Nick, our charismatic Australian facilitator with a great sense of humor (don’t all the Australian’s have a good sense of humor), held the third session of the Leadership on the Edge (LOTE) program today – right at the edge of a glacier. What a setting? What a view? What a classroom? Behind us was a steep slope that opens into an iceberg filled cove. We were asked to stay away from the edge to avoid crumbling the unstable snow at the edge and triggering an avalanche. All of us sat on the slope, in the snow, listening (attentively) to Nick talk about how to get buy in from a team. I will never forget the view as Nick stood there drawing on the flip chart (that was standing amazingly upright on the slope on its 3 legs), against the backdrop of the bay at the bottom of the slope and snow covered peaks on the opposite side of the bay. If we slipped from our seats in the snow, we will be sliding down about 50 meters and if we are lucky we will stop short of the icy water in the bay. During the one hour session on “Team Buy in” we covered Trust, Ownership and Engagement. In the middle of the session Nick was rudely interrupted by a thunderous sound, which we immediately found out was the giant iceberg that was nearest to us breaking up and disintegrating right in front of our eyes. That was the unscheduled session on Global Warming. – the most effective 30 seconds on the subject for all of us.
After the session all of us hiked further up the glacier to a even better view. To get back to the zodiacs, we slid our way down a slide our expedition leaders dug in to the side of the glacier. What a ride as you slid down on your back 50 meters down the powdery slope. Class dismissed!
Leadership on the Edge program is an integral part of our Antarctic Expedition. It is a program designed by Robert Swan to stoke the leadership potential within the participants and to inspire them to action. The program is based on the leadership aspects that Robert Swan believes are the key to delivering extraordinary results in a sustainable way. Robert Swan’s own personal experience in leading diverse teams through his polar expeditions, through his mission to raise awareness about AIDS in Africa, and his mission to raise environmental awareness are all distilled into this program. It gives a good balance of inspiration through story telling, lectures and hands on experience. For me the highlight was the hands on experience. For example, Delando was given the opportunity to lead the team up the glacier in Ushuaia. I was given the opportunity to lead a team of 7 for the camping part of the expedition. Tonight we are going camping.
After the session all of us hiked further up the glacier to a even better view. To get back to the zodiacs, we slid our way down a slide our expedition leaders dug in to the side of the glacier. What a ride as you slid down on your back 50 meters down the powdery slope. Class dismissed!
Leadership on the Edge program is an integral part of our Antarctic Expedition. It is a program designed by Robert Swan to stoke the leadership potential within the participants and to inspire them to action. The program is based on the leadership aspects that Robert Swan believes are the key to delivering extraordinary results in a sustainable way. Robert Swan’s own personal experience in leading diverse teams through his polar expeditions, through his mission to raise awareness about AIDS in Africa, and his mission to raise environmental awareness are all distilled into this program. It gives a good balance of inspiration through story telling, lectures and hands on experience. For me the highlight was the hands on experience. For example, Delando was given the opportunity to lead the team up the glacier in Ushuaia. I was given the opportunity to lead a team of 7 for the camping part of the expedition. Tonight we are going camping.
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