Developing Leadership and Teamwork skills

Being a leader and working in a team requires a large range of skills. Despite having the ability to develop these skills through many daily aspects of life and school, year 9 camp proved to greatly contribute to this development.

In 2020, us year 9s from All Saints’ College had the opportunity to go to Kalbarri for our yearly camp. With the year group breaking off into two separate camp rotations, and each rotation being further minimised into four groups, every individual had to contribute to the group they were assigned. We engaged in numerous daily activities, ranging from hikes in and out of the gauge, to just playing around with our team members. Regardless of the task at hand, teamwork and leadership amongst the group was vital for a functioning and enjoyable camp.

The staff and Kalbarri leaders on the camp ensured each person would have a turn at several leadership roles throughout the week. This was achieved through splitting the groups into tent teams, and then assigning each tent group a new daily role. These roles included the “hygienists”, “leaders”, “foodies”, and “navigation and entertainment”. The role of hygienists involved carrying the toilet kit when hiking, being in charge of sanitation before meals, and digging and covering up the toilet hole when spending the night in the gauge. The leaders kept the group up to date with the daily plans and had control over when we stopped for breaks on the hikes. Foodies had the role of organising and setting up each meal and snack, and ensuring all necessary food was packed before travelling out of the campsite. Finally, the navigation and entertainment people were in charge of helping the group find our way through daily activities and hikes, as well as keep everyone’s spirits up throughout the day.

The opportunity to have a turn at a new role each day greatly benefited my leadership and teamwork skills. This is because I deemed the new roles as a daily challenge to overcome, and by working with the other members of my tent group to carry out the responsibilities of each role, I further developed my bond with them and teamwork abilities. Every role was also useful in the development of my leadership skills. Being in charge of navigation and entertainment gave me the chance to practice providing people with encouragement and support, as well as increasing my ability to direct the group. The roles of hygiene and foodies allowed me to exhibit my organisational skills, which are necessary in leadership. However, I found the role of “leaders” the most beneficial since I got to work on speaking in front of a group, as well as directing and communicating with the team.

By everyone participating in each leadership role throughout the camp, the team worked together more efficiently, and it allowed me to become more comfortable with being a leader.