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As someone who is both an adventurer and a management consultant, my particular interest is in the parallels which can be drawn between humans co-operating and communicating in the workplace and at the other extreme, facing the rigours of an arctic adventure or a round the world sailing challenge.

Only a few short years ago, my knowledge of this was restricted to the former scenario. Then, I was the epitome of 'ordinary' - an unexceptional middle-aged, single parent working at Oxford University. However, I had a dream, a lifelong ambition to travel which was to lead me, as an alarmingly novice sailor, to join - and complete - the 2000 BT Global Challenge Round the World Yacht Race.

On my return, tired but triumphant, I immediately flew to Canada to trek the West Coast Trail, one of the world's ten toughest trails, followed in March 2003 by a dog-sledding expedition in the Arctic and - just three weeks later - crewing LogicaCMG the winning yacht in the Round Britain & Ireland Challenge.

My latest adventure was in April 2005 when I returned to the Arctic on The Nordkapp Expedition, dog-sledding a distance of 600k to the northernmost point of Europe, a trail that had never been done before.

So what I have learned from all of this that now shapes my approach to helping businesses improve performance in the workplace? There are six particularly valuable lessons that I repeatedly use in working with businesses and you may wish to consider how they apply in your workplace:

Maximum motivation is generated by each individual team member clearly identifying what it means to them to be involved in a project - whether individually or as part of a team challenge. They need to be able to visualize and feel what success will feel like when they have achieved their goal.

For example, what will it feel like to achieve something no-one has ever done before, or something where everything is against you, yet you still succeed? In business, few challenges are dangerous or life-threatening, but the sense of achievement, of pulling together can, in itself, be just as motivating in ensuring everyone gives of their best to achieve their goal.

To get anywhere or achieve anything you need to be clear about your destination, exactly what you want to achieve and in what timescale. Clear, well thought-out, realistic objectives will ensure that you are all pulling in the same direction and have a shared determination to achieve your goals.

Whether you want to have a safe circum-navigation of the world, want to be first across the finish line, want to avoid black bears and cougars and reach the end of a trek . or want to achieve that seemingly impossible production schedule or sales target, or find a much more effective way of generating new business - it's all exactly the same process.

You won't achieve anything if people are duplicating effort and overlooking some vital tasks. Delegate and share specific responsibilities at the outset and trust that each team member will carry out their part and value the contribution that they give. Everyone's job from the highest to the low is just as important.

A novice sailor on watch may see where a sail is catching because they are coming to the job with fresh eyes; if you are trekking someone has to collect every last piece of rubbish otherwise the wilderness will eventually be destroyed, on a dog-sledding expedition you have to attend to the dogs as well as the humans. At work, the most junior employee's role can be crucial to the overall outcome of a project, and any one support function if overlooked or undervalued can lead to failure or problems with quality and customer satisfaction further down the line.

A leader does not necessarily have to possess all the skills needed for a successful outcome; he or she can surround themselves with people who can provide them. Their role is to lead and inspire others. True leaders create teams with higher morale and greater productivity by helping individuals to share a dream, achieve their personal goals and improve their individual skills.

Similarly, at work, leaders can help get the best from employees by encouraging them to constantly improve their personal best, providing focus, helping them see the 'bigger picture' to which they contribute, and ensuring they work effectively with their colleagues as part of a team.

When working in any team environment, it is vital that communication is open and honest otherwise slights, small resentments and upsets can create major breakdowns. When things go wrong as they are bound to in any project, any lack of communication or co-operation needs to be addressed immediately so that the team can understand what is happening, get back on course and function properly. Remember though that communication is a shared, two-way process - information given doesn't necessarily mean information received, you need to ensure that understanding and agreement has also taken place.

Good communication is just as critical at work as it is on a trek or race. Colleagues can save time, reduce duplication of effort and misunderstandings, and motivate and encourage each other - all through talking to each other in the right way at the right time! If two people who don't normally get on have to co-operate with each other then good communication and negotiation can generate a way that they can work together to achieve the common goal.

When approaching any project, break down it wherever possible into bite-size pieces; that way the enormity of the goal is reduced into manageable parts. As each part of the project is accomplished a small celebration is a good way of saying 'well done' to the crew or team and a review of what went well and what can be improved helps to maintain good relationships. In this way progress is monitored and you can measure performance.

At work, build measurable stages into work systems and projects, then when you reach that stage, review what has happened - what went well, what went less well and how might you improve in future? Take the chance to recognise those who performed brilliantly and provide extra support and encouragement to those who need to do better.

My overall message to people in the workplace or on expeditions is that we all perform better if we work together; and we all produce more if we are motivated and have a clear idea of what we are aiming to achieve. We are created to live and work alongside each other, so we need to concentrate always on how we can do this better.

Facing business challenges together