Developing management skills through experiential learning: the effectiveness of outdoor training and mindfulness

The primary goal of this study is to develop a tool to measure the personal and interpersonal skills of individuals who participate in experiential learning based on outdoor training and mindfulness sessions. This paper presents the results of an application of this method to a sample of 97 participants (49 employees and 48 master's and undergraduate students). Using competency questionnaires, participants were evaluated by managers and tutors. Participants were assessed individually. The following competencies were analysed: teamwork, communication, leadership, motivation, stress tolerance, organisation and planning, responsibility, and analysis, resolution and anticipation of problems. The results show that students and employees require further development in terms of their leadership, teamwork, responsibility and stress tolerance. Teamwork should be promoted. Individuals should be encouraged to delegate and accept opinions, ideas and criticism from other team members. It is important to identify the leader and the followers. This requires all individuals to accept their roles and responsibilities by taking charge of their actions. For the sample of workers, the manager's evaluations were consistently less positive than the evaluations by the workers themselves.