Reflection in the Snow

Following our few days in the Cairngorms we headed over to Fort William just as the snow began to fall and the winds picked up. While the majority of the group headed off on a luxury one night expedition, I chose to stay back and gain some further leadership experience, taking the four members of the group that didn’t want to go on exped into the Mamores.

At the time of leading, decisions that were made either by me or by the group as a whole seemed to come about naturally, as the day dictated. It is only now, upon reflection, that I can see how my style of leadership changed throughout the day.

 In 1939 Lewin, Lippitt and White carried out a study on Leadership styles. They concluded that there are three distinct approaches to leadership and that the most effective leaders will adopt all three as the situations affecting them change. For the majority of the path up from Achriabhach towards Lochan Coire Nam Miseach and most of the way down I was using a Democratic style of leadership. As a whole the group made decisions about the pace, when to stop for breaks and some of the route finding, but I always had the final word.

As we headed into the Coire and we neared our high point I suddenly had to change the style of leadership that I was using. With height, the conditions underfoot had changed from damp to icy. In a very short space of time the weather also changed and we quickly found ourselves in full white out conditions. At this point I adopted an Authoritarian Approach to leading the group. We were within ten minutes from our high point and everyone was keen to get there but from where we were stood we should have been able to see the Lochan and we couldn’t even see ten metres ahead of us. On top of that it was becoming harder to identify the path in the rapidly building snow. Realising that we could be in trouble if we continued, I stopped the group and told them that we had to head down immediately. I put the strongest member of the group at the front to set the pace and I remained at the back to usher everyone along. Before long we were back below the cloud and the snow and everyone was relaxed again.

At the beginning of the last century, sociologists and psychologists were starting to look into theories of leadership. It is now widely recognised that there are 8 leadership theories. The one that relates best to Lewin, Lippitt and White’s is the Contingency Theory. This suggests that the leader must adapt the style in which they lead the group depending on situational factors. It goes on to conclude that there is no one method of leadership that will work in all situations. I certainly feel that this is true. Whether it’s changes in group dynamics, weather, route or activity, a leader must be able to provide a safe and enjoyable experience that everyone can gain something from.

References

Lewin, Lippitt and White, ‘Leadership Styles’, 1939

Woods, B, ‘Applying Psychology to Sport’, Hodder and Stoughton, 1998