Leadership Skills Review: An OLT 101 Refresher

LTC Leadership Skills Chair

Now appears to be a good time to remind you of some leadership rules and techniques that you should have picked up from the OLT-101 refresher. The following comments are based on my observations while on outings, and on reports that I have received from participants on trips that I did not attend.

I feel obliged to do this because of my job as LTC Leadership Skills Chair, and because something bad is likely to happen if some problems are not corrected. Most of you are doing a fine job leading trips. Yes, I realize that I myself fall short of perfection.

1. Keep the group together. This is a fundamental rule that is preached in LTC seminar.

The Angeles Chapter Safety Policy states: The leaders shall keep the group together and under control at all times.

You all were very careful during your provisional hikes to adhere to this rule. But it seems that this rule tends to get ignored later, until a leader learns the lesson the hard way. On an easy trail hike this rule might be relaxed. This may be OK as long as the leader waits for the entire group at any spot along the trail where the most inexperienced participant might conceivably take a wrong turn. Most of you knew this before you got your rating.

When hiking off trail it is most important to keep together. The more difficult the terrain, or the worse the visibility, the closer together the group must stay. Also keep in mind that when negotiating an obstacle, most individuals slow up, so the leader should slow up enough not to leave a large gap. Of course, a head count of the group should be taken periodically.

I have noticed that some leaders will set too fast a pace when they don't really want to because of a perceived pressure from the group tigers. Please work to keep this from happening. If you find yourself consistently far in front of the sweep, you have a problem.

Ron Campbell, of the Chapter Safety Committee, wishes to add the following additional point: We have recently had two incidents in which a participant was lost. In both cases it was because of a breakdown in the leader-sweep rule. It is essential that the leader and the sweep communicate. A wise leader and sweep communicate at each and every break - no exceptions - no matter how short the break is.

2. Correcting a problem participant. The accepted way to correct a participant (or even a co-leader) is to talk to the person away from the rest of the group. The wrong way is to scream at the offender in front of the group. This embarrasses the offender and makes the leader look bad in the eyes of the rest of the group. This has caused potential new Sierra Club members to decide not to join.

Here, in part, is the official Chapter policy from Clubhouse:

[. . . be kind but firm in stating the problem and what needs to change in order for the outing to continue. Be clear about the expectations of how behavior should change. Pull the participant aside and speak to them in private or ask someone on the outing that has befriended the person to talk to the participant:

Identify a participant's inappropriate behavior.

Take the participant aside; acknowledge and tend to their concerns . . . .

3. Signing a participant out. When a participant signs in, he or she is in your group and you are responsible. Too often, a group finds that a participant does not fit in with the objectives of the trip, usually because of a slow pace issue but occasionally for other reasons. Getting rid of such a participant is not always simple. The general rule is:

Ideally, do not allow a participant to leave the outing alone. This is a matter of safety for the participant and protection of the Club.

If a participant refuses to listen and decides to leave on his or her own, try to have the participant sign-out and make sure another participant or leader witnesses the situation so that it is clear to all that the participant left upon his or her own will. Clearly determine if the participant is willingly or unwillingly leaving the trip.

If the person willingly leaves (either on their own or at the request of the leader) and it is not practical to go back to the trailhead with the participant, the leader must use judgment in terms of assessing the participants' ability to safely return to the trailhead. If the leader thinks the person's safety is in jeopardy, then try to dissuade the participant from leaving.

If the person does not willingly leave and the leader cannot provide an escort, then the participant must remain on the outing and the leader cannot insist that the person leave.

A technique that I have seen used (and have used myself) in to park a slow participant (who is destroying the mission of the outing) with the intent of picking the person up on the return. Parking a slow participant is generally a bad idea. Two bad things can happen; the participant might get bored and decide to go back alone, or the group may not be able to find the parking place on the return.

4. Tiger hikes. There is a place for tiger hikes, that is, hikes where very strong hikers hike very fast. Sierra Club outings can be thought of as entertainment for the membership. The more, and the more variety of, outings the better the entertainment. Tigers need their entertainment too. A tiger hike has leadership implications above and beyond those of a slower hike. The leader should be extra careful not to allow anyone on the trip who can't handle the pace. The leader must also recognize that keeping the pace on schedule is not the prime consideration. It is most important to monitor the participants for signs of fatigue, injury, or illness, keeping the group together, of course.

The outing description should clearly state in some way that the hike is intended for tigers and the pace will be very fast. This might keep some of us slugs from messing up your trip.

Whenever you, as a participant, observe a leader whom you believe is not observing Angeles Chapter rules or is otherwise lax about safety, you have a right (indeed perhaps a duty) to complain to the entity Safety Chair, or even the Angeles Chapter Safety Committee. Generally, an anonymous complaint will go unheeded. Keep in mind that the committee is good at taking corrective, not just punitive, action.

But also, keep in mind that participants have a responsibility not to sign up for outings that they know to be beyond their capability.