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Shackleton’s Antarctic Adventure (Large Format)
One of the greatest survival stories of all time comes to life in this extraordinary true story of polar explorer Sir Ernest Shack…

Guess What’s Coming to Dinner? [HD]

Assassin’s Creed 2 Deluxe Edition [Game Download]
Assassin’s Creed II is the follow-up to the title that became the fastest-selling new IP in video game history. The highly anticip…

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Mention this subject, however, to a line manager, or to a sales manager, or any executive in most organizations and you will probably deal with diffident responses.

Leadership development -a strategic need?

The subject of leadership is dealt with in a general way by many organizations. Leadership is usually understood in terms of personal attributes such as charisma, communication, inspiration, dynamism, toughness, instinct, etc., and not in terms what good leaders can do for their organizations.  Developing leaders falls in HR domain. Budgets are framed and outlays are used with indicators like training hours per employee per year. Whether the good intentions behind the training budgets get translated into actions or not, is not monitored.

Such leadership development outlays that are based on only good intentions and general ideas about leadership get axed in bad times and get extravagant during good times. If having great or good leaders at all levels is a strategic need, as the above top companies demonstrate and as many leading management experts assert, why do we see such a stop and go approach?

Why is there skepticism about leadership development programs?

The first reason is that expectations from good (or great) leaders are not defined in operative terms and in ways in which the outcomes can be verified. Leaders are expected to achieve’ many things. They are expected to turn laggards into high performers, turn around companies, charm customers, and dazzle media. They are expected to perform miracles. These expectations remain just wishful thinking. These desired outcomes can not be used to provide any clues about gaps in leadership skills and development needs.

Absence of a comprehensive and generic (valid in diverse industries and conditions) framework for defining leadership means that leadership development effort are scattered and inconsistent in nature. Inconsistency gives bad name to leadership development programs. This breeds cynicism (these fads come and go….) and resistance to every new initiative. This is the second reason why the objectives of leadership development are often not met.

The third reason is in the methods used for leadership development. Leadership development programs rely upon a combination of lectures (e.g. on subjects like team building, communications), case studies, and group exercises (problem solving), and some inspirational talks by top business leaders or management gurus.

Sometimes the programs consist of outdoor or adventure activities for helping people bond better with each other and build better teams. These programs generate ‘feel good’ effect and in some cases participants ‘return’ with their personal action plans. But in majority of cases they fail to capitalize on the efforts that have gone in. I must mention leadership coaching in the passing. In the hands of an expert coach a willing executive can improve his leadership skills dramatically. But leadership coaching is too expensive and inaccessible for most executives and their organizations.

Leadership -a competitive advantage

During my work as a business leader and later as a leadership coach, I found that it is useful to define leadership in operative terms. When leadership is defined in terms of what it does and in terms of capabilities of a person, it is easier to assess and develop it.

When leadership skills defined in the above manner are present at all levels, they impart a distinct capability to an organization. This capability gives a competitive advantage to the organization. Organizations with a pipeline of good leaders have competitive advantages over other organizations, even those with great leaders only at the top. The competitive advantages are:

1. They (the organizations) are able to solve problems quickly and can recover from mistakes fast.

2. They have excellent horizontal communications. Things (processes) move faster.

3. They tend to be less busy with themselves. Therefore they have ‘time’ for outside people. (Over 70% of internal communications are about reminders, error corrections etc . They are wasteful)

4. Their staff (indirect) productivity is high. This is one of the toughest management challenges.

5. They are good at heeding to signals related to quality, customer complaints, shifts in market conditions and customer preferences. This leads to good and useful bottom-up communication. Top leaders tend to have less number of blind spots in such organizations.

6. It is easier to roll out programs for strategic shift and also for improving business processes (using Six Sigma, TQM, etc.). Good bottom-up communications improve top-down communications too.

7. They require less ‘supervision’, since they are strongly rooted in values.

8. They are better at preventing catastrophic failures.

Expectations from good and effective leaders should be set out clearly. The leadership development programs should be selected to develop leadership skills that can be verified in operative terms. Since leadership development is a strategic need, there is a need for clarity about the above aspects.

Hemant Karandikar advises companies on business & brand strategy, on business transformation, and for achieving breakthroughs in business processes. He leverages this expertise in product creation projects for companies along with his design associates. He coaches business leaders and executives for developing leadership skills. Hemant founded Exponient Consulting and Learning Leadership.

Previously, Hemant was Managing Director, GWT Global Weighing (now Sartorius Mechatronics) and held position of General Manager at Philips India. He is an alumnus of Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, India.

For Onsite and online coaching for leadership development, please visit http://www.learning-leadership.com/

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Answer by Pedy Boy
In high i had a tour like this to India i had fun like for all of my life…take it and u’ll never get disappointed dude

Add your own answer in the comments!

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Effective Leadership in Adventure Programming, Second Edition, will help students understand the key elements of effective leadership in both theory and practice, learn important leadership skills through real-world applications, and explore new trends in adventure programming. Effective Leadership in Adventure Programming, Second Edition, explains how the key elements of leadership work in theory and practice, and it helps train the next generation of adventure leaders-training that is paramount to developing the field. Through this text, readers will enhance their understanding of this rapidly growing profession. Renowned authors Simon Priest and Michael Gass provide in-depth descriptions and real-world applications of the technical, organizational, instructional, and facilitative skills that are essential to adventure leadership. The authors also identify what they call the metaskills that superior leaders use to combine the other essential skills seamlessly and effectively. The authors provide fully updated content and references, including new information on legal liability, risk management skills, and future research trends in adventure programming. They also do the following: Examine the historical and philosophical foundations of adventure programming Provide safety and environmental guidelines that leaders should follow Describe the organizational, instructional, and facilitation skills that outdoor adventure leaders should possess Identify the importance of flexible leadership style, problem-solving and decision-making skills, experience-based judgment, effective communication, and ethical behaviors The first edition of this book set new levels of excellence in leadership in adventure programming. The second edition preserves the comprehensive and classic nature of the original while raising the standard for the field in the 21st century. The authors’ skillful approach to integrating all aspects of effective outdoor adventure leadership makes this book an ideal text for adventure leadership and programming courses and an outstanding reference for practicing professionals. 5/28/2005 copyright, 344 pages.
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We at work place are planning for a team outing..Can anyone drop in ideas for some team building activities for fun & also learning

Thanks

Team sack races, volleyball, soccer, lacrosse, scrabble.