In our group, we had the biggest team with seven members overall. We were tasked to hike two short routes on the Monday 18th April and Wednesday 20th April, both around 9.5KM (6 miles). We used our Route Cards that we planned to help our group complete the hiking routes and to guide us to our destination. We also had available two 1:250,000 Scale Geological Maps which directed our group from the start to the finish point. We agreed that it would be beneficial if all of our team members navigated after a certain checkpoint to allow them to improve their knowledge, and to get general experience on navigating a team and leading a group of people. 

 

Team Strengths and Areas For Improvements for Hiking Expedition:

 

Hiking Expedition 1 (Monday 18th April 2016): 

 

Strengths:

For me, I don't think I've ever hiked with a group whom was so motivative and encouraging. Each person was pushing each other to the end to ensure we completed the hike within the time scale which we had orginally set. We wanted to finish the hike as quickly as possible so we had more time to set up camp; i.e putting the tents up and preparing our tea as we had very limited day light. Eventhough we did not rush our first hiking route, we arrived at the campsite with plenty of time to spare. This is because I believe we worked extremely well as a team by hiking at a high speed and showing professional navigation skills. Also, I recall each team member had all the kit packed into their hiking rucksacks, including wet weather clothing, role mat and food/water etc.

 

Areas For Improvements: 

However, at times a couple of members in the group 'wandered' off route. We had to stop at times, waiting for them and encouraging them to catch up with the people who were at the front who mainly were the leaders. This slowed us down slightly but thankfully this didn't really make any effect to our overall finishing time. I believe we weren't really hiking as a group or team at times. Instead, we were walking as a group of three or four. I'm not really sure why this happened, but it could be the fact that the faster and more experienced people were at the front, and the slower and less experienced people were behind. It felt like the group who was at the front was doing most of the navigation, eventhough everyone had a go at navigating in the end. None of these weaknesses effected our friendship what so ever, but I realised that there was a number of preffered speeds.

 

My Personal Strengths and Areas For Improvements for Hiking Expedition 1 (Monday 18th April 2016):

 

Strengths:

Because this route was a lot shorter and more direct comparing with our second route, it was difficult to pick specific and personal strengths and areas for improvements. There wasn't really a need for any navigation because we all knew we had to follow a river when we reached a specific checkpoint, which lead us to our destination, the campsite, when planning this expedition from the information our 1:250,000 scaled map had shown us. In our group, there was not a clear leader when performing the expedition because the hike was so short and direct which meant we didn't come across any challenges. Any challenges that occur, a team needs to make a decsion which path and direction to make to succeed in the task, which is usually finalised by the leader. Looking at teamwork, this also wasn't really necessary for me to use. The vast majority, if not all team members were familiar with the route because we all had an imput with planning this expedition. This meant it was difficult for me to help people if they knew where they are going for example.  

 

But I believe there were small positives and strengths to take away from our first expedition. There were times where certain individuals was struggling with this expedition due to injury and fatigue. I provided individual support and motivation strategies to help them along the way. Within this, I used specific motivation techniques such as "there isn't far to go now" to help them push themselves even more. When fatigue started to occur to some individuals, I pursuaded them to keep drinking and eating to keep their energy and performance at peak level.  

 

Areas For Improvments:

However, there were times when I got frustrated with the group. This is because certain individuals were wandering off constantly, this could be because they were not enjoying the expedition for example. The first couple of times I encouraged them on to keep up with the rest of the team, but my frustration levels arrised which made me lose my temper which may had affected my peers negatively which is unfair. Also, there were times I continued the hike too fast with another member of the group as they felt the same feelings as I did. This meant we were not really hiking as a team or group at specific times which is unprofessional.      

     

Hiking Expedition 2 (Wednesday 20th April 2016):  

 

Team Strengths and Areas For Improvements:

 

Strengths:  

The three main skills that I have mentioned throughout the first hiking expedition, being leadership, communication and teamwork, I think we used these skills the most efficiently comparing to our first hiking expedition on the 18th April 2016. This is because we all had the chance to show off these skills due to the hike differences. 

