Developing leadership skills through mountain activities

The leadership phenomenon is probably the most studied social process known to behavioural science. Researchers believe that leadership plays a crucial role in organisations and has a direct influence on processes and their outcomes. This paper presents a critical analysis of the leadership literature. Leadership is a multilateral action by which an individual influences others to accomplish a mission, duties or objectives and guides the organisation through a method that makes it more coherent and cohesive. The mountain leader must be recognised and qualified to lead, teach, support and train clients (against payment or voluntarily) in all mountain areas of the world, regardless of season and altitude, up to the limit of permanent snow (glaciers). The leader must be honest and realistic in the relationship with themselves and find out who they are, how much they know and what they are able to do; followers (not the leader) decide whether a leader is successful. Leadership skills are important for career advancement. The current research is focused on the development of leadership skills. At the same time, ten members of a group that used to practise mountain activities on a regular basis were asked the following question: “What do you expect from a leader?”. Their responses are presented in this paper, highlighting the various skills required for a leader.