should also support thestudent in using collaborative leadership tools so they help createmany leaders in the group. But with beginning outdoor leadershipstudents, visionary transformational leadership seems an impracticalgoal for the average individual. Many people do use it as a vision ina transference discussion.StewardshipOn a NOLS course, stewardship means downplaying pointsourceleadership. The whole group discusses and agrees on whatleadership will look like and how everyone will support leadershipas a group. The student leader’s goal is to not only to get the groupfrom place to place, but to also make sure everyone has an opportunityto learn and grow.Class SuggestionsStewardship can be taught as followership or through classes onexpedition behavior.In stewardship, leadership does not emanate from a point source.Instead, it is part of everyone involved. Designing an environmentthat encourages learning and leadership in everyone is the primarytask of a steward. Personal responsibility, personal accountabilityand self-awareness are the keystones of this model.How does stewardship look at NOLS? The instructors are akin tothe architects of a ship, not captains. Every student and instructor isresponsible for designing the course through discussion. The groupworks together to figure out how and what they will be. A certainamount of chaos is inevitable in this model. Students and instructorsfeel accountable for the success or failure of any venture. The philosophyis: “People learn what they need to learn, not what I may thinkthey need to learn.” (Block, 1993) Students take responsibility fortheir evaluation and growth into their own hands. There is a strivingfor absolute honesty at all levels and the truth is not avoided for social2008 NOLS Leadership Educator Notebook 13Defining Leadership

comfort. Overall, the atmosphere is supportive, energetic and open.The leadership norm is peers guiding and coaching their peers.But beware: Stewardship takes lots of effort on the part of theinstructors and the group. Some people may not buy into it. Inthe time span of a regular course, it is not likely to work perfectly,particularly if there is a wide range of maturity levels in the group. Itcan be held as a vision more than something we believe we can arriveat easily. Most courses use large aspects of this model and semestersare able to take it further still, often with excellent results.Peer expeditions have tried this model with various degrees ofsuccess. It works well in easy times and with well-bonded, maturegroups, less well in stressful times if the group doesn’t take the timeto collaborate. Collaboration means taking time to discuss all thepros and cons and listen to other viewpoints. People venture intotrips or situations thinking they are using this model, when actuallythey have entered into leadership abdication and laissez-faire, or, allpeople aren’t speaking up honestly and so only a few are actuallyrunning the expedition.DIMENSIONS OF LEADERSHIPAll leaders exhibit some of the behaviors encompassed in thesefour dimensions:• Being Authentic• Respecting• Conceptualizing• DirectingBreaking down leadership behavior into these four categoriesmay help you coach a student who is performing better in someareas than others.Being Authentic occurs when you share what is going on foryou—in the moment—as it pertains to your current experience inthe group. This is leadership through being open and honest aboutwhat you think, feel and want.Examples:1) “I am really frustrated that people keep carrying on side conversationsduring our classes.”2) fnigle“I’m frustrated that only two of the five members of thishiking group are reading the map. I want to hear input fromeveryone.”Too much or too little “authenticity”:• If I hide who I am and what I believe, then people around memiss much of what I have to offer.• If I am so ‘loud’ with my beliefs and personal presence it leaveslittle room for others to share their leadership.• I am most effective when I share who I am and what I believewhile still leaving room for others to express themselves.Group Outcomehighmediumlowlow medium highdegree of AUTHENTICbehavior expressedCoaching on AuthenticityUse direct feedback with specific examples of when you have seenthe student be authentic or inauthentic with others.Discuss self-leadership and self-awareness as ways of working onleadership, even one is not in an LOD role.Respecting is just like it sounds. It occurs when you offer friendship,affection, support, praise and encouragement. Respectful leadersexpress warmth, acceptance, genuineness and a real concern forus. Respecting is about caring and supporting. This isn’t limited tobeing “warm and fuzzy”—genuine respecting can be conveyed ina “tough love” style. Simply put, this is leadership through beingsupportive, treating others with respect, and showing people youbelieve in them.Example: “Alan, you seem down about your efforts as leader ofthe day. I want you to know that I respect your efforts. I trust in yourability to turn these lessons into future success.” In general the morerespecting is done by the leader, the better the group outcome.Group Outcomehighmediumlowlow medium highdegree of RESPECTINGbehavior expressedCoaching on RespectVisualize a leader or mentor who has had a positive impact on yourlife. Now ask yourself, “Did I feel respected by this individual?”Think of some different ways this person conveyed their respectfor you or for your potential, like trusting you to hear critical feedbackor letting you make a mistake and then supporting your learning.Conceptualizing describes the skill of helping the group makesense of behaviors, group dynamics and events that effect the group.This includes knowing the how’s and why’s of individual and groupbehavior, and helping people understand their current situationfrom a new angle. Have you ever seen a leader who could help agroup see the “big picture” when they are stuck? Such leaders helppeople reconstruct their understanding of what is going on. Perhapsthey pointed out that conflict is “normal” and expected during thestorming phrase of group development. When done well, you canalmost see the light bulbs light up over people’s heads, the proverbial,“Oh, now I get it!” Conceptualizing helps people make senseout of their experiences.Example: “I’m noticing that the group keeps rehashing this sameissue in every evening meeting. Perhaps that is because we are allpeers and it isn’t clear who should make this decision.”Coaching ConceptualizationOutline basic tasks so your students can understand the variousparts and how they all fit together.Explain why the safety rules exist. Help students to create genericparameters for applying the concepts to other wilderness situations.Coach students on subtle improvements, leading them to a deeperunderstanding of leadership skills and behaviors.Defining Leadership 142008 NOLS Leadership Educator Notebook

Group OutcomeTeach conceptual level classes on topics like team dynamics andleadership in addition to technical skills.Directing is providing the more traditional functions of executiveleadership. This is leadership through actively structuring a group,by setting group rules, creating norms for behavior, setting goals,managing time and the like. When directing, leaders either prescribespecific actions, or they stop specific actions and focus on particularbehaviors or events. In directing mode, you might stop the groupand suggest they reflect on something that just happened. Comparethis with conceptualizing, where you might also stop the group andfocus on an event, but you would likely add your interpretation ofthe event. Directing includes organizing, questioning and choreographingkey events.Example: “Before we start our break, let’s decide how long wewant it to be.” Generally groups respond best to moderate amountsof directing behavior.Coaching on DirectingHelp students identify situations when they have felt there wastoo little directing being done by the leader, and what the consequencesof this were. Then ask them to reflect on situations with toomuch directing being and what happened.Ask students to identify cues which help them know they are doingthe “right” amount of directing.Acknowledge that the optimal amount of directing varies—itchanges as the group and the situation change!There are an infinite number of different aspects of leadership youcan coach students on! These are just four to help get you started.Group Outcomehighmediumlowhighmediumlowlow medium highdegree of CONCEPTUALIZINGbehavior expressedlow medium highdegree of DIRECTINGbehavior expressedSELF-DIFFERENTIATED LEADERSHIPThis is the idea that real leadership comes about when you beginto view yourself and your followers as a system that functions aspart of one another. The theory of self-differentiated leadership isall about what makes someone a mature, special leader. Being yourauthentic self is what matters: this means your actions are alignedwith your values.Well-differentiated, emotionally mature individuals, who bringa lot of “self” to any relationship we call “self-differentiated”. Thesepeople are comfortable being who they are and saying or doing whatthey think they need to say or do in any relationship. Highly selfdifferentiatedleaders maintain a good level of emotional calm evenwhen people are disagreeing with them or resisting their ideas. Theykeep things in perspective, seeing both paradox and humor in themselvesand life. They can be very emotional—but they have morechoice about it. People generally have better, more truly connectedrelationships, make better choices and are more effective leaderswhen they have greater self-differentiation (Kerr, 1988).Self-differentiated individuals are inter-dependant, not isolatedand independent. It is arguable that students need high self-differentiationto be able to lead their friends on extended camping trips.At most, we may only get students to understand their ability tostate what they think, feel and want and their ability to stay connectedand seek input from their group.Chapter II References and Resources• Bennis, W. (1995). On Becoming a Leader. NY: Addison-Wesley.• Blanchard, K. (1999). Leadership and the one minute manager.• Block, P. (1993). Stewardship. SF, CA: Berrett-Koehler.• Deluga, R. J. (1992). The Relationship of Leader-Member Exchangeswith Laissez-Faire, Transformational and TransactionalLeadership on Naval Environments. Impact of Leadership. NorthCarolina, Center for Creative Leadership.• French, J., Jr., and Raven, B. (1959). The Bases of Social Power.In D. Cartwright (Ed.), Studies in Social Power. Ann Arbor, MI:Institute for Social Research.• Friedman, E.H. (1985). Generation to Generation. NY: Guilford.• Hersey, P. and Blanchard, K. H. (1963). Organizational Behavior.(6th ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.• Hesselbein, F., Goldsmith, M., & Beckhard, R., (1996). Leaderof the Future. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.• Johnson, D., & Johnson, F. (1987). Joining Together: Group Theoryand Group Skills. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Allyn & Bacon.• Kerr, M and Bowen, M. (1988). Family Evaluation. New York,NY: W.W. Norton and Company, Inc.• Lieberman, M., Yalom, I., & Miles, M. (1973). Encounter Groups:First Facts. Basic Books.• Schultz, W. (1975). Not Encounter and Certainly Not Facts. Journalof Humanistic Psychology, 7-18.• Senge, P. (1994). The Fifth Discipline. NY, NY: Currency andDoubleday.• Short, R. (1991). A Special Kind of Leadership. Seattle, WA: TheLeadership Group.• Stogill R. (1974). Handbook of Leadership. NY, NY: Free Press.• Yalom, I. (1975). How effective is the encounter group? The Theoryand Practice of Group Psychotherapy, (2nd ed.), 471-478.2008 NOLS Leadership Educator Notebook 15Defining Leadership