Developing leadership talent through extreme outdoor team building

Leaders aren’t born, they’re made. You just need to look at the training provided by the special forces to test this theory, where leadership skills are taught as a matter of survival.

Understand your role, keep the team unified, lean on the strengths of others, and deal with differences: they are all skills which can be applied to a business environment too.

Yet 55% of CEOs report that developing the next generation of leaders is a challenge and 63% of millennials believe they aren’t being fully developed by their employers to take on managerial positions. With leadership talent becoming increasingly difficult to find and hire, businesses need to look at alternative ways to identify those people who are going to guide the direction of the company in the future.

CJ Cardenas, CEO of Bear Grylls Survival Academy explains that whether it’s creating a succession plan for the next managing director, identifying the next head of sales, or even developing the skillset of junior members of staff, turning attention inwards and investing in existing employees can not only help fill tomorrow’s business-critical positions. It can also unlock hidden talent.

It starts with teamwork

It’s no secret that teamwork and leadership go hand-in-hand as two sides of the same coin. Good teamwork is an essential part of leadership and good leadership is key to effective teamwork. Investing in team-building activities that foster collaboration will also have a direct impact on leadership development, as working closely to achieve a shared goal in a supportive, ‘hands on’ environment can help build a sense of community and create a safe space for employees to leave their comfort zones. From practicing their decision making through to improving their problem-solving abilities, individuals can be encouraged to unleash their ‘inner leader’.

Team building can also have a wider impact on the overall health of the business. Research shows that activities which focus on team development can significantly enhance productivity and drive organisational efficiencies. And with employees given the opportunity to participate with each other in a fun challenge away from the confines of their desks, businesses can expect other benefits such as increased employee motivation, happiness, and engagement. These result in better retention rates, securing the investment made in future leadership.

Experiential team building

Team building activities are an ideal platform for cultivating leadership talent, but rather than focusing on those hosted in an office-based environment, businesses should consider immersive experiences. These provide all participating employees with the chance to ‘get stuck in’ and put their leadership skills into practice. This is especially important in a post-pandemic world where remote and hybrid working is the new normal for many workplaces. With some colleagues only meeting in-person a few times per month, it is becoming increasingly difficult for employees to build relationships and understand the strengths and weaknesses of their peers. As a result, this is limiting the number of opportunities for potential leaders to tailor their leadership style and become more attuned to the unique requirements of their team.

To overcome these barriers, trends uncovered in the team building services market reveal that experiential team building is growing in popularity. Activities such as adventure courses and escape rooms are seen as effective ways to improve team dynamics and promote collaboration. And with most experiential team building activities being defined by a challenge that a team must try to solve, they provide the perfect conditions to develop the strong leadership skills required in today’s dynamic business environment.

Taking leadership to the extreme

Fusing outdoor adventure with extreme survival, the Bear Grylls Survival Academy (BGSA) is a corporate events provider that is championing the importance of leadership through self-rescue activities, all of which are themed around outdoor survival training. Businesses can choose to have a bespoke event designed to meet their specific requirements. Alternatively, they can brief the BGSA team on their objective and a highly trained instructor will carefully select a unique roster of activities to best support their needs. The exciting, fast and dynamic outdoor activities and challenges can be delivered in any location and to any type of team or group. Previous participants have ranged from bankers and finance teams to healthcare staff and film crews.

Whether it’s learning how to throw an axe, acquiring bushcraft survival skills or building an improvised stretcher to get an ‘injured’ colleague back to safety, these extreme activities encourage new adventures and styles of leadership and bring teams together to have fun in a safe and challenging way. Reflecting the business world, these types of activities require teams to collaborate closely under firm leadership to achieve the end goal.

It is important to note that the normal working roles of each person do not apply in these tasks. For instance, you could have the most junior member of the team barking orders at the managing director, potentially sparking a previously unseen confidence inside them. Additionally, whilst the activities can be physical, instructors ensure that everyone within the group has a role to play no matter their level of mobility, helping everyone feel important and valued. This means someone who is less physically able can take more of a vocal, leading role.

Survival skills for tomorrow’s leader

Extreme outdoor survival activities might not immediately spring to mind when considering leadership development, but they can help build skills that are much more transferable to real-world scenarios. Not only do they provide the practical experience needed to work effectively within a team by cultivating skills such as communication, innovation, and creativity, but they also prepare tomorrow’s leaders to be adaptable and resilient; leadership traits that are becoming increasingly necessary in an unpredictable business landscape.

Whether it’s another pandemic, a fluctuating economy or even a new political leader, the business leader of tomorrow needs to adapt to variables and lead their team confidently, no matter what is thrown at them. By taking the ethos of the special forces, where teamwork is at the foundation of great leadership, businesses investing in the development of leaders can set themselves up for the future so that they not only survive – but thrive.

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Developing leadership talent through extreme outdoor team building