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Recommended Reading
Outdoor Leadership: Technique, Common Sense & Self-Confidence
by John Graham
Mountaineers Books, June 1997
ISBN: 0898865026
A useful resource for leading outdoor activities--but useful in all contexts-- is a new book by John Graham, executive director of the Giraffe Project, experienced mountaineer and former diplomat. The only handbook on the subject, Outdoor Leadership is a practical guide to the skills, attitudes, and inner resources you need to be an effective leader at whatever level and in whatever context you are called to lead.
Graham notes that "good leadership is much more than the traditional, hard-edged stuff such as planning, honing technical skills, making tough decisions, and dealing with conflicts. All of these elements are essential, but they are not enough. What most often separates good leadership from bad, in my experience, is competence in the so-called soft edged skills, such as developing trust, communicating with sensitivity, balancing intellect with intuition, and inspiring those you lead. Developing and using such as these tests your spirit as well as your mind, and challenges your ability to form positive relationships with those you lead."
As we see classroom walls come down and students and teachers learning about the world outside-- in both community and wilderness areas-- we see a growing need for developing the kinds of skills Graham describes. Learning in the natural world becomes even more critically important in our increasingly technological world.
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