“I was looking for women with bags of guts and determination, that I could imagine working well within the team.” Image courtesy of kasperskycommonwealthexpedition.com (click to enlarge)
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ExWeb interview with Felicity Aston, “My greatest challenge as the leader is the people management side"
Posted: Nov 04, 2009 09:30 am EST
(ThePoles.com) Felicity Aston will be leading a team of 7 women from Commonwealth countries, Brunei Darussalam, Cyprus, India, Jamaica, New Zealand, Singapore and the UK to ski from the Ronne-Filchner Ice Shelf to the South Pole.
She told ExplorersWeb why she decided to put the expedition together, how she did it, what qualities she was looking for in the team members, the team building across different cultures, her challenge as a leader and about their “Portable Johns”.
ExWeb’s Correne Coetzer caught up with Felicity while she and the team were busy with the last minute preparations in London and ready to leave for Punta Arenas.
ExplorersWeb: Why did you decide to do this expedition?
Felicity: I travel a lot and am inspired by women who are breaking the mould in countries where women still do not have the freedom to make their own choices in life.
By putting together an international team of women - some of whom will be the first person from their country to ski to the South Pole - I felt that we could make quite a strong statement.
ExplorersWeb: When did send out word for women to apply?
Felicity: In June 2008 I launched a website that asked for women from the 8 Commonwealth countries of Brunei Darussalam, Cyprus, Ghana, India, Jamaica, New Zealand, Singapore and the UK to apply to join the team.
ExplorersWeb: How many applicants did you get?
Felicity: I had over 800 applicants in total. there were more than 200 from New Zealand and more than 130 from India. The least number of applicants was just under 40 from Ghana - but considering that I was seeking a Polar enthusiast in a West African country, I thought this was pretty good!
ExplorersWeb: Looking at the profiles of your team on the website, they look physically strong. We know that physical strength is not all that counts. What were your requirements?
Felicity: I wasn't looking for the best skiers, the most athletic or those with the greatest outdoor experience - I was looking for women with bags of guts and determination, that I could imagine working well within the team. They had to be people I could imagine sharing a tent with for weeks on end and someone who had a clear idea of the message they wanted to send by taking part.
ExplorersWeb: How did your selection program work?
Felicity: Out of the 800+ application forms received, I compiled a shortlist of 10 from each country. I then personally interviewed each candidate and asked two women from each country to come to a training expedition in Norway at the end of February 2008.
We spent a week up on the Hardangervidda training the group of 16 candidates in winter conditions and going on a mini-expedition. We looked at how each person reacted to that environment and also at how they worked with the others. Taking what we had seen into account, at the end of the first week, the final team was selected.
ExplorersWeb: What were the difficulties that you had to deal with during the preparation phase?
Felicity: I have led and organised teams and expeditions before but the fact that the team was spread right the way across the world added an extra layer of complexity to everything!
The team communicated with each other through an expedition wiki, had regular conference calls through skype and millions of emails flew back and forth.
At the start getting to grips with all the different time zones was a problem and I'd regularly get calls in the middle of the night when a calculation had gone wrong but now we are experts at time zones!
After Norway, it was 6 months before we were all able to physically gather together again in one place - so it has been difficult to keep up motivation when so isolated from the rest of the team - but in a funny way, I think the fact that it has been difficult has helped us bond as a team as everyone really appreciates what a great thing it is to have a good team around you.
ExplorersWeb: What team-building program did you have?
Felicity: Right at the beginning we had some input from team specialists Mission Performance. We needed to cut through the cultural differences quickly so that we could get on with understanding each other and the way each individual worked.
Those initial sessions were extremely valuable and gave us a good grounding to build on. The team have only known each other for 8 months but somehow, spending time in a tent together seems to accelerate the 'getting to know you' process. Expeditions are very good at stripping away all the material and trivial stuff to reveal the true character underneath. Organising an expedition is one big team building exercise in itself!
ExplorersWeb: You are taking “Portable Johns” with to transport all toilet waste. Is this an ALE requirement or is it your choice?
Felicity: The ALE requirement is to carry portable johns to remove solid human waste from the last degree. As a team, we decided we would try to remove as much human waste as possible for as long as possible.
It was hard to find data on what kind of weight we might accumulate - so we might well reach a limit if the weight becomes too great - but we are all keen to try to do as much as possible. We can then, at least, make this information available to other expeditions in the future who might want to do the same.
ExplorersWeb: What do you think will be challenging for you personally on Antarctica?
Felicity: Although we are a single team of 8 travelling together, we are split into two tent groups. My greatest challenge as the leader is the people management side; making sure that everyone stays motivated, that we continue to work as a single team and to make sure that any problems within the team are sorted quickly to avoid frictions developing. I really think the key to a successful expedition is to have a well-functioning team so that everyone enjoys the experience, whatever the outcome - so that is my biggest challenge.
ExplorersWeb: You are quite a large group that can spread out. How will you handle this?
Felicity: Separation from the group in Antarctica is deadly so we travel as a single group - ski tip to sledge back. We have trained to travel in this way to make separation as unlikely as possible and have systems in our routine that ensure we do not get spread out.
ExplorersWeb: What are you looking forward to?
Felicity: The moment we see Antarctica from the plane - I left Antarctica 6 years ago not knowing if I'd ever be back, so that will be really special.
I'm also looking forward to watching the girls as they plant their flag at the Pole - it has been amazing watching the transformation from me telling them they can do it, to them believing they can do it - and the moment they plant that flag they will know that they have taken every single step themselves, from training to funding to skiing.
ExplorersWeb: When will you fly to Antarctica?
Felicity: Our scheduled date to fly from Punta Arenas in Chile to Antarctica is the 12th November, but this depends on the weather.
ExplorersWeb: Will you get resupplies? If yes, how many, where?
Felicity: We always intended to go unsupported but we do have the option of a single resupply at Thiels (roughly half way).
Eight women from seven Commonwealth countries will ski from the Ronne-Filchner Ice Shelf (Messner Start area) to the South Pole (840 km). The founder and chief co-ordinator of the expedition is 31-year old Briton, Felicity Aston. She spent three years in the Antarctic studying the ozone hole and climate change with the British Antarctic Survey before returning to lead expeditions in Siberia, Greenland and the Arctic.
The rest of the team are Dk Najibah Eradah binti P. A. M. Al-Sufri Pg M-L Kahar or ‘Era’ (25, Brunei Darussalam), Stephanie Solomonides (25, Cyprus), Helen Turton (UK), Reena Kaushal Dharmshaktu (38, India), Kim-Marie Spence (30, Jamaica), Charmaine Tate (33, New Zealand), and Sophia Pang (36, Singapore).
Note that Helen Turton has taken the place of Barbara Yanney from Ghana who pulled out due to illness. A few weeks ago Barbara became ill with malaria and unfortunately will not recover in time to go to Antarctica.
Read the profiles of the women on their website. Click here.
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