In the next week I will be taking some time to reflect on a great experience I recently had observing an elite military-based team building and leadership regiment known simply as "The Program". Over a two-day intensive course, a team of college hockey players were put through a series of brutally intense and structured exercises geared towards building not just team cohesion, but "I've got your back on the field of battle no matter what gets in our way" team cohesion. In terms of leadership, The Program isn't teaching how to express your emotions effectively so that you teammates can relate to you better, it is teaching how to give and receive orders in an efficient manner that does not compromise the mission regardless of physical exertion or bodily stress. It was some powerful stuff to watch.
The personnel brought in were highly decorated military elite special forces officers who have a resume of training, deployments and experiences that make your jaw drop as you try to comprehend the situations they have faced in battle. As an independent observer of sport psychology, I was able to learn a lot about how this group uses the tried and true methods of the military to teach important lessons to elite teams. I look forward to sharing this experience on this blog in the coming week. Stay tuned. In the meantime, here is the website from "The Program" and it offers a video/ taste of what these teams go through.
The Program
No comments:
Post a Comment