Leading Expeditions

Leading expeditions overseas can be a complicated business.

You can prepare for everything; changes in itinerary, flight cancellations, no electricity, where to get drinking water from, what not to eat, what to eat, where to find the best clinics and how to say thank you in the local language. The list is endless but it can all be planned into your day. What can not be planned, and at times not even predicted, are the actions of your clients. These could range from often weird and wonderful requests (day trips to the beach in a land locked country) to wanting to go home on the first day of an expedition. At this point I must stress that the latter request was not on a Sense Africa trip.

So, as an expedition leader, how do you cope with it all? My first bit of advice is to never assume that the client has has any prior knowledge about the destination country or their surroundings. More often than not, clients leave their common sense in the UK. And I have done this too whilst on holiday this year, we all do it. And the second, and most important thing to remember, is to never assume that the client wants what you would like. This has happened to me recently. I thought that the girls I took to Africa this summer would be really interested in the wildlife, but this was not the case.  They were much more interested in the local culture, the people and the project they were involved with.  I was astounded that they got bored looking at wildlife.  But as an ecologist the wildlife fascinates me and it took me a long time to adjust to the fact that the girls were not as interested as I was.  To start off I was mortified, but as the expedition progressed I realised that they were much more interested in things that I could have given a miss.

Every person is different, and that is why leading expeditions never quite pans out as you expect it to.  Life is a roller coaster, enjoy it, especially those that are on the same ride.

Do we deserve a holiday?

I have just finished five weeks work with VT who are the training section of the Navy.  I have been based on HMS Raleigh and living the life of being on board a ship.  My room is called a 'cabin', the loos the 'heads' and when leaving the base you are going 'on shore'.  It has been hard work as I have been facilitating an ILM Level 3 course for Network Rail apprentices, some of which, initially, can not see the value of the scheme.  Of course this changes as the week progresses but it often begins with an uphill climb.  There are two days of training, followed by two days out on Dartmoor and then the last day fire fighting (literally) and being in a sinking ship simulation tank.  And on top of this I have reports to write and have 121s with each person in my cohort.  ANd this is all done after mild sleep deprivation.

So do I deserve a holiday?

We run our own businesses, frantically trying to do every job in a business - telephonist, banker, accounts, advertising, marketing, general admin as well as keeping sane.  We often find ourselves working late at night or worrying whether we have done everything.  I have missed a goal of mine this month and I am beating myself over the head with a very large stick.  But at times this will happen and there are not enough hours in the week to do everything.  In order to achieve you do need to have a healthy mind, you need to relax and take time out.

This is the first time that I have said this.  I need a holiday.  I deserve a holiday. I am going on holiday.  I am going this week.

So ask yourself this, do you deserve a holiday?  Give yourself a break, take time out.

Storming is Good

Another week has gone, well nearly, and this time I am surviving on 4 hours sleep, one more hour than last week but it does not seem to have made a blind bit of difference, I am still exhausted.  I can hear my bed calling me, even the plastic sheet that encompasses the mattress.  Life on ship is certainly different but I can be thankful for a bed.

This week I had my own team and they went through Tuckmans's cycle a fair few times in the space of 24 hours.  Being out of their comfort zone, seriously lacking in sleep and having worked exceptionally hard on the Monday and Tuesday, I was not surprised.  I have to say what did surprise me was the way that they dealt with it. 

Having the knowledge that teams go through a forming, storming, norming and performing stage helped them understand the dynamics of the group and why people were reacting in different ways.  And it is good to storm, to challenge team members' ideas, to question why people think a certain way and to have a disagreement, it is one of the ways a team can reach its full potential.  Asking why people are reacting in a certain way or why they think their idea is better ensures that everyone has their say and that the outcome or decision is agreed by all and no one is following blindly and not contributing.

So do not be afraid to voice your opinion and your thoughts, just make sure you structure it in the right way, just like the group I had this week on Dartmoor.  They excelled themselves.

And now I must really go to bed.

Surviving on 3 hrs sleep....zzzzz

I have just got back from an overnight expedition on Dartmoor.  I am managing a group of apprentices who are participating in Level 3 ILM - Institute of Leadership and Management.  Anyway, part of the course which has been specifically created for these particular apprentices is a 24hr experience on Dartmoor.  This involves a task of trekking to certain locations all over the moor to pick up "battery cells" to create a large energy saving device to cut consumer spending and to keep them all in a job.  It is all in the way it is presented you know!  The teams got given their brief on Tuesday evening and by yesterday lunch time they were out on the moor after 'Jenny's Crash Course in Navigation'.  None of them got lost so I consider that a bonus.

A fair few of the guys had never experienced anything quite like it; carrying packs, radio comms from one meeting point to the next, walking across the Dartmoor landscape, camping, night navigation for 4 hours and mild sleep deprivation - most having had only 4 hrs sleep.  This is my eleventh time and I am still not used to it.  Some of the team members had to man an ops room throughout the night, so they had even less sleep to operate on.  And to top it all the moor was rather eerie last night, as the mist settled and the moon's halo tried to throw some light on the moor.

