Outdoor Leadership : Technique, Common Sense, & Self-Confidence

Only handbook available on outdoor leadership
Skills taught are applicable to all endeavors and vocations
Sidebars written by noted outdoor leaders

Leadership is not a set of rules, but an art. It's not just skills and techniques, but a subjective blend of personality and style. A good leader must have self-confidence, intuition, compassion, and common sense. Can leadership be taught? Yes, according to author John Graham, who has spent a lifetime exploring the role of leadership in numerous venues. But, Graham points out, it's not just mastery from the head, it's also learning how to monitor the heart.

Outdoor Leadership covers the skills, attitudes, and intuition necessary for leading in an outdoor setting and beyond. All aspects of leadership are explored including forming a personal style, making decisions, communicating effectively, team building, and coping with stress. The principle taught here may be applied to outdoor leadership in all settings, from a day trip to a siege mountaineering expedition. The skills are equally appropriate to other leadership situationsñfrom running a business meeting to coaching the neighborhood softball team to serving as a role models for your child.

Each chapter features a leadership checklist and thoughts on leadership from a variety of outdoor experts, including climbers, bikers, wilderness travel experts, and adventurers. Outdoor Leadership is compelling reading filled with practical advice, anecdotes, and trail-tested wisdom - indispensable information and guidance for the complete outdoors person.

Gary Neptune, Owner, Neptune Mountaineering

Outdoor Leadership's discussion, advice, and techniques for learning and improving leadership skills will prove invaluable to anyone, hard-core mountaineer or not, in the outdoors or any other part of life. This book is so good I will strongly recommend it to all my staff and friends. A real gem.

American Alpine Club

It has often been said that leaders are born, not made. In Outdoor Leadership, John Graham's concise text describes the numerous elements which are essential to the making of any leader.

Signpost for Northwest Trails

Anyone would benefit from this book, whether you are a leader of groups in the outdoors regularly, or if you are simply the one with more experience when hiking with your typical hiking partner. John Graham's 30+ years of experience make this book rich with common sense.