Lessons from Kedarkantha: A Trek Through Leadership

2024 has been a royal full course meal. But let me recap the dessert item first - our December-end winter trek to Kedarkantha summit. Apart from the incredible peace of feeling one with Nature, the trek provided a number of leadership lessons, which will be appropriate to share with you this new year.

Delegation with control : The leader among our trek guides was a multi-tasker. Apart from being a professional guide, he was a cook, cleaner, doctor and mule-herder. But though capable himself, he always delegated jobs to subordinates and maintained close coordination. You would find him doing odd jobs - clearing the approach to the toilet, serving warm water, helping a weak climber find her pace or even saving a mule from falling in a gorge. He never actively played the role of a leading guide unless there was a crisis. When it snowed heavily during the descent phase, a catastrophe began to emerge. Our tents started to collapse and going back to civilization seemed improbable. It was then that he jumped into leadership mode and guided the entire group back to safety. This firsthand experience highlighted the importance of empowering your team while remaining a vigilant leader.

"All or None": A Powerful Team Dynamic: Reaching the summit at 12,500 feet required starting at 2:30 AM from the base camp which was more than a km vertically below and about 4 kms in a winding walk. The ground was covered with 2-3 feet of snow and the temperature was nearly thirty below. Most of the team consisted of first time trekkers with little experience - some even thinking that this was going to be similar to their Manali trip! On the summit day, our leader declared that all will summit together, or none will. A single line would be maintained, with the weakest climber in front of the queue. With this strategy, everyone got the message that their success depended on the success of their fellows, and cooperation became the norm. Also, the weaker climbers got the message that quitting is not an option. We all gave our best and reached summit just before the wonderful 'fire on ice' sunrise.

The power of incremental effort : When the lights of the sun came out, we saw what we had achieved. It was unbelievable. We were atop a huge massif with mountains and stars at touching distance. But all we did was incremental effort. With our guides shouting 'close the gaps' - that was all we did. We just walked into the place where our previous person was standing. We did this consistently, without losing hope and gradually stretching our physical limits - and here we were! The mantra "close the gaps" will forever echo in my mind, reminding me of the power of persistent, focused action in achieving even the most ambitious goals.

The Ripple Effect of Small Actions: Our trekking group was handed over a small waist-pouch where we were supposed to collect all plastic wastes, tissues and wet wipes. The leaders made it a point that everyday all members wear the pouch before trek start. This seemed to be a nominal insignificant gesture for sustainable tourism. However, just for this initiative, we could find very little traces of tourist wastes on the pristine snow. This was remarkable, given the huge number of tourists and their wide socio-cultural backgrounds. We understood that it is more important to start an imperfect effort, rather than postponing to make it 100%.

Humility in the Face of Adversity : The best part of adversity is that a persons true nature shows up. The trek humbled me in countless ways as I witnessed the good inside most people. When you are contemplating how to navigate a particularly tricky descent, a random person from behind asks for passage before you. You are irritated, but relent nonetheless. Then the magic happens. The person crosses the difficult slope and lends you a hand so that you can cross safely too. You realize that all along he was there to help you, not to show one-upmanship.

We are all superheroes in disguise : The locals and guides with their unspecialized footwear, old jackets and no trekking poles can somehow navigate over any kind of snow or mud. They seem to fly by the same places where you are falling again and again desperately trying to make progress. You realize that they have superpowers. You realize that all of us have some or other superpowers, which makes you incredibly humble. Next time you see someone struggling with her job, you have the perspective of compassion and not judgement. The trek helped recognizing the unique strengths that reside within every individual.

Our trek of Kedarkantha was really a lifechanging journey. It was more than just a physical challenge; it was a profound journey of self-discovery and leadership.