It was cold.  Even with a tall pile of fir and cedar firewood to keep the woodstove stoked, it stayed about 45F or so in the Lodge at Olympic Lutherhaven on Wildcat Lake for the weekend of the Crew Winter Retreat.  The cabins weren't heated or insulated, so overnight sleeping temperatures dipped below freezing.  There's something to be said for a good sleeping bag filled with down.

Even so, we kept busy and had fun.  The food, prepped and served by Mr. J, was great and enough for seconds and even thirds.  God Bless The Cook.

With so many new members attending, we decided to add a theme of Studies in Ethical Leadership to the weekend.  Everyone took turns participating and facilitating, so that by the time we were done, everyone was able to get signed off for their Bronze and Silver Award requirements for Ethical Controversies.  We also interspersed some movies around the discussions.  The Hunt For Red October, entertaining in itself, raised questions about protecting the truth, capital theft to avoid a war, etc.  Do the ends justify the means?  While we watched Amistad, we mused about breaking the law, even if it's a bad law: slavery.

You may think you know and understand the Stages of Team Development (Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing), and how to use EDGE (Explain, Demonstrate, Guide, Enable) when teaching or leading, but can you quickly recognize the relationship between them?  Can you really recognize what stage a team is in or how fast or slow they're moving between stages?  Do you know which leadership style to apply?  It's called situational leadership, and the old Gregory Peck movie Twelve O'Clock High is a perfect study in it.

We never had the time or the cooperative weather to launch the boats and get out paddling on the lake.  Even the ducks huddled on the shore.