Team Orienteering

At-a-Glance

Team Orienteering is a half-day program (3.5 hours) and is facilitated in wooded park areas around the country.

Teams learn topographic map reading, compass reading and distance pacing to successfully navigate an orienteering course and find the hidden markers in a wooded area. The discussions during Team Orienteering focus on topics like leadership and coaching styles and group decision-making processes. Participants must depend on each others’ newly acquired expertise with maps, compasses and distance-pacing to successfully complete the orienteering course. Some groups choose to swap roles so that participants can practice coaching each other on new skills.

We complete the adventure by debriefing the day’s experiences and drawing parallels to workplace dynamics.

The Facilitators’ Role

Prep

• Review all pre-program communication & instructions in detail.

Logistics

• Releases: collect and review for skipped signatures, cross-outs and missing dates; communicate with lead facilitator as needed.
• Photos: take pictures throughout program and, most important and often forgotten, a final large group photo.
• Safety: Hike the trails to identify team locations and be available should anyone need assistance. Carry cell phone or (in some cases) a walkie-talkie.

Facilitation

• Lead facilitator introduces the program.
• Introduce one of three skills to subsets of the team.
• Facilitators hike the trails to observe or take a snapshot of teams in action.
• Lead facilitator wraps up program by leading a large group debrief.

Clean-up

• Pack supplies for return shipping.

Why Team Orienteering is Such a Great Program!

• Enables groups to experience the profound shift from working independently to working interdependently to achieve a common goal.
• Participants increase their levels of trust and personal confidence as they depend on each other’s newly acquired expertise.
• Teams get to explore new territory together in rugged outdoor settings.
• It can be done any time of year…it only depends on how hardy the team is.