Copyright 2002
Wilderness Drum, Inc.
All rights reserved

Team Building in the Wilderness
Steve Beyer

Introduction Campfires Conflicts Confrontation Cooking Council Darkness Decisionmaking Development Drumming Followership Leadership Meetings Stress Trust Wilderness Ethics

Followership

In team building generally, both in the wilderness context and the business and corporate context, attention tends to focus on the leader. But team members – followers – are just as important. A follower is not a sheep, but an active participant in the group process.

SOLO's Outdoor Wilderness Leadership School teaches that there must be a workable contract between the team leader and the team members. Just as the contract requires the leader to exercise good leadership, it requires team members to exercise good followership. Good followership, in this model, is not simply passive acceptance of the leader's direction; it requires that the team member actively fulfill the rules of good followership, which are the following.

• Do not give your power away   Team members must understand that their role is not passive acceptance but active contribution.
   
• Communicate needs   Team members have the responsibility of letting their needs be known, so that those needs can be taken into account by the leader and the group. Team members should not expect others to read their minds.
   
• Use names and personal pronouns   Team members must address their mail. Communications need to be specific rather than general; complaining is less effective than confrontation.
   
• Do not issue ultimatums   Team members have the responsibility of seeking consensus, sharing views, being flexible.
   
• Build trust   Team members must be willing to do the little things that build trust over the long haul. Team members have the responsibility to be on time, to listen to information, to ask for help.

It can be important to explain these team membership responsibilities at the outset. As always in building group cohesion, clarity in communicating expectations can be crucial.

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