 

Right at the beginning of the expedition at the campsite, we discussed the route with eachother by holding the route card and map infront of everybody to ensure we all had a basic idea on where we were going. We did this by using our communicational and teamwork skills to educate the team members on where the route was going. This is important as if and when we do get lost when hiking, it is easier to resolve the issue and less time wasting. Each person in the group had a positive attitude throughout the entire hiking expedition. I believe this is due to the amount of sleep we had the night before and the positive weather conditions that was occuring. This meant all team members were friendly with eachother which helps with team motivation and morale. Eventhough we used communication at the start of the expedition at the campsite, we carried this skill all the way to the end. At times it was difficult to decide which route/path to take because there were various paths which was close together. This meant that high levels of decisiveness and communication was required to decide which route to take, hiking the incorrect route may have ruined the expedition. When it came to navigation, I was really impressed with the navigational skills which everyone was showing. As a group, I believe we have had very limited amount of experience and knowledge with regards to hiking navigation using a geological map.          

Areas For Improvments:

However, when difficult challenges arrised, such as a steep incline, sometimes there was a negative attitude and effort being shown before initially engaging these challenges. This had a negative effect towards our performance and speed as a group because negative personality makes the situation worse. By keeping positive may improve an individual performance and general teams appearance. To help us keep the hiking pace at peak level, one of the lectures hiked with us. This had a slight effect to our performance as a group because our lectures pace was a lot faster than what were used to. This meant some members was experiencing fatigue quickly. 

 

My Personal Strengths and Areas For Improvements for Hiking Expedition 2 (Monday 18th April 2016)

When performing the second hiking expeditions, I think the majority of the time I performed rather well. I encountered on a number of different interpersonal skills, such as communication, teamwork and leadership. 

 

We decided it would be best for each member in our group to navigate at certain checkpoints. This way each member had an opportunity to improve mainly their leadership and navigational skills. When I was leading and navigating however, I gave myself a couple of moments to workout the route that we had planned at college. I then explained the route that I had understood and made sure each member was happy with the route and knew where we were going. This meant that I was getting everyone involved with the task, instead of certain individuals doing all of the work which is selfish and unprofessional, this is my reason why I think my communication skills was efficient. With regards to teamwork, some members in the group were struggling to navigate when at their chosen checkpoint. I wanted to show them exactly which route to take but I thought the individual was not going to learn anything if I did this, instead I thought it would be a good idea to give them a very brief decsription what our planned route was. This meant that the individual was learning and navigating at the same time which could benefit the individual in the near future, this is the reason why I thought my teamwork skills were good. I thought my leadership skills were one of my best skills that I was showing. This is because when I was asking the other team members if they understood the route etc when our lecturer was navigating at times, I ensured I made the final decision when I was leading with the regards to which route to take. This is the reason why I thought my leadership skills were acceptable. 

 

Also, I believe I showed other strengths that was really skill related. Throughout the the hiking expedition, I was able to keep up with the intense pace that was being set. This meant that I was not letting our team stop to wait for me to catch up, which can be annoying and time waisting and that my fitness levels was at a high level. As explained earlier, we wanted as a group to arrive at the campsite as early as possible to give us as much time as possible to set up camp. With the equipment side of things, I packed everything I needed into my rucksack for the hiking expedition, including waterproof clothing and first aid treatment. 

 

Areas For Improvements:

Sometimes, I felt that I was layed back with regards to the navigation. Our lecturer was hiking with us constantly which meant our lecturer took over the assistance and advice at times. I thought that I wasn't leading the group at certain points of the second hike. I didn't mind not leading the group, but I would have preffered to have some imput. I felt that I should have asked to lead the group at certain chekpoints. There were moments when I was feeling fatigued. This was because the weather temperature was extremely high which uses more energy. On the steep gradient hills, I sometimes struggled to complete hiking up the hill.