Here come the next two....

So its come to that time when everything on the course is sadly coming to an end and as one of the last pieces of work to had in, two more leadership blogs are due in for the mountain leadership module.

As I am writing them now I am wishing I had started them slightly earlier as I have found that I am actually thoroughly enjoying both researching and writing them, but as per usual I have left everything to the last minute (old habits die hard).

As an introduction to the  next two blogs I have found a few pieces of text that I feel fit nicely on the subject of mountain leadership.

Ogilvie quotes "One of the difficulties for trainee leaders is trying to grasp how everything they have learned about leading theory fits together and works on a practical day out with a group. It is a bold leader these days who, in effect, jumps into the pool in order to learn how to swim. There is nothing to beat experience gained as an assistant leader to a group."
I thought this quote quite nicely sums up the aims of the past year in mountain leadership, learning all about leading groups out on the mountain.

Ogilvie also says "whether or not the training course of your chosen training agency or national governing body requires you to keep a log book of of your experience, it is a good idea to do so. In it the act of writing is an opportunity to reflect on your own experiences and whatever useful or memorable lessons can be drawn from them. To learn requires one to think. Learning only takes place after thinking. The leader who stops thinking is dead"

This quote sums up perfectly the purpose of writing these reflective blogs, I especially like the last part of this quote " The leader who stops thinking is dead"

This theory is backed up well by the popular, well used "plan, do, review and revise" cycle by Greenaway 1991.

one last quote that captured my imagination was by J.M. Burns (1978) "Leadership is one of the most observed and least understood phenomena on earth"
This has seemed to become more and more apparent  as I have been researching into the many theories and arguments behind leadership.

As I said before I have thoroughly enjoyed researching and writing these next 2 blogs (so far!) so I hope anyone reading will enjoy them just as much.