In what ways can trust-building be achieved? How can these learning experiences be applied to a typical workplace? It is important to create a framework considering specific leadership and management roles and practices, and how levels of trust can be improved in these specific contexts. If we can apply the learning from an extended experiential training such as an Everest Base Camp expedition or a challenging sailing race to these roles, the potential value of this exercise can be more readily identified.

In recent years I made a challenging expedition to the Everest Base Camp in the Himalayas of Nepal, and I am now learning how to sail a large yacht. After many years as a teacher of leadership and management (on Executive Programs and for MBA students) I have come to realize that these and related experiences - often referred to as experiential training - can be used to develop new insights, behaviors, and competencies in the workplace - and especially can help build TRUST between leaders and followers, and between individual team-members. New approaches to ongoing employee learning are always being considered and evaluated. The role of experiential training, associated with personal challenges and stepping out of one's comfort zone, encompasses a range of training interventions. These can include classroom simulations and pretend adventures as metaphors for real events. These can also include the actual scrambling up of climbing walls, the shooting of rapids and team-members fending for themselves in the wilds. Climbing major mountains - such as Everest and Kilimanjaro - represent a major advance on simulations and managed events. Sailing as an extreme sport - especially in challenging sailing conditions and in yacht races, sailing under time-pressure - can be another taxing challenge where potentially more trusting relationships between leaders and team-members can be forged.

Some observers see the use of sports or experiential training interventions as a fad, a temporary fashion, an excuse for an away-day, or a perk for a team of successful employees. It sounds like fun, staff members may be happy to do it, but does it have any real value? Other observers see these unconventional approaches to trust-building and team-building as potentially lasting learning experiences that stay with the participants whilst conventional training manuals gather dust on the shelves.

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