Leadership on the Edge

What in the world does climbing have to do with leadership?

It is striking to me to see the immense parallels between climbing in the mountains and the power of the individual, the power of the cooperative team, the wisdom of leadership, how decisions are made and the incredibly high stakes.

Both mountain climbing and leadership require rigor in training. Both require ongoing learning and refinement of skills and techniques. Both require taking care of one's self—having a self-awareness and using feedback from others (supervisors, consultants, mentors and clients).

Mountaineering also is similar to working on large problems:

• Both involve seemingly insurmountable tasks.
• Both take the help of others in order to reach the goal.
• Both deal with risks.
• Both require major doses of planning, team work, concentrated effort and hope.

The Challenge

Professional climbing guide and instructor Don Mellor said that "climbing is a metaphor for life itself. There is the aspiration and the uncertainty, the journey and the risk, the success and its concomitant satisfaction. Life on the wall becomes a simplified model of life in the harried world, a model with equal anguish, but one whose challenges are carved into perfect definition. We win here and we know we can win elsewhere."

Perhaps less obvious is the parallel between the power that the lead climber has over the success or failure of those he works with. This is very similar to what managers are involved with on a daily basis as well. The level of responsibility that you hold as a manager and as a leader of others can be life altering.

We all face the challenges of an uncertain world—be it in the mountains or in the office or in the marketplace. As a manager, you have the challenge and responsibility of leadership.

Ambition, Satisfaction and Fear

By definition ambition and satisfaction are at war. If you're ambitious, you aren't satisfied and if you're satisfied, you aren't ambitious.

Most of us are plagued by ambition. There is always a new summit, a new route, a new challenge. It's one of the best and the worst things about us. There is no point of the success we achieve where we say, "That's it. That's all of anything I want. I don't want to be any happier. I don't want to learn anything new. I don't want to make a difference any longer. I don't need to impact the world more."

The counterbalance to this is the fear of failure: the fear of mistakes, the fear of falling. That's not to say that you should live and work in a safe-house, nor by fiat, but do take some measured risks and don't be inhibited by failure's potential.

The Daily Climb

Every day, all of us have to attempt a mountain of sorts. For some it is getting out of bed; others need help to do even that.

Every day is a summit attempt for some people. They must be focused on the goal, have strength and endurance to surmount the various obstacles impeding their efforts. But, perhaps they also have you on their team as their expert guide. You know the route, you appreciate the effort and you empathize with the challenge. In making a decision to become a leader there also comes commitment. This is not unlike the decision to climb and to summit. Foremost in climbing and in leadership are tenacity and courage.

What is your Personal Summit?

Isn't such a struggle for survival reminiscent of the challenges you face with more difficult projects or in some circumstance? So, what is your purpose as a leader? What is your dream? What is your personal summit?

You can consider how your work will directly and indirectly make the world a better place to be if you live up to your potential and explore your possibilities. And, yes, if you take a few risks here and there.

As a leader, in whatever focus of work you have taken, you have the skills to help change the inner attitudes of individuals' minds along with the application of resultant behaviors. Thus, you affect the outer aspects of peoples' lives, the way they work and perhaps even how they treat others.

As leaders, when we see a problem, we can do something about it. When we see a challenge, we can train for it and take it on. When we see a vacant area of knowledge, we can work to fill the void. Your vision is not limited by any other force than your imagination.

This can be a formula for powerful change in organizations and in individuals. Use it wisely. Your impact on others can be your legacy. Show the world what you can do. Show them your promise. Take the first step on a more powerful journey.

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 If you'd like to learn more or connect, please do at https://DrChrisStout.com. You can follow me on LinkedIn, or find my Tweets as well. And goodies and tools are available via https://ALifeInFull.org.

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