SC Leadership Training?
Q: SC leadership training?
About Sierra Club leadership training, Eugene.... I've seen these announced
occasionally in the Chapter publications (and I understand the SC won't let
you lead trips without). I'm curious, as an extremely experienced
outdoorsman, did you find this training useful? How so? (I picked up a SC
leadership manual at a yard sale a number of years ago and thought it was
fairly trivial.)
A:- John, this reminds me a story related in a "Native" newsgroup about a
bunch of German reenactment folks who wanted to live like the Native
American Indians of Old. During one of their demonstrations, one of them
was trying to light a fire by using a bow and drill method. Some real
native Americans who were guest of the reenactment as observers watched
for a while as the guy tried in vain to light the fire. Finally one of
the Indians leaned over, handed the guy a butane lighter and said..."Try
this."
- I took "leadership training" about 26/7 years ago. It's chapter specific.
Your qualities depend over time: the more time and experience (diversity
helps) the better. Courses tend to cover aspects like liability,
paperwork, a little bit on interpesonal skills, etc. People will throw
problems out, and there might be group and individual solution time.
Harvey Manning has a cute 2 page article in an old Ascent (the SC Mtnrg.
journal). Manning edited the first 2/3 editions of MTNG: Freedom of the Hills
and Backpacking One Step at a Time.
Leadership (in some one else's case) is not a substitute for one's own skill.
Mt. Everest is a typical case in point, and not just what happened a
couple year ago.
Manning blames climbing schools (and I would add clubs) for instilling
a mythical hierarchy on leaders and decision makers. Certainly rescue
groups, the Boy Scouts, and others fall into this trap.
You really want to avoid really tough leadership situations. Democracy
won't cut it in those: no time, and the inexperienced get a
disproportionate vote. Those will be situations where time is of the
essence and lives are at stake.
You will clearly want to read as much as you can over the years.
Most people won't, so they tend to fall on motion pictures (e.g., the
romantized cowboy thread). Films then become the semantic