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My laptop screen springs to life. The cell keeps ringing now and
then, and I struggle to keep working between phone calls. But I am
not in my office. In fact, it is the most un-office like situation. I
am in the foothills of the Himalayan ranges, sitting in my tent. A
generator chugs away in the distance, never mind the fact that my
tent itself has plunged into darkness some time back, thanks to a
short circuit. My world, the world of an outdoor trainer is a curious
mix today. A mix of new technology and some good old ancient concepts
makes it an intoxicating mixture.
Where has process work taken various people like me on the journey to
becoming outdoor professionals? It would be interesting to look at
the links between corporate outdoor training and process work. It
goes back to the very first programme of this kind in India that
happened way back in 1989. A public sector company and a mountaineer
with maverick ideas came together to work on this novel idea. A
process worker with experience of facilitating groups in process labs
in ISISD looked on curiously and then invited himself into this new
venture. Outdoor training till then meant something that was done
successfully in the West. This person worked at developing an Indian
way of conducting these programmes. The result was an astounding
success, and today it has developed into a successful training
methodology, recognized by numerous corporations across the country today.
The history of using outdoors as a training methodology, however,
goes back to World War II, when it was used for training soldiers. By
and by, those involved in this area realized that the outdoors left
an impact not just on the physical being of a person, but to his
psyche too. The concept developed into what is known today as
outbound developmental training programmes. Today, outdoors and
adventure is used in four different ways, which are
1.Fun and recreation
2.As a supplement to formal education
3.As a therapeutic tool
4.Corporate training programmes
I am yet to come across a term that accurately describes these
programmes. They are most often called OMDP (Outdoor Management
Development Programmes) or OBT (Outward Bound Training). None of
these terms are able to encompass all that these programmes offer.
They are neither only outdoor programmes, nor are they only
management development programmes. So then, what ARE these programmes?
It would be a good idea to tackle this question from the side of the
end users. The methodology has gained increased acceptance in the
last 5 years or so in India, and it cannot be just because it is a
new fashion or a new gimmick. It would be worthwhile to look at the
needs of today's organizations and the issues that their people face.
Today one can see a shift from having a psychological contract with
the organization to a mere economic contract. It is easily seen in
attrition rates going up all the time. Young managers join from
campus, "only for two years" as it will give their CV some
good punch. Gone are the days where long service awards were given
after 25 years. Gone are those days when the son aspired to work in
the same organization as his father. The outcome of all this is seen
in organizations becoming increasingly task-focussed. "Do your
job, take your salary for today, we can't promise anything about
tomorrow." The overall result is a workforce that struggles to
find a meaningful life. The changing nature of work has also
contributed in no less means to this. Increasing use of technology
and the cyber world have made people forget how to interact with
human beings. Little wonder then that there are cases of sending an
email to a colleague who sits on the very next desk instead of
turning around and talking.
Organizations in their own wisdom try to find a way out of these
problems. I recently met a friend, and she told me about this
programme she had to do the next day about "recognition".
Motivating people to stay with the organization is a big problem. She
then told me about this "recognition kit" which she was
supposed to teach people how to use. The kit had things like thank
you cards. It set me thinking. Have we in India become so
resourceless that we have to depend on someone from the West to come
and tell us how to recognize people and their achievements? Some
organizations look towards outbound programmes to provide alternate answers.
There is something very Indian about the way outbound programmes
happen. The Indian way of learning has been the Gurukul way, of going
and staying with the guru. Another key aspect of the Indian way is
that the Guru would not just make his knowledge available to the
pupils, but his wisdom too. Yet another important aspect was
pertaining to the oral tradition. Yes, there were scriptures that one
recited, but the learning remained bookish, and of limited use, till
the pupil learnt by living.
In an outbound programme, the participant goes through myriad
experiences of people and events, but there are three factors that
impact them most.
1. The context of challenging yet refreshing and informal ambience of outdoors
2.The actual outdoor activities
3.Facilitator(s)
How do these three work together? In a process lab the context as
well as the content is really free flowing. On the other hand, in an
outbound programme the context is designed and built consciously,
keeping in mind the programme objectives. The activities and
exercises impact people in different ways. What can the facilitator
then do with this experience? This is where process work makes its
presence felt. Being anchored in the basic tenets of process work
enables the facilitator to look beyond the obvious; that is, look
beyond observable data. If the engagement is only with the observable
data, then the facilitator can be seen to be "working on"
the participants, much like a psychoanalyst or a therapist would. A
process worker instead can be seen "working with" the
participants, which makes the whole process more enriching for the
entire community. The participants then don't look at the facilitator
only as a guru but as normal human being like any of them.
Which brings us to an important question - if the facilitator has to
look at only the unarticulated, disowned and invisible parts of the
group, then why are the outdoor activities so important? The key lies
in the basic concept of experiential learning. Simply put, it is
learning through living, which is also basic to all process labs. If
we can call the anchoring person as an "outbound process
worker", then the answer makes itself apparent. The person
(ideally) should be outward bound, be in touch with the ongoing
process, and be ready to work with oneself too.
Outbound programmes are about living together, about learning from
one's experience, and about not having an agenda that is
participant-centered; not trainer- centered. Process work did not
teach me how to become a facilitator on these programmes. It instead
asked me to value my own outdoor experience and put my faith in the
ability of each human being to learn from experience.
Written by Pushkaraj Apte
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