The most rewarding thing to see was these teams of people, who had never met before, gel to achieve a common goal. They got to know their own strengths and weaknesses, they gave constructive feedback and they developed their own individual style in leadership.  It was through these 'Action Learning Sets' that the apprentices could push their boundaries but in a safe and secure environment. Tomorrow they are in a sinking ship, and that is another adventure.

And of course they saved the world by creating an energy saving device!

SMART Objectives

Tomorrow I am driving to Plymouth to start teaching an ILM course on leadership for five weeks back to back.  It will involve working on HMS Raleigh, doing an overnight expedition on Dartmoor (with a spot of sleep deprivation thrown in) and going into a sinking ship simulation tank.  All in the nature of teaching leadership.

One of the main things that as facilitator I have to do is to hammer home the importance of setting SMART objectives; being specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time bound.  As I was reading about it I realised that I often set goals for myself but hardly ever applied SMART objectives. Life would be so much easier if I had done so - I may have not tried to count parrots in the Caribbean.... without a pair of binoculars.

My advice is that SMART goal setting does work, so apply them, and I will endeavour to do so too.

Healthy Body, Healthy Mind, Healthy Business.

Over the years I have come to realise that in order to run a business you need to look after number one, yourself.  And there is no way you can run your own business effectively and efficiently if you are tired, feeling out of sorts or out of kilter.  And this is where having someone to help balance your health and well being is essential.

Last week I went to visit Emma Treharne of Nuveya, I visit her on a regular basis and she has worked miracles.  Last year I had an emergency operation on my neck, not a pleasant experience and something that came out of the blue.  I had to stop my active lifestyle and work for six weeks and there was time for reflection - actually too much time, but it made me put things into perspective.  And I needed a helping hand to set things on the right course and this was where Emma came in.  Not only did she help with the recovery process from my operation but she has also helped me with getting that work/life balance into my life.

So last week, as I was lying down and Emma was doing some sort of 'voodoo' stuff on me, I thought how lucky I am to have found her.  I openly admit that at times I have not got a clue as to what she is doing but it works, trust me.  You may understand the whole process, I am just happy to have a bit of 'me' time, knowing that I feel better as a whole and that I am in safe hands.

We all need to find an 'Emma' to give us that boost and to ensure that our businesses can grow in the right way.

Prior Planning - the 7 P's

Yesterday evening I drove back from the Lake District having spent five days in Cumbria supervising four Duke of Edinburgh groups.  One group was being assessed and the other three were doing their practice.  Some had planned well for it, others not as much, and this was very apparent in how they set about doing things.  The groups that had put a little bit more planning and preparation into their expedition found the whole experience a bit easier going than those that had not.  This was not to say that they did not achieve their goals, they all did, but it did mean that it was tougher going, less enjoyable and certainly more uncomfortable.

Planning is a key element in ensuring that your goal or objective is achieved and it also make you think ahead so that if a curved balls comes your way you can probably deal with it effectively.  So make a plan, even if you need to change it.  Plans are for changing anyway, but you do need one to begin with.

Prior Planning and Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance - the 7 P's.

Growing Your Business

This week I had a meeting with my 'management team'.  I say that loosely as my business, Sense Africa, is a one woman band (at the moment), but I do have an exceptionally strong network and some very good and understanding friends.  But the best thing is my 'management team', or as we like to call it, our SJD meetings.  This consists of Samantha Mant, myself and Deborah MacLeod, hence the SJD bit. 

I am very lucky to have these strong, capable and business savvy women helping me drive my business forward.  They are my mentors, my shoulder to lean on, someone to tell when I have great news, someone to share my business aspirations with, someone to bounce ideas of and someone to be accountable with.  But most of all, they are helping and supporting me to shape Sense Africa into the business that I want it to be.  How lucky am I?

Even if you have not got a mentor, why not use the network of people that you have to create your own business support group? I can see the results of SJD already.

Knowing Your Customer or Client

I have just recently got back from a charity trek in Vietnam where I was leading the expedition.  This was over 5 days in the north of the country around the mountain town of SaPa.  The scenery was stunning, the people were welcoming, the trekking challenging and the food sumptuous.  It was a great trip.

There were 14 of us in the group and there were a number of very strong characters which could have upset the balance of the group.  However, this was not the case.  I put this down to team members being flexible and honest, possessing a bucket load of humour and being determined.  I also put it down to understanding the make-up of your team members.  Chris Butler, from Outer Limits Explore, recently went through the Insights Discovery learning system with me which enabled me to understand my own behaviour, and that of others, and utilise that knowledge to benefit everyone.  It was an invaluable tool on the Vietnam trek, I would recommend it if you want to understand different people's behaviour styles in different circumstances - whether it be at work or play.

The Art of Patience

The flight back from Morocco, after a desert expedition, was the icing on the cake.  Not only had we battled through sand storms, we had even had rain in the Sahara, we then had to contend with the inefficiency of Royal Air Meroc - it was a comedy of errors, without the laughter.

