Leading a GT is especially stressful. This is one of the reasons that GT leaders are few in number. As leader, it is not just your knowledge of the mountains that is being called upon. You will also need to plan the whole thing from start to finish. Team members are investing their leave (sometimes unpaid) and money for transport (including airfares from overseas), food and overnight fees. They have expectations that they will successfully complete the traverse, enjoy the experience and gain from it.
A leader’s tasks start long before you set off on the adventure. You will need to select the dates, plan the route and advertise the event. Ideally, you will need to meet prospective participants and do qualifying hikes if they are not already known to you. Alternatively, you will need to ask a lot of questions or do online interviews of out-of-town applicants and out-of-country foreigners.
A key decision is the number of participants you will limit the traverse to. A leader’s stress levels increase exponentially with the size of the team, so set an upper limit you are comfortable with. Once your team is finalised, you will need to keep them informed and monitor their payments for transport and accommodation.
After you set off, the leader’s most important task is to ensure that each day’s end-goal is achieved – and by a reasonable time in the afternoon. This means not straying from the planned route, always trying to take the best line, and allocating sufficient time for rest and lunch stops. This has to be achieved while tactfully holding the eager-beavers back and encouraging the stragglers, and all the while keeping a watchful eye on the weather.
The best way for a leader to cope is to offload some of the burden of leadership by engaging the strengths of others. If there are other experienced hike leaders in the group, let them lead sections they know well so you can take a back seat for a while. Ask your fittest hiker/s to do some pathfinding over rough terrain slightly ahead of you, or to speed ahead a bit to find water or the nicest campsite for the night. Encourage your more empathetic team members to hang back with the stragglers to give them encouragement. Let those with their own GPS and tracks assist you with navigation, especially in mist. Assigning someone to monitor progress on a map is a useful backup. Let everyone participate in any decision-making process, but remember that when there is no consensus, you call the shots.