What is a Leadership Expedition
Expedition, n. An excursion, journey or voyage made for some express purpose, as for exploration, to investigate unknown regions to gain insight or knowledge of something previously unseen or unknown.
A Leadership Expedition is a structured learning experience through which participants improve their leadership and teamwork skills. The goal is to provide them with opportunities to work in teams, to lead groups of their peers, and to get first-hand experience in leadership. Participants are taken into an environment with which they are not familiar and where information and resources are limited, typically, given our expertise in the field, in the outdoors. This environment is used to provide numerous and, more importantly, genuine, leadership and team challenges for the participants. These situations require forward-thinking, rapid decision-making, conflict management and excellent communication skills. They require a bias for action and creativity.
Through these programs, Vertical provides an environment in which participants can approach the development of their leadership style from a number of different angles. Programs can focus on instilling values through a combination of teamwork and community service activities, enhancing tolerance to uncertainty and adversity by trekking in rainy Patagonia to fine-tuning their communication skills on a glacier crossing in Antarctica.
The Vertical Learning Process is based on an adaptation of David Kolb´s model of Experiential Learning, a simple yet highly effective method for adult learning.
In this process, participants are first introduced to a set of Abstract Concepts, through readings to be completed prior to the program. These readings provide the group with both an academic and practical background to the program focus, be it leadership, decision-making or another aspect of management. This establishes a common background and language for the participants.
Following this, the group undergoes a set of Concrete Experiences, designed to test their skills in an environment where their actions and decisions have real consequences. These experiences typically entail a 2 to 8 day expedition in an outdoor environment and include highly challenging, but low-risk exercises.
As events unfold over the course of the program, participants are encouraged by facilitators to examine their approach to dealing with them, in what is referred to as the Reflection process. Through this analysis, participants engage in an open discussion and receive time-critical feedback from both their peers and the facilitators that they may not receive in the formal workplace.
The final process of Wrap Up and Application is a facilitated discussion to help participants relate these lessons back to their own work life experiences. In doing this, the facilitator draws together the Abstract Concepts, specific events experienced during the program and encourages the participants to formulate ways to incorporate these lessons into their work lives.