It took 1 3/4 hours to check in 35 people onto the plane, having been up at 3.30am this was rather frustrating.  I knew that the plane was over booked so rocking the boat, or plane, would not help us at all.  Some of us would have probably been bumped off the plane, so causing a stir was not the best option.  Being patient was.  So I stood at the check-in desk for nearly 2 hours assisting with the paperwork for the 35 of us.  Smiling helps, although at times this may have turned into a grimace, but eventually we all got on the plane.  I was the last to board and did not even have my bag scanned as the plane was revving up on the runway.  Three of teh team had been allocated the same seat, but they got upgraded.  We took off with all on-board.  Hurdle number one dealt with.

Hurdle number 2 came in the form of...guess what?  The inefficiency of Royal Air Meroc.  This time we had issues getting on board our connecting flight in Casablanca, e-tickets needed to be shown and we nearly left two behind as they had not got their tickets.  Why we had to show tickets when we had already been checked through, and we were in transit, was beyond me, but we all kept smiling and being polite.  Patience still being an art.  And then at the end of the runway it was announced that we had to turn back as we were missing a passenger.  Now this was confusing as there was no room for anyone else, all the seats were taken.  It turned out that we were not missing anyone, just that Danielle had not been registered correctly at the boarding gate and when they read her name out it, it was 'Meester Daniel'.

An hour and a half later we were airborne and so arrived late at Heathrow.   The rest of the team missed connecting flights to Belfast and I got stuck in diversions on the M4.

I would not choose this day to be my Ground Hog Day.

Delegation - one aspect of good leadership

The last trip that I led overseas was to Peru.  There were 26 clients and two Doctors with me, along with all the in-country guides, cooks, dish washers, waiters, porters, horse handlers, water provider and toilet digger.  Everyone knew what they were doing and when they were doing it.  It was a well oiled machine.

One aspect of being a good leader is to manage more and do less.

Being an expedition leader I tend to take on too much, I feel that I need to do everything right there and now and also need to know the plan for 3 days in advance.  It is a default setting in me.  My feedback from the two very capable doctors who were with me in Peru, Ruth and Ben, was to delegate more.  I was unaware of this and so my goal for the expedition to the Sahara tomorrow, is to delegate more to the doctor and guide that are coming with me.  I hope that Alison and Paul do not feel over stretched - that is my immediate thought.

What I really should be thinking is - I hope that I am not over stretched so that I can do my job properly.  Delegation, that is the key.

Leading Into Unknown Environments

A week tomorrow I will be leading a trek in the Sahara desert, a place that I have never been to before. So why am I leading this trek then?

It is amazing the number of people who say that I can not be qualified to lead a trip if I have not been to that destination before.  Maybe this is why there are so many people who never start their own business because they feel they are not qualified to do so.  If this was the case, nothing would ever be started as we would not have experienced it.  The key to all of this is to call upon those that have had that done it already, to ask for advice and support, to delegate and to trust in ones abilities.

I am not leading the expedition solely on my own, there will be numerous people working alongside me to ensure that everything runs safely and smoothly. This includes in-country agents, local guides, having risk assessments and crisis management strategies in place, 24 hr back up, satellite phones and a couple of medics on hand.  I am also calling on my own life skills and past experiences.  Not really on my own am I?

Is it the fear of the unknown or the lack of self confidence that prevents us from striving out on our own and doing something different?

Break the mould.

Who Am I?

I firmly believe that understanding yourself really helps in business, this is also applicable for your personal life.  Myers and Briggs were a mother-daughter relationship who, between them, created an assessment in the form of a psychometric questionnaire to see where peoples preferences lie.  The assessment was created during the Second World War to assist correctly allocating women into industrial workforce jobs.  The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) was born.

The MBTI allocates you into one of 16 'types'.  This is where you most comfortably sit. There is not right or wrong category, it is an assessment about where you are most comfortable and therefore most effective.  Most people can operate in any of the other 15 types, but may feel a bit uncomfortable and out of their depth, returning to their 'type' as a default setting.  Understanding your setting and allowing others to know your setting makes for a better relationship all round.  To get the best out of this it is a good idea to have it professionally done.  I would recommend getting in touch with daveshell@btinternet.com.

Dave and I are very nearly at opposite ends of the spectrum.  Working together whilst delivering a course, we knew and understood each others types, resulting in everything running smoothly as all angles were covered.

I am ESFJ.  So Who Are You?

Personal Objectives and Being Accountable

I have just returned from delivering a three day course up in Dunchurch, near Rugby.  It was with a company called Capgemini and was the first of four modules that I was helping with.  This module focused on the individual; about their values, their personality preferences and how they react under stress.  As many of the managers had never met before it was also invaluable to them to learn about their fellow team mates and how they could support each other in the future.  With this in mind, they all left the conference with someone to be held accountable to for their personal objectives.

I would highly recommend this in all walks of business.  The person I am accountable to is Deb MacLeod who regularly questions what I am doing and how I am going to move forward in my own business.  It is a fantastic tool and a great support.

So this week, why not list your Personal Objectives and appoint your own Accountability Officer?